Equine therapy helps veterans re-acclimate to everyday life

SPRING HILL (FOX 13) - Combat veterans who returned home from war are getting the help they need with some supportive friends.

Gracie the horse is military veteran Robert West's new best friend.

"The horse kind of gives you a tranquility. You're riding, you're doing not just what you want to do but you and the horse do the same thing and develop a bond," West explained.

He spent 10 years in the military, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. West came home suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"There were lots of anger, outbursts. There was depression, there were lonely times, dark times," West said.

Gracie and the Veterans Equine Assisted Therapy Program at Serenity Stables Farm helps him and others work through PTSD. 

"The horse relaxes so they will response to you with give-and-take because they are so sensitive to us," Owner Cherina Bornscheuer said.

She and her husband, Allen own the farm and feel a call to help soldiers.

"We were put on this earth to either consume or to give back and I want to give back some," Allen said.

Therapists believe horses can sense and soothe many human behaviors.

"They're not thinking about their stuff. So they are not anxious, so they're relaxed they're really in the moment," Cherina said.

Serenity Stables is using the healing power of horses to help heal the lives of vets. The program is two years old and Saturday there will be a free charity horse show at Serenity Stables.