2 Hearts 2 One’s Mission: To Provide a safe environment for Veterans, Military members, First Responders and their families. To facilitate healing and strengthen relationships through equine interaction, by learning Horsemanship skills through Therapeutic Riding.

 

2 Hearts 2 One’s Program:  An experiential learning program that uses both mounted and unmounted Equine Assisted Learning (EAL), to promote physical and emotional healing. It is widely recognized that EAL is an effective strategy that can benefit veterans physically, emotionally, spiritually, and vocationally. Through this program, veterans will have the opportunity to connect with another sentient being that always responds honestly, without judgement, and without an agenda. The lasting impact of these horse-human interactions can and often does change lives! Our staff is certified through Path International (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship). We offer psychotherapy to address PTSD and suicide prevention programs. Group and private sessions are available with our Licensed Professional Counselors.

 

What the horse offers:

 

Horses help humans cope with challenging emotions by offering extraordinary emotional support. The horse-human connection fosters bonding, trust and emotion regulation. Horses also help humans overcome fears and recognize their value to others.

 

Equine Therapy promotes emotional healing.

 

2 Hearts 2 One recognizes the horse-human bond and the potential for emotional healing that can occur when a relationship is formed between the two species. Unconditional Acceptance- Horses help heal without judgement. Horses have no agenda and respond honestly to what the participant is doing, feeling and thinking in that moment. The horse’s feedback is more easily accepted and discussed rather than feedback from another person. The horse’s judgment-free nature allows the veteran to gain emotional growth and self-understanding.

 

Prey Animal Characteristics

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Learning to trust an animal as large, powerful, and potentially intimidating as a horse helps in the process of restoring trust for those whose capacity for trust has eroded due to difficult life experiences. Insight into how a horse can read non-verbal signals to perceive a threat and stay safe. This can provide validation for the necessity of a hyper-vigilant state at times but can also provide a model on how to return to a state of peace after the perceived threat has come and gone.

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Herd Mentality

 

Learning about herd hierarchy and herd interdependence helps participants relate to and work on their interaction with other people, relationships, communication style, and self-awareness.

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In-The-Moment Feedback

 

Learning to communicate and achieve harmony with a large animal promotes renewed feelings of success. Through interactions with the horse, the veteran can begin to see themselves through the eyes of another which encourages improvements in self-awareness, communication, and connection.

 

Communication and Relationship Skills

 

A positive relationship with a horse can be a first, safe step toward practicing the social skills needed to initiate closer relationships with people. Working with horses can address Connection and Communication Deficit re-engaging caring feelings, mutual trust, and respect in a relationship. Horses can help decrease feelings of isolation and loneliness as well as help veterans start re-establishing communication and relationship skills while rebuilding their confidence.

Inclusion of families in the 2 Hearts 2 One program allows the family to be a part of the recovery process, which at times can be difficult and slow.

 

Vocational Skills

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There is evidence that the human-animal bond helps with employability through its social, psychological, behavioral, and physical benefits. Purpose and Meaning- EAL is a treatment modality that introduces new purpose and meaning to veterans who suffer from the loss of a feeling of higher purpose. Many studies of human-animal interaction indicate that contact with animals significantly reduces anxiety levels and the physiological results of stress. ​