Special Series: Hope Reins

Can horses be healers?

Equine therapy is a unique form of counseling which uses horses to facilitate change and growth.

Join Global Calgary’s Jill Croteau as she explores the experimental therapy, and the dramatic results experts are seeing.

PART 1

For a soldier, admitting they may be suffering mentally from the affects of war can be one of the hardest things they’ll ever do.

WATCH: Jill speaks with retired army officer Karmin McKay, who is trying to heal his psychological wounds at a ranch in Rocky Mountain House that is specifically designed for soldiers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

ABOUT CAN PRAXIS:

Can Praxis uses horses to help soldiers recover from PTSD and regain their family relationships.

Trainers teach participants to manage their conflict by using horses as a training aid.

Horses react to human body language, so their behavior helps demonstrate to soldiers how their actions are affecting others.

Trainers offer a translation of the horses’ behavior to soldiers, in order to increase their own self-awareness.

PART 2

Students at an aboriginal community outside of Rocky Mountain House are trying a new form of therapy to help them cope with the burdens of racism and negative sterotypes.

WATCH: Jill Croteau speaks with Counsellor Wendy Tredger, who is using horses as a tool to help these kids heal from a legacy of pain.

PART 3

Sometimes, the traditional forms of therapy still fail to help those battling depression.

For one Calgary teenager, it was equine therapy that helped her deal with her issues.

WATCH: Jill Croteau gets the details on the unusual friendship that changed on girl’s life.