WILLIAMSBURG—
Some military heroes are proving not all healing and therapy needs to be done in a doctor's office. Some of them are getting special help to recover from injuries.That help is coming from horses.
Army Specialist, Emily Gordinier says she gets a little stronger with each trot around the ring with her horse, Winston. She says riding on the horse's back is helping her back recover from a serious injury she received doing a job she loves.
Emily is one of a handful of wounded warriors from Fort Eustis who are in a new "Horses for Heroes" program at Dream Catchers Riding Center in Toano.
"When I come here, it just relieves all that. It just feels so at ease and calm when I get on this horse," Emily says.
The soldiers come to Dream Catchers once a week for about 10 weeks. While they are riding the horses, they say it not only helps their physical therapy but their psychological therapy as well.
Emily says, "What I'm thinking about is just my relationship with the horse and what I need him to do for him to listen to me."
Sgt. Donald Jackson helped bring the "Horses for Heroes" program to Ft. Eustis.
He says, "To see what she gets out of it, just the emotional release, the emotional confidence, the physical gains that she sees during her particular riding lessonÂ… it's just indescribable."
Dream Catchers is able to host the soldiers through a special grant. They're hoping additional grants will allow them to expand the program in the future.
Spending just one hour watching these heroes and horses work together will prove just how far they've come from the battlefield.
