Delaware veterans look to get back in the saddle
Animals have been used to heal humans for a long time. One such program has been operating in Delaware with some success, but it needs some help to continue work with one group.
Four years ago the Veterans Hospital in Elsmere, DE began offering its long-term care residents a unique recreational therapy program called Horses for Heroes. Veterans who participated in the program took a trip once a week to the Carousel Park Equestrian Center for an afternoon of therapeutic riding.
It has been two years since any veterans were able to go back to Carousel Park. The Therapeutic Riding at Carousel (TRAC) says they need a lift to help get disabled riders “on and off the horses safely without having to have to do manual transfers.” A lift would open the program up to more veterans from the VA Hospital and other veteran associations throughout Delaware. Delaware veteran Duilio Marcon says “he’d be the first to sign up” if the VA Hospital starts offering the Horses for Heroes program again. The Equestrian Center at Carousel and the VA Hospital hope to continue their partnership in the future.
Check out Devon Kreider’s video on this project done as a part of her internship in WHYY’s Wilmington studios.
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