Wyoming's Wild Horses And Military Veterans Ease Each Others’ PTSD

Most humans spend a lot of time thinking about the past and worrying about the future. But for a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the percentage of brain power that’s devoted to that task becomes all-consuming. To the point it becomes hard to function at all.

“I wasn’t sleeping, Wyoming veteran Kelly Alexander told Cowboy State Daily. “They were juicing me up with narcotics that were too strong for me. And, nothing against the VA, they’re only doing what they’re trained to do. But on my end, it was really bad. Things were pretty dark.”

Alexander is an Army veteran with 20 years of service, including tours of duty in Afghanistan, who now lives near Lusk. After he was diagnosed with PTSD, he tried everything the VA had to offer. That included programs about “being present and grounded” as well as medications to help with anxiety.

But his big breakthrough didn’t come from a VA program at all. 

It came from a horse.

And not just any horse. A wild horse. A horse that had never trusted a human in its very young life.

Alexander met this spirited horse down in Texas as part of an eight-week program to pair mustangs with veterans and teach them both to simmer down. 

The program is the only one like it that Alexander had been able to find, and today, it no longer exists. 

But it helped him so much, he’s been recreating his own version in Wyoming. It’s called Operation Remount Corp., and it is coming to life on a ranch he and his wife Karen, bought in the tiny town of Jay Em, with a population of 12 people, not too far from Lusk.

Why Wild Horses Are Extraordinary Teachers

The story of how Alexander came to Wyoming is a bit like a wild horse ride in and of itself, with lots of twists and turns, and even the occasional wreck, too, where the rider ends up on the ground wondering what just happened.

“Fortunately, when (my horse) did have a wreck, he didn’t have it on top of me,” Alexander recalled, chuckling at himself a little bit. 

Alexander and Ndy (pronounced Indy) don’t have wrecks anymore. But Alexander will never forget meeting Ndy for the first time. The 2-year-old was a wildling from the Pancake Herd Management Area outside of Ely, Nevada.

“He was this very reactive horse,” Alexander said. “And I’m thinking like, ‘Oh great, they gave me the one who reacts to everything.’”

But Alexander was wrong about all that. As his horse would soon teach him. 

His horse was really just reflecting back the emotions his owner was bringing to the ring. For the horse’s sake, Alexander had to learn a brand-new skill. One he had already sworn was impossible.

He had to learn to put off worries about bad phone calls and his questionable future and everything else that was on his mind — no matter how badly it was bothering him. 

The fact that he could actually do that was the first of many “aha” moments he learned from a horse he says has been the best teacher of all. 

“When I figured out that I could compartmentalize, that I could leave things over there, and stay in the moment, things got a lot smoother for he and I,” Alexander said. “And that was a fantastic event for me. I tell you the truth, I didn’t even think it was possible beforehand.”

How Wyoming Brought It All Together

After his program in Texas ended, Alexander couldn’t quit thinking about how much Ndy had taught him, and how much it had helped his life. He knew that he wanted to do something similar for other veterans like himself who were struggling, and who weren’t finding the help they needed with existing VA programs.

Not that those programs are bad, Alexander added. It’s just that they don’t connect for everyone. 

Alexander and his wife kicked around lots of ideas. But it all came down to one big insurmountable problem. They’d need space suitable for horses — a ranch of some kind. 

And that was cost prohibitive in and of itself.

It wasn’t until the couple moved to Wyoming, landing in Lusk for Karen’s job as a nurse practitioner, that things finally started coming together for Alexander’s idea.

On her way home one day, Karen happened to notice a little for-sale sign that was new.

It turned out to be a ranch that not only had everything the couple would need, but was available for a price they could afford. 

It was like some kind of miracle.

“I keep saying that God had his hand in it,” Karen said. “We were fortunate. We have almost 300 acres here.”

Three hundred acres that visiting veterans have described as serene and peaceful. There’s even a fishing pond, along with a barn, and plenty of space for other animals like sheep and goats.

Best of all, though, the couple has plenty of growing room for the future, which is wonderful because demand for their program, which they have named Operation Remount, is already growing. 

As word has gotten out, they’ve hosted veterans from all over America in Wyoming at their ranch. Florida, Arkansas, Texas, and more. 

The couple are already looking at building a barn that will allow them to offer their program inside during winter months. That way they can expand the number of veterans they serve with this one-of-a-kind, hands-on program.

The Three Strikers

Another aspect of Alexander’s program is how he pairs veterans with the horses known as three-strikers. These are wild mustangs who have been through three adoption events and failed, for whatever reason, to attract a buyer.

Alexander takes each new crop of five to six veterans out to Nebraska a couple of weeks before their program starts, so they can interact with the latest crop of horses who have uncertain futures. 

“What you’ll see is horses come up because they’re curious, and they’ll be curious for a little bit,” Alexander said. “Then, they’ll turn and walk away.”

These “Looky-Loos” are not the horses that Alexander wants. He wants the horses that stick around past idle curiosity. That’s the clue there’s magic happening that will be good for both horse and prospective new owner.

“You can see it when it happens,” Alexander said. “That horse is choosing that person. So that’s what we do there, and it gets them a really good first step going into their six weeks.”

Horses Can Hear Your Heart Beating

The difference it makes for a veteran suffering from PTSD is undeniable, veteran Meghan Ross of Florida told Cowboy State Daily. She came back home from deployments in Iraq with debilitating anxiety from PTSD. It was so bad, it was making it hard for her to function in daily life.

But Ross found a lifeline through Operation Remount with a horse she has named Joker. She chose that name because it captures the horse’s funny and lovable temperament, but also because she had pet dogs whose names were Ace and King. 

“I wanted to keep that card theme going,” she said. “And Joker is a wild card, so (it goes with) wild mustang.”

Horses, she learned from Alexander’s program are simply amazing.

“They can feel your heart rate from I forget what the number is but it’s very far away,” she said. “They can hear your breath and they’re very in tune to the smell of you and everything around them.”

Experts came in to talk about staying in the moment while with a horse, so that things go well, and Ross is still practicing those techniques with her horse every day.

“They had someone come out to show us aroma therapy and I guess you call it body work — massage on the horse,” she said. “And that was pretty cool. It was just this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it really helped a lot.”

Every day is still a challenge, she added, but working with her horse, practicing every day all the techniques she learned in Wyoming, has been helping her overcome that. 

Expanding Their Reach

Alexander’s program has not just been attracting more veterans of late. The 501C3 is also attracting new support. 

Most recently, money from the estate of B.J. Shepperson’s dad. Shepperson was a marine sniper from Douglas, who returned home from Afghanistan and ultimately died of self-inflicted injuries.

When Shepperson’s dad passed away, he had decided he wanted some of his money to go to a program that would help veterans like his son.

“It was too late for his son, but he wanted to help others,” Karen said. “So, they donated some of his estate money to us.”

That money has just recently funded a new cabin for veterans to stay in when they come to Wyoming for the wild mustang program. The Alexanders plan an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. April 26 at their ranch on 12080 U.S. Highway 85 in Jay Em. Speakers will include Shepperson’s brother, who will help dedicate the cabin built in his brother’s honor. 

“We named the cabin after (B.J.), and there’s a picture of him hanging up in the cabin, along with a couple of photographs and his story,” Karen said. “And it has his HOG tooth.”

A HOG tooth is a 30-caliber bullet given to marines who have graduated from Scout/Sniper school. The initials stand for Hunter of Gunmen. 

The tradition stems from an old military superstition that every sniper has a bullet destined to end their life. Until that happens, they’re invincible. 

By earning the title of Scout Sniper and receiving their own HOG bullet, though, they have taken steps to control their destiny. Steps that have neutralized that bullet with their name on it.

It’s a concept that pairs well with the whole concept of Operation Remount, dedicated to helping the veterans who have served America regain control of their lives and their destinies once again. 

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.