3 new horses join Alliance 180 vet therapy program

GALWAY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Away from the hubbub of the Saratoga Race Course sits the Alliance 180 farm in Galway. Their horses aren’t for racing but have a special mission: curtailing veteran suicides! On Monday, the farm announced the addition of three new horses to their program. 

Horses Nitrous Channel, Jigger Inn, and Sweat & Saddle are all a part of Alliance 180s’ special campaign. “22 a day but not today!” said Bob Nevins, Co-Founder and Director of Alliance 180. “22 stands for the number of fellow veterans that take their own lives and this has been going on for years,” Nevins elaborated.

To combat the grim statistic, Nevins said his equine therapy program activates the Polyvagal Theory: a model that explains how the nervous system regulates the body's response to internal and external cues.

“This program teaches an individual — a veteran, first responder — how to communicate at that level with a horse. It causes the horse to want to bond with you for its own safety, but when that happens it's so powerful for an individual who's emotionally flatlined that it triggers this reaction in them and brings their nervous system back into rhythm” the program director continued.

As Nevins will tell you, it's an intimate process: “There's not a lot of talk that goes on, it's between transcending the language barrier between men and nature.”

Melody Squier is Alliance 180's Lead Horse Instructor. Though she isn’t a veteran, she can sympathize with some of their traumas — as a first responder. 

“I really have to hold it together, and say I really have to be the strong person, because the emotions really come for all of us as we're watching this transition happen,” said Squier.“But when they make that initial touch that initial recognition I just get tingles every single time” she continued.

For the instructor, It’s not just about giving the veterans a second chance at life, but outright giving these horses a chance.“A lot of these are not writing horses so I really want to give them an opportunity” Squier added.

NEWS10 is told the program is free of cost to eliminate any barriers between veterans and care. The program is also being extended to first responders. For information on how you can become a patient or even help out, CLICK HERE.