NEW YORK: Old race horses are being rehabilitated at the same time as injured members of the armed services giving both a new lease on life.
A former mounted police officer who has worked with horses for 25 years, Scott Brodie’s racehorses have also helped rehabilitate prisoners and damaged soldiers.
He runs a three-year-old program to rehabilitate former racehorses – some valuable winners, some losers and some that never showed enough promise to make the track. He uses natural horsemanship, which was popularized as “horse whispering”, to teach horses a language.
He has now crossed over to address human needs. Max Streeter had post-traumatic stress disorder. He felt without a future until he completed a week-long rehabilitation program organised for damaged soldiers using horses from Mr Brodie’s stables.
“These horses come off the track and no one wants to know them, and veterans come back and no one wants to know them,” said Mr Streeter.
After buying a horse of his own called Matilda, and completing the course, Mr Streeter said he had regained a sense of identity…