Horses Helping our Heroes
Utah National Guard Veteran Daniel “Whit” Whitaker mounts his dark bay horse. Using small, effortless motions to guide the animal, Whit and his horse “Chico” make several circles around the arena.
Watching the perfectly paired team, you would think they had been riding together for years, but the two only met a couple hours before their national competition in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“It's like when you're test-driving cars, some of them just feel good. It just felt right,” said Whit, regarding his instant connection with Chico.
Whit has had a connection with horses for most of his life, growing up on his family’s ranch. He joined the Utah National Guard in 2000 as a way to serve but still work on the ranch. When 9-11 happened, he walked away from the farm to focus on the military. Deployments in Iraq and training his fellow soldiers kept him off horseback for nearly a decade, but a trail ride on vacation rekindled his love of horses.
“Probably forgotten more than I knew about horses at that point,” said Whit.
Then while going to school at Utah State University, Whit found the Equine Human Services program.
“They were doing a lot of good work with the VA, with their startup program. And it really appealed to me,” said Whit
A few years into the program, he is now helping his fellow Veterans as a volunteer and sees firsthand the effect equine therapy has on them.
“I see a lot of nerves in the beginning and then usually within an hour or two-- smiles. So yeah, you just watch everybody find a place to relax,” said Whit.
VA Salt Lake City Health Care System collaborates with community partners to provide equine-assisted services to Veterans. If you are interested in learning more about the program, head to Horses Helping Veterans | VA Salt Lake City Health Care | Veterans Affairs .