Ukrainian soldiers reduce stress with equine therapy | Abroad

The company that offers this therapy has developed a special program called ‘Spirit Warrier’. With this initiative, Ukrainian soldiers who have just returned from the front try to reduce their stress. “The soldiers participating in the therapy take a break from the front in Kiev and then return,” says psychologist Ganna Burago.

“They’ve seen a lot of things that might have caused them to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We are not diagnosing here, but their psycho-emotional state is very complicated,” the psychologist continues.

Because the soldiers are surrounded by animals, they can relax and the brain receives other stimuli than just the images from the battlefield.

When the session starts, the soldiers each choose their own animal and then circles are driven with helpers next to them.

Then the soldiers are asked to lie down, take the horses by the neck and pet them. Eventually they learn to take the reins correctly and to trot for a while.

“Today’s session had a calming effect for me. I will see what feelings I will have later in the evening,” said a 51-year-old soldier. “You do exercise and you get a kind of psychological relief from horses.”

The soldiers clearly get new energy from these sessions. “It’s a completely different atmosphere: the contact with the animals, you talk about yourself, you share your emotions, your experiences. It’s very cool and it recharges you for the future,” says soldier Oleg.

“When you’re not at the front, you try to entertain yourself by doing something all the time,” he continues. “If you do anything else, the thoughts and fears of the combat missions don’t haunt you.”