An Israeli paramedic we’ll call “Avi” did multiple tours of duty in Gaza and Lebanon since October 7, 2023. To keep functioning in horrific combat scenarios without breaking down, he consciously shut down his emotions.

After finishing his service, Avi had difficulty reverting to his optimistic and passionate self until a horse helped him regain hope and trust in humanity.

“During his first equine-assisted therapy session with other reservists, he appeared emotionally numb, untrusting, and detached and demonstrated symptoms of avoidance,” says Anita Shkedi, the legendary British-Israeli therapeutic riding instructor whose latest book is Horses Heal PTSD: Walking New Paths.

“He walked with hunched shoulders and a low head, worrying about his work, the traumas he had witnessed, and the sick and dying,” Shkedi recalls about Avi.

Each weekly session with the horses brought good changes that Avi felt but could not describe. He became more communicative and said he felt more emotionally open and positive.

As Avi’s body released the trauma and learned to move in rhythm with the horse, he bonded with the animal and believed they communicated and comforted each other, Shkedi says. This helped him breathe more deeply, concentrate, and eventually feel optimistic.

“The numbness disappeared,” Shkedi says. “Now he is building resilience to his trauma, and hopefully, through horses, he will learn to manage it in the future.”

Avi is one of 60 combat veterans, 20 Supernova music festival survivors, several paramedics and the parent of a Supernova victim — all severely affected by the events of October 7 — to benefit so far from Shkedi’s new Transcending Trauma initiative.

Brothers of Jonathan

In the 10 years since ISRAEL21c first featured Shkedi and her Israel National Therapeutic Riding Association, this “grandmother of equine therapy” had semi-retired. She was mostly working and lecturing abroad.

After October 7, however, Shkedi returned home and launched Brothers of Jonathan with her daughter-in-law, Shani, in memory of her son Jonathan Boyden, who died from wounds suffered in combat in Lebanon in 1993.

The charity assists soldiers and their families and trauma survivors experiencing early to mid-stage post-trauma symptoms.

In February, Shkedi began Brothers of Jonathan’s first initiative: Transcending Trauma, a free eight-week program located on a kibbutz near Hadera. She spread the word on Facebook and received a $10,000 donation “from a concerned Canadian” who was deeply affected by the events in Israel and recognized the power of Shkedi’s approach.

“We hope that treating a person in the early stages after trauma using an equine-assisted method will prevent chronic PTSD. We know that we are certainly helping people manage their traumatic experiences. We’ve had some excellent results,” says Shkedi.

The positive squashes the negative

One of PTSD’s highly debilitating symptoms is avoidance, she explains. A person might stay in bed or at home to avoid intrusive thoughts and connections with people, places or things that may trigger the trauma.

During the therapeutic sessions, clients gradually attach to the horse, spending three hours focused on brushing, grooming, walking and ultimately riding an animal that’s always “in the moment,” says Shkedi.

“It is difficult to avoid a horse who has read you inside and out and is willing to guide you from your reality to a new reality,” she says.

“The horse drives out negative thoughts racing around the head. The negative gets squashed by the positive. Mindful becomes mindfulness. Positive emotions are emerging. That pain in the chest has moved down through the arms towards the horse, and a sense of freedom comes.”

Attachment to the horse cancels avoidance, she says, and gradually helps rebuilds the trust in humans that was lost after a severe trauma.

“We establish trust through our intuitive thoughts and responses rather than cognitive ones. These moments of non-verbal communication while helping the horse allow the individual to rebuild trust, to see that the horse is gentle yet also strong and reliable. This new reality diminishes the desire to avoid and detach.”

One participant said that “Riding here is like dancing with a partner, letting go and flowing.” Another commented, “Riding here empties my mind of thoughts.”

Moreover, Shkedi adds, the challenge of learning new skills with structure and purpose help people in post-trauma get past the feeling of being stuck, unable to think about the future.

“With the horse … you can’t be stuck. When you’re given a new mission, it allows you to start thinking again.”

Need to expand

Shkedi currently has space for four horses and works with a team including her daughter-in-law Shani, Timna Benn and Nikki Kagan. She’s seeking larger premises to accommodate entire army units straight from the battlefield.

“The reservists we work with have a lot of triggers. In a therapeutic environment, when someone is triggered they can sit quietly and be supported through it in silence. I want to increase our numbers because thousands of people are, unfortunately, in this state.”

Additionally, she is training postgraduate therapeutic riding instructors and healthcare providers to work with people with PTSD using her methods, so that they can carry on after her.

“All of them must give eight free sessions, wherever they are, to this soldier population. We have people from up north in the Golan Heights down to Mitzpeh Ramon and Sde Boker in the south,” she says.

A full eight week session of Transcending Trauma costs $500, although it is free to participants. US-based Good People Fund is running a $7,500 matching fund campaign for Transcending Trauma through December 31. In Israel, donors can contribute through Brothers of Jonathan or IsraelGives.

Originally posted on israel21c.org