For many veterans, adjusting to life after service can be a challenge. But at Eagle Mount Great Falls, surrounded by open space and gentle giants, healing happens through connection rather than words.
Eagle Mount Great Falls hosts an ongoing program called “Veteran Grooming Days," where veterans are invited to groom horses as part of a therapeutic experience.
"Veterans get to come out. We get one of the horses out of their pens. Bring them in. Get to groom them. Lead them around, work on just some ground skills activities and just get to spend time with them as well as fellow veterans," said Morgan King, equine program coordinator at Eagle Mount Great Falls.
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King, who has always had an interest in veteran programs, developed the idea alongside her veteran coworker Joe Stalzer, as a way to serve the veteran community.
"We live in a veteran community, so we wanted to be able to touch those individuals," King said.
For Stalzer, who serves as program coordinator, the experience offers personal benefits.
"Personally, I found this time to be very therapeutic and just really nice time to bond with the animals and kind of get to know each one of them," Stalzer said.
The connection between horses and humans runs deep. Horses can sense a person's emotions from 50 feet away and mirror what they're feeling.
"Horses are great partners for emotional healing because they mirror us so much," Stalzer said. "They can express exactly what they're thinking, what you're thinking."
For veteran Caren Grout, a peer support specialist at the Great Falls VA, the horses provide communication without words.
"There's communication going from heart to heart or eyes to heart. They take on kind of how we are. It allows you to be aware of what's going on inside yourself," Grout said.
The program currently serves one to three veterans, but organizers hope to expand participation.
"We would love to see those numbers grow. But just getting the word out into the community, and hopefully that helps other veterans grasp that 'Hey, this is a really cool thing to come do,'" King said.
Stalzer emphasized the program's impact on personal development.
"It's a really good time to be able to learn about yourself, learn about your emotions, how to express them, or how to control them. Handle, you know, some of those fears. The personal growth side of it with the animals has been a pretty big impact for me," Stalzer said.
The program is currently running until the end of October on Tuesdays from 9 to 10 a.m. Organizers plan to continue offering it after this month. Veterans are encouraged to follow Eagle Mount's social media for updated dates.
You can also contact them directly at 406-771-4829 or Morgan.eaglemountgf@gmail.com, or by visiting the website.
This news story has been lightly edited for online publication with the assistance of AI for clarity, syntax, and grammar.
