We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization

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Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness

for veterans, active-duty personnel, first responders and/or their immediate family and caregivers

Learn More

Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness

for veterans, active-duty personnel, first responders and/or their immediate family and caregivers

Learn More

Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness

Mental, physical or emotional trauma can interfere with life

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

Founded in 2018, Guiding Reins offers Veterans, First Responders and their families group sessions

throughout the year.

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

Horses are highly attuned to the environment around them & the emotions of their human companions.

12 weeks that could change your life. Come as you are.

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

12 weeks that could change your life. Come as you are.

Mental health equine-assisted wellness activities and learning meets

participants where they are to provide a path to wellness.

Despite It All

Despite all the sleepless nights

Despite the constant lack of energy and motivation

Despite his hatred towards a world of judgment and lack of understanding

Despite all the plaster that filled every hole he punched in the walls at home

Despite all the tears his wife wiped from his face

Despite knowing that every tear was part of a memory that he could touch

Despite knowing that inside of him dwells many demons that he struggles to keep hidden from the world

Despite all the angry outburst, the pills abused, and the alcohol consumed

Despite constantly tripping though remember when

Despite all the chaos that life had thrown at him

He knew, in what was left of his broken heart that had seen the true evil of the world, that when he pressed his chest against his horse and matched his horses breathing, that inner peace and the ability to love was somewhere still inside of him.

He knew that as his hands gently touched the side of his horse that somewhere inside of him was a soul that he thought was forever gone.

And he truly knew that in the end it would be okay.

And if its not okay, then it’s not the end.

by Red Palmer, US Army and North Carolina Sheriff Veteran, Guiding Reins Graduate

In the News

Spirit of the Spartan Award

Improving Lives: Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness Programs

Guiding Reins received the Spartan Award in November 2023

Improving Lives: Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness Programs

Read the full article about Guiding Reins in the Nov. 2022 issue of Life in our Foothills, pg. 20

How Horses are Helping Veterans Recover

As seen on FOX Carolina May 17, 2022

Watch the Story

Guiding Reins In Action

How Horses are Helping Veterans Recover

We’ve never met a strong person with an easy past.

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Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness

Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness

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Mental Health Equine-Assisted Wellness

Mental, physical or emotional trauma can interfere with life

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

12 weeks that could change your life. Come as you are.

Life-changing gifts provided through activities, learning and psychotherapy.

12 weeks that could change your life. Come as you are.