Photo By Sgt. Marcus Floyd | Bobby Hoops (left), a retired Army sergeant first class diagnosed with post traumatic...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas - While deployed, he was on the road for 10 days driving from Kuwait to Iraq. He endured attacks from improvised explosive devices, mortars, sniper fire and small arms fire. Now, retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Bobby Hoops, a former motor transport operator, hangs his head low as he recounts a deployment he considers “one of the worst for truck drivers.”
After returning, Bobby was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, something he will carry for a lifetime. However, the effect the deployment had on Bobby’s son weighs more.
“It was difficult not being able to see the old dad I was used to,” said Roger Flores-Hoops. “I was staying up all night waiting for him to get home and just giving him that hug.”
After his father’s return from Kuwait, Roger was diagnosed with secondary PTSD. However, with the help of equine therapy, Roger and his father are fixing their relationship.
Secondary PTSD occurs when one member of a family goes through a traumatic experience resulting in PTSD, and, after returning from the experience, the family is forced to change their whole lives in response to that experience.
For example, the stories a person with PTSD tells can unintentionally result in nightmares in another person, said Bill Shelnutt, the director of religious education at the Spiritual Fitness Center on Fort Hood, Texas.
“All of us want to be healthy, and part of that is talking with other people,” said Shelnutt. “But other people, particularly our loved ones, are not available, willing or responsive enough in order to interpret what’s going on and provide some kind of mechanism for healing.”
For Roger, his father’s actions after returning from Kuwait, and his mother’s reactions, led to his diagnosis.
“I’d get really frustrated and just lash out, or I would run away to the corner of my street or the roof of my house and just sit there for hours,” said Roger.
Before Bobby could find help, he was diagnosed with complex PTSD. Unlike traditional PTSD, which develops after one traumatic event, complex PTSD stems from multiple events, one right after another, for a period of time.
One event Bobby remembers vividly is from his time on the road in Iraq, and the truck in front of him caught on fire. Responding quickly, he went to dismount with a fire extinguisher and weapon, but something happened.
Bobby isn’t certain exactly what happened, he suspects it was an IED attack, but it knocked him on his back resulting in a back injury.
Left to deal with the nightmares and sleepless nights, Bobby received a “cocktail” of medication, but it wasn’t enough.
“I lost all hope, and I didn’t have any direction,” said Bobby, who was medically retired due to PTSD and a traumatic brain injury. “I was hurting, and I considered suicide a couple of times.”
Eventually Bobby found help.
At a chaplain’s meeting held on Fort Hood, Bobby met Donna Otabachian, the executive director of Star Healing with Horses ranch. Otabachian expressed her need for a ranch hand and Bobby volunteered.
“I have always had a need to stay busy,” said Bobby. “I found out there was a lot for me and my son to do out here, and it’s been healing for us.”
At SHWH, the therapists use a different kind of equine therapy where they are predominantly on the ground with the horses, said Otabachian. In addition, the horses are unbroken to preserve the full spirit of the horse.
“I’ve been around horses all my life, and all my life I wanted to share the happiness of animals with other people and we’re here now in the vicinity of Fort Hood so we can share our horses with the military families,” said Otabachian, who was raised in a military family. “Our main focus is TBI. We’ve also worked with attachment disorders, and PTSD.”
Using predominantly Arabian horses, the therapists talk with the individual to assess their needs. Then a series of activities are created for the individual or family lasting about 20 sessions or potentially longer.
During the sessions, Otabachian and the other therapist utilize a technique called the herding method. The herd of the horse tells us a lot about the dynamics of certain groups, said Otabachian. Essentially, the horses mirror the emotions of humans through their intuitiveness. From the information received from the herding method, the therapist is then able to put together exercises for the client and horse to do together.
“It’s an amazing relationship to watch, especially when you have a child who feels broken or alone and they bond with the horse; you can see the mending,” said Jo Newton, an equine therapist at the SHWH ranch who predominantly works with children. “The bond between them is a gift to see, and it energizes me when I get to see it.”
A major part of the equine therapy done at the SHWH ranch, is putting the children in an environment they are not familiar with.
“I often hear kids saying they can concentrate or think out here,” said Newton, who is the daughter of a service member and the wife of a Soldier who served in Desert Storm. “It involves taking them out of their comfort zone so they become very vulnerable.”
For Roger, venturing out of his comfort zones involves overcoming his fear of horses in order to spend more time with his father.
“I get to see the old dad that I used to know,” said Roger. “I still love my dad.”
However, for Bobby, the program has given him more than just a better relationship with his son. It’s given him a new beginning.
“He [Roger] plays video games and I work on the computer, but we weren’t really talking,” said Bobby. “I guess we’ve talked more in the last three nights than we’ve have talked since I got back. I still have my struggles. However it was enlightening for me to consider there was healing available. I cry when my son says, ‘Just look at him now.’ He’s remembering dad before the deployment, then dad after the deployment, and finally the here and now. He’s seeing a new beginning.”
| Date Taken: | 07.18.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2014 12:13 |
| Story ID: | 136526 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Healing Soldiers with Horses, by SGT Marcus Floyd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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