"I was very close to becoming one of the 20. It was a last ditch for me, I tried everything else,"
"I didn't know what else to do. I showed up for my first lesson and I'm lucky enough that I'm riding ... [draft stallion] Beau."
"[Beau] is the best listener: He's seen me through bad 911 calls ... and dealing with things from the military, and he doesn't care,"
"Horses have a way of reaching people in moments when words fall short."
More than a dozen former military members will ride 20 miles on horseback through Manhattan in the seventh-annual Trail to Zero, organized by equine-therapy nonprofit BraveHearts. The route travels from Ground Zero to Times Square and Central Park and returns to One World Trade Center. The event highlights that roughly 20 veterans die by suicide each day and showcases equine-assisted therapy as an effective intervention. Veteran and first responder Brandon Spandet credits his draft stallion Beau with saving his life and helping him manage military and emergency-response trauma. Horses serve as nonjudgmental listeners and emotional mirrors, prompting community conversations about mental health.
Read at New York Post
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