LAWTON, Okla. — It is possible to ride the Appaloosas that Ric Jerez uses in his equine assisted therapy, but that’s not how it works. Rather, they help people in distress get better by just being themselves.
In nature, horses are prey and humans are predators. Horses tend to be wary around humans and only let people approach them in a certain way. If a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is handed a halter and a lead rope, and told to pick two horses and bring them in, the horses may not feel like getting caught. That process can be very demanding, and then counselors can ask the vet, “Well, how did that go for you?”
“A lot of times it’s a problem-solving process,” Jerez told The Lawton Constitution.
If a vet is reluctant to open up about the day things went wrong in Baghdad, he might be asked to arrange barrels in a way that reminds him of how things were that day. Then he runs the horses through the barrels, and he can externalize his memories by talking about what happened to the horses. And then he can run the horses through again, but this time making things happen right instead of wrong.
Sometimes vets tell Jerez that, because the horses are always alert and vigilant, they can actually relax because they know the horses are on the job.
Jerez’s program is one of five providers in the state certified by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), but it is the only one in Oklahoma certified for military services. EAGALA is a worldwide organization with a presence in 51 countries, he said.
Jerez was born in Cuba and was around horses as a small child. His family emigrated to the U.S. when he was 5 years old, and he grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. His first job at age 15 was cleaning out the stables at Belmont Park, one of the Triple Crown racetracks. He worked there for three years before Hertz Corporation transferred his father to Santurce, Puerto Rico, and actually graduated from high school there.
This is the 11th year his clinical practice, Open Arms Behavioral Health, has been in business in Lawton. He has 14 counselors working for him. They serve both English- and Spanish-speaking clients. Jerez says that since Open Arms probably does more free services than anybody else in Lawton, it gets a lot of people who are in need.
