CLEARWATER, Fla. — You've heard of therapy dogs?
But what about therapy horses.
- Melissa Yarbrough, founder of Inspire Equine Therapy in Clearwater
- Inspire Equine Therapy
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Inspire Equine Therapy in Clearwater pairs veterans and horses to help fight Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Groups of veterans gathering with beautiful horses was the brainchild of Melissa Yarbrough, Inspire's founder and the executive director, who also is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Yarbrough said the mission of the organization is to improve the lives of the individuals and disabled vets through therapeutic horse riding and other equine-related programs.
Some of the the other programs include carriage driving and caring for the horses with bruising and combing in the stables.
With a Clydesdale named Freedom and a Gypsy Vanner named Leo, among others, the program has plenty of animals to match a variety of vets in need.
Yarbrough added that with support from her community, she and her volunteers can carry out their mission to care for horses, as well as people.
"I'm just here to help every individual," she said. "I just want to give back. That's my calling. I just like to give back."