Manna's Hana Veterans Program & the Equicizer

Over five years ago, Manna's Hana Riding Center was just a dream. Today, we are in our seventh year impacting the lives of children with special needs and their families. God has birthed this ministry and I am thankful that I said "yes" to His calling. The horses are amazing with the children and teach them to be patient and kind. 

An Equicizer was recently purchased by Manna's Hana Riding Center in Cookevillle, Tennessee - specifically for their Veterans program - and shortly after receiving it, we were thrilled to get the following feedback, first from their Executive Director and Instructor, Bobbie Abell who shared in detail about their Veterans Program and how their Equicizer will be used:

"In 2017, Manna’s Hana Riding Center expanded our services to include CAMP HANA Program for our Military Veterans and offered Free to our veterans participating in the program. A Grant from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas District of Sparta, Tennessee provided funding to run the program. We had three military veteran volunteers from Manna’s Hana Riding Center and a new veteran become a part of the program which ran for eight weeks. The veterans met at the riding center each week for an hour and a half, ending each meeting with a meal. On the seventh week they went on a trail ride and the bonding became stronger as they shared this experience and a meal afterwards. During this program, I witnessed healing in several of our veterans were sharing over the meals. One veteran wanted to keep coming and help with the horses. Feeling accepted and comfortable at the riding center was one of our goals with the program. Paul Abell, co-founder of Manna’s Hana assists him as they feed the horses each Saturday.

The Equicizer will be used next year to help the veterans experience how it feels to be on a horseas we work on balance, core muscle strength and stamina before they go on a trail ride. We are excited to see what next year brings."

Along with Bobbie's detailed explanation, we received the following testimonial from Paul Abell, co-founder of Manna's Hana and a big part of their program:

"As a veteran without PTSD or a physical injury, I was skeptical about joining the Camp HANA group. I decided to join to see if I could help other veterans. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could and make a difference.

The horses do all the work and make all the difference. It is the interaction of the horse and individual that makes progress possible. Our horses are therapeutic horses and are older, in their 20’s, and we have a weight limit set for them for riders of around 170 lbs. Most of the veterans, so far, have been too heavy to ride so we purchased the Equicizer to help. It allows our veterans to practice mounting and dismounting and actually feeling the simulated movement of a real horse. They get to ride without fear of injury or accident. The Equicizer has been a blessing to all our students, not just the Veterans."

We are excited that the Equicizer is now a part of Manna's Hana Riding Center and look forward to watching their Veterans Program continue to expand with the new addition of their Equicizer!

For more information on Manna's Hana Riding Center, Inc. you can check out their facebook page or visit their website.

by Kayla Jarvinen

www.equicizer.com