BERNARDSTON — Therapeutic riding wasn’t the kind of treatment that Northfield resident and military veteran Guy Gilbert expected to use for his post-traumatic stress disorder — until he met the horse.

Gilbert met Logan, an American quarter horse involved in the Courageous Strides Therapeutic Riding Program at Stoney B Acres, when he joined in April.

“He just walked over to me and I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is my guy,’” Gilbert recounted. “I fell in love with Logan the very first day.”

Gilbert is one of nine participants who joined Courageous Strides in the spring. Deb Gordon, president and instructor at Courageous Strides, described the program, which was founded in 2019 and is offered from April to November each year, as an “opportunity for individuals to be able to tap into their identity through the use of a horse.”

Lessons are taught either once or twice a week. During this time, students learn how to bond with the animals on an emotional level while simultaneously learning basic horsemanship such as grooming, haltering and bridling. Learning these skills is supposed to help students improve their everyday life outside of the stables, Gordon explained.

“Whether this be to communicate with their spouse, create confidence within themselves or become a better leader at work, or in their family, those lessons that their horses teach help them find their identity,” Gordon said.

Gilbert said he feels good about returning to the program in the spring, and he’s not the only one.

South Deerfield resident Karen Podlesney began her journey with Courageous Strides in April to help with her anxiety and depression.

“Mentally, I feel like it’s made me stronger and more confident,” Podlesney said. “I have a love of animals and I thought adding that to the mix would be a little extra than just therapy.”

Foxy was the horse Podlesney chose when she first joined the program seven months ago, and their bond is as strong as ever.

“[Foxy] is just calm and has just been very healing to this woman,” Gordon said about Podlesney. “Foxy trusts her and there’s no doubt that Karen trusts Foxy.”

Foxy experienced trauma of her own before becoming one of the program’s therapy horses. She’s recovered now, though the chestnut mare bears a noticeable scar on her right front leg from an encounter with barbed wire.

After her recovery, Foxy was trained last winter as a therapy horse for Courageous Strides. Since the spring, she has been “thriving” with Podlesney, Gordon said.

Foxy and Logan are the primary horses in the program, but there’s also Jackson and Pete, who are the backup horses in case the others are unavailable.

The cost to participate in Courageous Strides is $55 per lesson, $220 for four once-a-week lessons or $440 for two lessons per week for four weeks. The program also offers scholarships that are funded through donations, allowing all participants to receive 50% off scholarships.

“The vision is to be able to offer 100%,” Gordon said of the scholarships. “This program is not just people coming in and riding a horse, the people coming in experienced something very traumatic. ... Horses can allow you to feel that emotion and when you allow yourself to peel down those layers, they can speak to you.”

Donations can be made and more details found on Courageous Strides’ website at courageous-strides.org.