The History of Equine Therapy ~ By Michelle Shocklee

 

My latest novel, All We Thought We Knew, is set on a Tennessee horse farm during World War II and the Vietnam War. Researching wartime is always sobering. So many soldiers never make it home. So many come home changed--physically, spiritually, and mentally. Because one of the characters in the book is a wounded Vietnam warrior, I spent a lot of time reading about various programs created to help soldiers deal with everything they experienced during the war and everything they must face after they come home. 

One of the most fascinating programs is Equine Assisted Therapy. ETA can be used to treat a variety of conditions, including anxiety, autism, cerebral palsy, dementia, depression, developmental delay, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and physical and mental conditions. It is also used for PTSD, loss of limbs, and other debilitating issues soldiers face when they return from war. After reading about the benefits to wounded warriors, I knew I wanted to include some type of horse therapy in the book, especially because I have some experience with it firsthand.

From Verywellmind.com

Many years ago I worked for an older couple in their home. Mr. and Mrs. B were retired and enjoying life when Mr. B suffered a stroke. I had the privilege of helping him with his speech and physical therapy during his recovery, but I also took him to equine assisted therapy appointments. There, I was able to observe how horses and people with disabilities or various issues interact with the horses. It truly is beautiful. 

But how has equine therapy come about and how has it evolved through the centuries? 

Me with some of our horses

Horses have been utilized as a therapeutic aid since the ancient Greeks used them for people with incurable illnesses. Some of the earliest recorded mentions of using horses in this way can be found in the writings of the Greek physician Hippocrates who discussed the therapeutic value of riding as early as 400 BC. Benefits of therapeutic riding were also recorded in 17th century literature where it is documented that it was prescribed for gout, neurological disorder, and low morale. In 1946 Equine Therapy was introduced in Scandinavia after an outbreak of poliomyelitis, or polio.

The type of horse therapy we see today had its beginnings in the 1950s. A Danish woman, Lis Hartel, won the silver medal in dressage in the 1952 Olympic Games. The reason this captured the world's attention is because Lis was paralysed. In 1944, Lis, then a 23-year-old pregnant mother, contracted polio and lost function of her legs. Gradually she reactivated most of her muscles, although she remained paralysed below the knees. After three years of rehabilitation, she was able to compete in the Scandinavian riding championships and finished second in women's dressage.

Lis Hartel,(Photo by Terry Fincher/Keystone/Getty Images)

Soon after, therapists in countries such as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland began to increasingly pair therapeutic riding with physical therapy treatment to inspire lasting neuromuscular changes in their patients. Word of this type of therapy spread. By the 1980s, American and Canadian therapists traveled to Germany to learn about it and bring it back to the USA. The American Hippotherapy Association (AHA) began in 1992, and the popularity and use of this type of therapy has grown.

Today, there are different types of equine therapy. Therapeutic Horseback Riding is used by disabled people who ride horses to relax, develop muscle tone, coordination, confidence, and overall well-being. Hippotherapy, which is the type of therapy Mr. B did, is an intervention used by a physical therapist, occupational therapist, recreational therapist, or speech and language pathologist and is also focused on people with physical disabilities. While therapeutic riding is mostly recreational with some clinical benefits, hippotherapy is mostly clinical with some recreational benefits. Equine Assisted Learning can be helpful for anyone with any sort of issue, and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy includes a therapy component so that the individual may reflect upon and further process his or her experiences with the horse. Through grooming, feeding, ground exercises, and riding, clients learn about themselves and others, and works with a therapist to discuss their feelings about working with horses. 

Your turn: Have you heard of equine therapy or know someone who has used it?

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including   Appalachian Song, a Christy Award Finalist; Count the Nights by Stars, winner of the Christianity Today Book Award; and Under the Tulip Tree, a Christy Award and Selah Award finalist. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two sons and mother-in-law to two beautiful daughters, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online  at www.MichelleShocklee.com

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

1942
Ava must put her life back together after her husband is killed at Pearl Harbor. A job at Camp Forrest provides income, but it also puts her in contact with Enemy Aliens interned on the military installation. Can she trust the German medical student whose friendship means more to her than it should?

1969
Mattie ran away from the pain when her brother was killed in Vietnam. Now she’s back in Tullahoma facing another devastating loss. Yet it is the bundle of WWII letters Mama insists she reads that makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

https://www.tyndale.com/p/all-we-thought-we-knew/9781496484178

Christmas in Vietnam During the War ~ By Michelle Shocklee

 

I was a young girl in the 1960s and 70s when the war in Vietnam took place. My brother and sister-in-law were in the Army at the time, but thankfully neither had to go overseas. Yet even though my family wasn't personally impacted by having a soldier in harms way, many, many families were. 

In my new novel, ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW, the Taylor family is one of the families who would never be the same once the fighting came to an end. The book, an historical split-time story, is set on the Tennessee homefront during World War II and the Vietnam War. It begins just before Thanksgiving and ends on Christmas Day. While I worked on the novel, I came across dozens of photographs of soldiers, some during the holidays. At times I found myself in tears, thinking about how hard those days must have been for the soldier as well as their family. Holidays were particularly difficult for families who'd lost a soldier in the war. It was also hard on the soldier, far, far away from home, missing their loved ones. 

Today, I want to honor those brave men and women by sharing, in pictures with few words, what Christmas was like for them. 

Vietnam, December 25, 1967
US soldiers resting on Hill 875 against bombed forests after the fierce battle of Đắk Tô.
Over 1,600 soldiers were killed and 2,000+ were wounded in the battle.

Vietnam 1969
US soldiers erect a Christmas tree in a trench.

Vietnam,  December 25, 1967
Soldiers from the 9th Infantry Division, William Dowell and Ronald Hull,
observe a 24-hour Christmas truce. However, at the end of the period,
the US recorded 40 casualties and 78 injuries.

1967 Vietnam
Merry Christmas from the 22nd Infantry Regiment, nickname "Boonies" 

Vietnam, Christmas 1970

"Santa" with some wounded warriors.

There are still many brave men and women serving in our military today, some stationed overseas, far away from their loved ones. This holiday season, let's remember to keep them in our prayers. 

Your turn: If you feel led, please write a brief prayer for our military personnel in the comments. 

May you and yours have a very blessed Christmas!

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including   Appalachian Song, a 2024 Christy Award Finalist; Count the Nights by Stars, winner of the Christianity Today Book Award; and Under the Tulip Tree, a Christy Award and Selah Award finalist. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two sons and mother-in-law to two beautiful daughters, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online  at www.MichelleShocklee.com

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

1942
Ava must put her life back together after her husband is killed at Pearl Harbor. A job at Camp Forrest provides income, but it also puts her in contact with Enemy Aliens interned on the military installation. Can she trust the German medical student whose friendship means more to her than it should?

1969
Mattie ran away from the pain when her brother was killed in Vietnam. Now she’s back in Tullahoma facing another devastating loss. Yet it is the bundle of WWII letters Mama insists she reads that makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

https://www.tyndale.com/p/all-we-thought-we-knew/9781496484178

Tullahoma, Tennessee: An Important Town You May Have Never Heard Of ~ by Michelle Shocklee

Unless you're from Tennessee, you may have never heard of a small town an hour south of Nashville called Tullahoma. I sure hadn't. Unbeknownst to me, Tullahoma played a significant role during World War II as well as the Civil War. The town today is charming and the people friendly, and it just so happens to be the setting of my new novel, All We Thoughts We Knew. Let me take you on a journey to Middle Tennessee and visit this little town that became an important stop during two wars.

Nashville & Chattanooga passenger depot, Tullahoma, TN 

The area where Tullahoma is located was occupied by various Native American people. Streams, waterfalls, and plentiful wildlife made it an ideal place to live. After Tennessee obtained statehood in 1796, white settlers began to migrate to the area. 

In the early 1850s, a railroad camp was created for men employed by the Nashville & Chattanooga railroad company. A brand new rail line was being built that would connect Nashville to middle Tennessee. It isn't unreasonable to say that the railroad created Tullahoma. The town was chartered in 1852 and continued to grow. The earliest settlement was by farmers from Virginia and North Carolina. Using slave labor, they developed plantations for tobacco and hemp.

By Hal Jespersen at en.wikipedia - Own work by Hal Jespersen
based on File:Braxton Bragg.jpg & File:GenWmSRosecrans.jpg.

When the Civil War began in April 1861, Company B, 1st Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers, was formed in Tullahoma. It joined General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. In 1863, Tullahoma served as the headquarters for the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The selection of Tullahoma as a headquarters by Confederate General Braxton Bragg has been much criticized by military historians. Although the location was strategic with regard to the road and rail network, it had no strong natural defenses. Bragg did little to fortify it while his forces occupied the area--a mistake he would regret. From June 24 to July 3, 1863, the Union Army, led by Maj. Gen. William Rosecans, began an operation now known as the Tullahoma campaign, effectively forcing the Confederates to abandon Tullahoma. It would remain under Union control throughout the war. 

Cline Photo Co., Chattanooga. Tenn. "Tichnor Quality Views," Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Made Only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass. -
Boston Public Library Tichnor Brothers collection #69994, Public Domain, 

In the late 1930s and early 40s, with fighting erupting all over Europe, the US military quietly began to prepare for war. Despite many Americans who strongly believed we should stay out of the fight, President Roosevelt and military leaders wisely realized that wasn't realistic. Tullahoma, a town of about 4,500 people in 1940, would become home to one of the largest military installations -- Camp Forrest -- eventually causing the town's population to swell to 75,000 by the end of the war. I'll share more details about Camp Forrest next month, but suffice it to say the camp was instrumental in training troops as well as caring for the wounded throughout the war. One of the most fascinating facts I learned about it, however, is that German POWs and German Enemy Aliens were housed there throughout the war. 

So that's the story of little ol' Tullahoma, Tennessee. With my new book set there, I've spent a lot of time in this quaint town recently. After the war ended, the population shrunk, and it's now home to about 20,000 people. If you're ever in the area, I encourage you to stop for a visit. 

 

Your turn: Is there a town in your area that played an important role in history, yet most people are unaware of it?

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including Count the Nights by Stars, winner of the Christianity Today Book Award, and Under the Tulip Tree, a Christy Awards and Selah Awards finalist. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two sons and mother-in-law to two beautiful daughters, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online  at www.MichelleShocklee.com

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

Releases October 1, 2024

1942
Ava must put her life back together after her husband is killed at Pearl Harbor. A job at Camp Forrest provides income, but it also puts her in contact with Enemy Aliens interned on the military installation. Can she trust the German medical student whose friendship means more to her than it should?

1969
Mattie ran away from the pain when her brother was killed in Vietnam. Now she’s back in Tullahoma facing another devastating loss. Yet it is the bundle of WWII letters Mama insists she reads that makes her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

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