Those who own pets know that animals feel emotion and respond accordingly - baring their teeth if they sense aggression or curling up on our laps if they sense melancholy. They also seem to have an innate sense of empathy and can fulfill the role of friend and confidant no matter how one looks or feels.

Horses are no different. They are aware of a rider's apprehension - or control - and respond accordingly. And for a group of Joint Base Lewis-McChord Warrior Transition Battalion soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and orthopedic issues, horses can also help with healing.

In September, seven WTB soldiers started an 8-week equine therapy program at Serenity Farms, an indoor horse arena in Yelm. Sponsored by Rainier Therapeutic Riding, a non-profit organization affiliated with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, the weekly 2-hour training sessions taught the soldiers about horsemanship from the ground up.  They first learned to groom their horse - the soldiers worked with the same horse each week - then progressed to ground work, including rope handling and arena training. They didn't even mount the horse until week five.

The purpose of the RTR program not only is to familiarize soldiers with horses and teach them to ride, but also to teach them to "control (their) emotions and fears in order to work well with the horse," said WTB Public Affairs Assistant Suzanne Ovel.

"Hopefully this carries over into the rest of their lives."

"Horses feel what's going on," said Debbi Fisher, who came up with the idea for the RTR program earlier this year.  "They mirror that back. They can tell that guys are learning. The horse can be reactive. It's the same with the (soldiers). They have PTSD or anxiety and are in a scary situation, but tell themselves, ‘I can think about this and be rational,'" she said.

Monday's meeting, which was the final session of the first RTR course offered, featured the soldiers leading their mounts through a variety of obstacles, including pole weaving, a one-rein stop in a circle, a backing exercise, stopping at a mailbox, and picking up a beanbag from a barrel. The course also helped prepare the soldiers for trail riding, which will be part of an advanced RTR course beginning next week.

Riding a horse provides soldiers with a "sense of accomplishing something they've never done before," said Bob Woelk, RTR executive director. "It gives them confidence," added John Countryman, an RTR volunteer, "and a feeling that they can achieve something and learn new things. It calms them, and they learn to overcome anxiety and can translate that to other situations."

Fisher started RTR after attending a NARHA convention in Texas late last year, where she learned about the Army's Heroes for Horses program.  "It was very clear after the NARHA convention that horses literally gave (soldiers) their lives back," she said.

"There was no way I couldn't go home and not start this program."

But it was Root Beer who was really the catalyst, Fisher said. The 16-year-old chestnut gelding had belonged to Fisher's late husband, Air Force Lt. Col. Randy Fisher, who died in a car accident in 2006. Following his death, "Root Beer needed a job," she said, adding that "Randy would be really proud," of her efforts with RTR and helping soldiers heal. "He was a very giving man and always thought about other people. ... These men put their lives on the line and do that for us. We really need to support them."

Serenity Farms owner Lilly Fletcher donates the use of the facility, and more than 20 RTR volunteers come from as far as Federal Way and Maple Valley each week to help out.

"They've made remarkable progress," Countryman said of the WTB soldiers. "Some have had bad experiences with horses in the past and have increased anxiety. But they've been able to bond with the horses and meet the challenges they've had here."