Veterans with PTSD in a Rutgers pilot study, including U.S. Army Lt. Colonel Eric "Moose" Petrevich (at right), found working with horses eased their symptoms. Equine specialist Jane Burrows (left) of Special Strides coaches Lt. Col. Petrevich with a specially trained horse. Petrevich wears an electromyography sensor that measures stress. Credit: Kyle Hartmann/Rutgers Equine Science Center A study by Rutgers University-New Brunswick researchers has shown that military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), who participated in a program caring for horses, experienced an improved mental outlook and easing of symptoms. The work is published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry .

Reporting results of the study in the journal Frontiers of Psychiatry, researchers said the insights could open the door to a new approach in mental health treatment for veterans, as many currently drop out of conventional therapy programs even though they have been shown to be effective.

"When I think about what our veterans with PTSD struggle with, the results make sense," said Andrea Quinn, an author of the study and assistant director of the Center for Psychological Services in the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP).

Veterans with PTSD often dwell in the past, she said, and exhibit a hypervigilance to what is going on around them and what might be coming.

"In the study, the veterans had to perform tasks requiring them to be very much in the moment," Quinn said. "They were keeping themselves calm, and centering on the activity that was right in front of them—talking with the horses , brushing them, leading them. This kind of present-moment focus is a skill that can be developed and may help the symptoms of PTSD to feel more manageable."

Ellen Rankins, the first author on the paper and a doctoral student at the time, worked closely with the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Rankins recruited nine veterans to the study, all of whom had served in combat. Six were monitored as they engaged in equine-assisted activity, a horsemanship program where professionals guide people through activities with horses to enhance human physical and mental health.

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Horse-caring helps veterans with PTSD