There are more than 19 million veterans in the United States, 2.5 million having served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Many of these service members return home wounded, both physically and mentally, resulting in an average of 20 veteran suicides every day. The Weisberg Family Foundation is developing a program in partnership with the Mustang Heritage Foundation that will pair an American Mustang with an American Hero. The program will provide experiential learning opportunities in South Florida to veterans utilizing wild horses with the purpose of helping them to rebuild trust, confidence, courage, and essential life skills for their re-entry into civilian life.
During this 30-day program 5 veterans will:
- Complete Equine Assisted Learning program, Unbridled Power.
- Work with a Trainer on ground based training exercises with an American Mustang gathered by the Bureau of Land Management
At the completion of the program the horses utilized in the program will be available for adoption and the veteran will have the opportunity to keep their horse or receive 50% of the adoption fee to help them begin the next chapter in their life.
The Weisberg Family Foundation is currently offering a matching grant program to initiate the launch of this program. The cost of sponsoring one veteran in this program is $5,000.