“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”

Winston Churchill

NIOBRARA: This is how Kelly Alexander felt after the first time that he attended a therapy workshop with a mustang in Texas. Alexander still has his mustang, whose official name is Pioneer Endeavor (nicknamed Endy), from that workshop today. He often spends time with Endy.

Alexander had had a plan to would retire from the United States Army after serving 25-years. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, he only made it to 22 years. Alexander had served in the US Army and the US Army National Guard. He served in multiple deployments, including both Iraq and Afghanistan.

After the workshop in Texas, Alexander was inspired to start a program that involved mustangs for servicemen and first responders. It was his goal to use the mustangs as a therapeutic tool for men and women who had suffered a variety of stressful events. This was to help them with their anxieties and facilitate healing.

“At the time, I didn’t have a purpose. But, after being with the mustang, I had an ‘aha’ moment,” said Alexander.

Operation Remount Corporation (ORC) became a reality in 2021 as a nonprofit organization. Neither Alexander nor his wife Karen had any experience with horses, but throughout the years, they have gained more knowledge about how to work with the mustangs. Both Alexander and his wife Karen host two six-week programs a year, only taking on four people at a time. They use their home and a cabin where they can stay. They also include three meals a day and they use mustangs that they acquire from various agencies across the state.

Alexander’s wife is Karen Alexander, who is a Family Nurse Practitioner at the Niobrara Community Hospital in Lusk. She helped her husband make the program possible. Karen works as the secretary for ORC and she manages the social media and community outreach.

According to Alexander, after the workshop, he thought such experiences would be a great way for servicemen and first responders to calm down.

“We use horses, but more specifically we use mustangs for several reasons. They are reactive to their environment. Their sense of fight or flight is prevalent because they are herd animals and they haven’t been around humans except when the bad things happen,” Alexander said.

According to Alexander, horses can feel a person’s heartbeat from 40-feet away.

“What they are hearing is a person’s heartbeat and they are feeling the human that goes into a pen with them. They start matching that person’s heartbeat and recognize it,” Alexander said.

During the six-week program, the men and women that participate in ORC are paired with a mustang. They initiate and build a trusting relationship with the mustang and form a bond that helps them to train their together. Both mustangs and their riders have gone through traumatic experiences. With this commonality, both learn to be calm and create a bond between themselves. This also helps the attendees to learn to cope with symptoms that interfere with interpersonal relationships as well as their ability to function within everyday life. It is a reciprocal healing that occurs.

Alexander said that mustangs often spend the rest of their lives in pens and have no contact with people. They are no longer roam free and, unless they are adopted, they will spend the rest of their sequestered.

“So actually, we mirror what we bring to them,” Alexander said. “As veterans and first responders, we’ve seen somethings and done some things that are against our psyche and we get a little PST (post-traumatic stress) systems.”

Karen added that these symptoms include increased heartrate and anxiety.

ORC will purchase the mustangs from BLM (Bureau of Land Management).

“We purchase the mustangs from BLM and they are what are called ‘three strikers.’ They are mustangs that have been to adoption events and weren’t adopted. And, if they are ‘three strikers,’ they are out of chances and they are stuck in holding pens the rest of their lives,” Karen said. “So, those are the ones that we take.”

ORC apply for grants and donations. A lot of the costs are covered by the Alexanders out of their own pockets. The mustangs used in ORC are gifted to the veterans and, so far, only one mustang was not able to go home with the veteran.

“It is really dependent on if the veteran has the means to take care of the mustang,” said Karen. “It is expensive to take care of a horse, but we have been able to help through donations.”

They do a lot of outreach by using social Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. They are also invited to speaking engagements. One speaking engagement was held in Casper, Wyoming by the Wyoming VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). Kelly also spoke at the Rotary Club in Torrington, Wyoming and both of the Alexanders had a speaking engagement in Colorado. Unfortunately, they aren’t able to work with the VA (Veterans Affairs) because the agency cannot make outside referrals.

“It’s all about awareness and collaboration,” said Kelly.

The Alexanders have been featured in several news stories published about ORC and they were covered by Fox News. They’ve also been in At Ease Magazine, Western Horseman and the Wyoming National Guard Magazine. For the most part, publicity has been generated through social media and word of mouth.

“The governor [Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon] has a mental task force that is kind of his pet project,” said Kelly. “We are on the list of resources for that.”

Their first event, dubbed the Third Annual Spring Mustang Rendezvous, is slated for June 8 2024 in Torrington, Wyoming at the Sunshine Arena. This year, there will be a Cowboy Challenge event for the first time. People will have the opportunity to show their horses. There will be buckles and ribbons that attendees can win. There will also be a food truck there and a silent auction or a 50/50 raffle will be held. This event helps to fund ORC and they highly encourage people to attend the event. ORC always accept donations. They partner with the Wyoming Mustang Association and they put up the obstacle course.

Donations are also accepted in the form of halters, lead ropes, fly spray, horse toys and even feed.

“We’re always take donations of canned food, too,” Karen said. “We have a cabin that is named after a gentleman that committed suicide from Douglas, Wyoming. His father passed away and donated money to help us build a cabin so that people have a place to stay. We also have a cabin in Jay Em, Wyoming that we’ll use this year. It is only two miles from us. We have an RV and we have RV pads if folks want to bring their RVs.”

The spring program will begin on May 6 when the Alexanders get their first set of veterans.

ORC also receives help from Lene Tamney. Tamney had worked in the insurance industry until her retirement. She is a board member with ORC and the organization’s treasurer. Tamney also manages a petting zoo on site and she assists where she is needed.

ORC board members also include Gine Grossnickle, who works as a caregiver in Lusk. Grossnickle has volunteered, and she has been instrumental in securing donations for ORC. She also volunteered for the Pony Express Riders of Iowa. Another member is Cindy Smith, who has been working with horses since the age of 12 and adopted her own mustang. Smith also acts as the grant writer for ORC. Smith had previously worked with Karen as a nurse, too. Brian Chavez and Joel Keeter are mentors for ORC. Janet Riggle, who is a full time Chemical Dependency Technician, spends her spare time as a board member and helps with fundraiser events. Riggle’s daughter is Anna, who is a high school student and attends board meetings and helps to volunteer during fundraisers and events.

For more information about ORC their website is www.operationremount.org. They can also be found on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. If anyone wants to donate to ORC they can make donation on their website and can be reached through Facebook messenger.