- Strength comes in many forms.
[clank of metal bucket]
For Tyler Slabey,
it meant finding the courage to conquer his demons.
[solemn single piano note]
At 18 years old, Tyler joined the Marines.
It was September 2001.
- I went through boot camp.
Went through my tank school.
I was a M1-A1 tank crewman.
- In 2003, he deployed to the Middle East,
spending nine months in combat during the Iraq war.
Nine months that still haunt him today.
- That was the single most terrifying thing
I've ever done in my life.
It's...um...
I lost my best friend there.
I lost a lot of good, good, good people.
It's.... it's not something...
it's not an experience that I'd wish on my worst enemy.
- Tyler retired from service in 2005,
but the images of war were seared into his memory.
He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder,
and it consumed him.
- I was just so full of hate and anger when I got out.
It was either death or a better way.
- The path to a better way began here.
Tyler was referred to Trinity Equestrian Center in Eau Claire.
It s a faith-based non-profit that provides free horse therapy
to veterans with PTSD.
- When Tyler first came here, he was extremely isolated.
He didn't leave his house except to get his dogs food.
- I wouldn't go outside.
I wouldn't... I wasn't eating.
I just didn't care about myself at all, essentially.
- The program pairs each veteran with a therapy horse.
- Oh, I thought it was a joke, completely.
Just to be completely honest, you know?
And I said,
"How is a horse going to help me, um, with this?"
[whispering] It's okay.
- Tyler s teamed up with Sterling,
who like most horses, has a mind of his own.
- You'll go through the other one,
but not this one, huh?
Come on, come on.
Nope.
- You can't fake them.
You can't lie to them.
You can't manipulate them,
as we, we humans are so easily manipulated.
You can't do that with a horse.
- Good boy.
- Trinity staff say that s why the program works.
Licensed counselors and equine specialists
use the horse s behavior during a therapy session...
- Gotta go around this one.
- ... to interpret what the veteran is feeling.
- But it's kinda cool.
It's taught me patience.
It's taught me to make sure that he's okay
before I move on too.
Yes, I love you too buddy.
- And then that horse helps them process their feelings.
So whereas the veteran won't say, "I'm angry."
They may say, "Oh, my horse s angry today."
or "My horse looks like it's angry today."
That lets the mental health counselor
ask the questions that they need to ask as far as
"What's going on?
What are we working on?
What are you trying to process?"
- Just like a talk therapy session,
only with a thousand-pound security blanket.
- Something about these horses
allows you to bring your guard down
and really express yourself.
How you truly feel.
- We see a lot of that with veterans,
is that they get behind the horse,
and they'll be brushing it.
They'll be talking to the horse, and sharing their story
and almost forget we're there.
[whispering] - That's a good boy. It's ok.
- You can ask them to walk out a little further on that plank.
Tell us a little bit more about that history?
- Tyler s skepticism slowly morphed into something else.
Trust.
- There's that trust there still.
He doesn't forget.
I love this guy.
- As he formed a bond with Sterling,
he was also developing the tools
to fight his daily battle with PTSD.
- I don't know if there was a definitive moment
that it was just that "A-ha moment."
It was more of a retrospectively looking at it
and going,
"Holy cow, that actually worked." You know?
- With Tyler, it's so obvious.
It's one of those where it just warms your heart
because it's like the before and after picture.
It's this transformation that has happened.
And we here have been privileged
to be even just a small part of that.
That's, wow, that's a blessing of a lifetime.
It's amazing.
- Come on.
- Tyler says because of Trinity and Sterling,
he s 100% happier than he used to be.
- I learned how to love again.
When I first came home,
I was cold and calculated.
And he's taught me to believe that love can exist, for me.
I can't even put into words how much I appreciate this place,
and these people, and this program.
It's nothing but love out here.