Horses have long been a therapeutic tool for helping people diagnosed with mental health issues. Now the Cobb County Sheriff's Office has launched an equine therapy-style work release program designed to help detainees develop skills and prepare for life after detention.

Josh Arp has been in detention since February. While he awaits his sentencing, he's charged with feeding, watering, and clearing Percheron draft horses.

"They asked me for nothing. They want nothing from me. They take me as I am. I have nothing to prove to them," Arp said.

The program is overseen by Maj. Tony Scipio. Eleven months into it, he's seeing success and has seen the detainee workers look toward their futures.

"They talk about what they're going to do once they are released from here, how they are going to continue to pursue what they are doing here and hopefully get gain employment somewhere," Scipio said.

Horses mirror human emotion. The theory is calm a horse, calm yourself. Here, detainees are regaining a sense of control and connection.

"The chores you know, might not be what everyone considers fun, but they can be really therapeutic," stable master Abigail Jordan said. She said she sees the impact the horses have on the detainees.

"There's just something about their presence and their spirits," she said. "I guess that really some people really connect with on a very special level, and seeing that bond to me is like the whole reason I do this."

Randall Hembree is in recovery from a drug addiction. He finds the loneliness of his recovery lessened by these noble partners in law enforcement.

"If you had like something you want to get off your chest that was bothering you or whatever, you know, you could you could go talk to your horse about it, you know, because they won't judge you. They'll be like, they'll be like your sponsor," Hembree said.

In the quiet routine of a barn, the feeding, cleaning and care share lessons in kindness and, hopefully, second chances.