Long Island horse farm offers veterans a place to heal from military service trauma

A veteran on Long Island has found a unique way to heal himself from the traumas of military service while also helping others.

It all takes place at a special horse farm called Pal-O-Mine in Islandia, where horses are more than just family fun.

Tom Hayes, a Marine who served in Afghanistan, and Elizabeth Hayes, a nurse, live and work at the farm.

"It's honestly been very cleansing," Tom Hayes said. "I never felt that I've been giving back more than when I'm working here... Some of the best mental health you can do is just mucking a stall."

Veterans are welcomed for free programs -- from Fall-In Fridays to equine-assisted psycho-therapy.

"A big part of the therapy is trying to make a connection with the horse, allowing him to feel your anger, your sadness, your excitement, whatever you're feeling, and use that and their steadiness to actually calm you," Marine veteran Rachel Leile said.

"If you ... or if they calm you down, they're very accepting of no pressure. They'll just be with you," Army veteran A.J. McCormack added.

Veterans are also taught roping at the farm, which requires concentration.

"They take whatever they have in their head, and they have to focus," said Joseph Artego, who leads therapeutic roping instruction at Pal-O-Mine. "The gratitude is unbelievable when they start bonding with the horse, bonding with other veterans."

Also at Pal-O-Mine, veterans find the connection they lose when their military service ends. What the farm offers helps them cope with survivors' guilt, PTSD, depression, and addiction.

"What we all miss is not the fighting; it's the camaraderie," Army veteran Branden Busceti said. "And what this does is bring all our camaraderie back together, knowing we are all in the same fight."

"We have a lot of remarks where people say they never felt really alive before this," Elizabeth Hayes said.

The skills taught at the farm also help build careers. Veterans are trained to blacksmith, transport horses, and to understand farm management.