Amazing horse lifts vets spirits

POPLAR BLUFF - As Veterans Administration officials seek new ways to treat our nation's military personnel suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, one loyal patriot is putting the horse before

the cart.

While she may be small in size, Baybe the miniature therapy horse is 100 percent thoroughbred when it comes to helping others.

She plans to do just that on Aug. 15 when she visits the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in Poplar Bluff.

Baybe's owner Jenny Kiest, of West Plains, Mo., says the animal is amazing and often outshines "human"

therapists when it comes to bonding with people

suffering from illness.

"Animals are amazing. They can connect with people a lot quicker than another person can. We

visit a lot of nursing homes and even in the Alzheimer's unit -- where people won't talk and won't acknowledge you are even there -- if you bring an animal in, they just open up," Kiest said.

Equine therapy in regards to PTSD is not a new concept. According to the Department of Defense, more than 30 Veterans Affairs medical centers currently participate in horse therapy for service members and veterans with challenges ranging from mental and emotional to physical.

"Horses read off of emotions," said Kiest. "So, when a person is upset and really tense, the horse is going to read off those feelings. It helps the person handling the horse to go inside and calm themselves down and help them with situations where normally they might have an anger outburst."

Even locally, non-profit Cape Arrowhead provides equine workshops for local veterans and their families, but as most horses weigh in at 1,100 pounds, taking them into patients' rooms at the VA is not feasible.

Baybe, with her modest 80 pound, 26-inch-tall frame, can enter the hospital effortlessly. Horse apples you say? Nope, she is also potty trained.

"She's little. The benefit with a miniature horse is being able to go places you can't go with a regular horse. Baybe is house trained, so she can go in the nursing homes and size-wise it is just easier to move her around in the rooms," Kiest said.

Aside from the benefits to mental well being Baybe provides, she also assists patients with physical therapy. She is outfitted with a special saddle that has a hand hold which allows patients to walk alongside her as she supports them.

"They can practice learning to re-walk and use that handle as a balance point. She is also trained where if they get off point, she steps in front of them at an angle -- so they can use her to rebalance and catch themselves. It's a lot more fun for the patients to work with a horse instead of the old boring rehab," Kiest said.

Baybe has appeared at nursing homes, lifting the spirits of patients by allowing them to decorate and spend time with her. And at schools, listening as younger students just learning to read.

Now, she will try to take on a bigger challenge in easing the wounds of our nation's soldiers. Is the task too much for her?

"Neigh," she replied.

Kiest got the idea for putting Baybe to work with the vets through her job in a hospital emergency room, where upon seeing some of the sufferings of our nation's veterans she decided to do more personally to ease their pain.

"I work in the ER in a local hospital. I work with a lot of veterans and they are near and dear to my heart. People just take them for granted. If it wasn't for them we wouldn't have the freedoms we have now, so I think they need to be honored," Kiest said.

Baybe's custom saddle contains patches of the emblems of all of America's military branches and a patch dedicated to prisoners of war and service members missing in action -- a tribute to our armed forces designed by Kiest.

"That vest has patches for all the branches of America's military and the Disabled American Veterans. I designed it with all of them in mind as a tribute to them. I just want to share my little horse with them and hopefully make their day better," Kiest said.

For more information and to see some of her good works, find Baybe the miniature therapy horse on Facebook with a quick name search.