All photos by Sergii Kostezh, Kyiv Post
Rehabilitation is hugely important for veterans following active military service. Fighters who have left the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) often need not only physical but also psychological support for recovery.
Ukraine is exploring novel and innovative forms of rehabilitation, especially given the number of people who need it rising exponentially and running into the hundreds of thousands.
One type of rehabilitation involves the use of animals. Veterans are helped by petting zoos and shelters, where individuals can take homeless animals home for temporary care.
A new direction being taken is hippotherapy – therapy with the help of horses. Iryna Muliava and Nataliia Leoshek keep a small farm with up to a dozen horses near Kyiv, not far from Bucha. Once the location of horrific atrocities by Russian forces in 2022, the area here is very beautiful, and favorable for horse keeping.
Hippotherapy greatly helps veterans. For quite some time now, Iryna and Natalia’s farm has been regularly visited by groups of veterans who are happy to communicate with horses.
“This is very important from the point of view of sedation. It has a calming effect. Horses have a certain inner vibration that resonates with the human one, so communication with them usually calms and relaxes a person,” Iryna explains.
Together with colleagues and friends who help with the work, Iryna takes horses from the field and meets the veterans. Today it’s a group of six people who will spend several hours communicating with the horses.
First – the veterans are shown the horses and taught to stroke, feed, and pet them so that the horses get used to new people. Iryna and Nataliia monitor compliance with safety rules at all times when handling the animals.
The animals are well-fed with home grown apples, carrots, other fruits and plenty of hay. They are also rested and quite friendly, which comforts the veterans.
“It’s incredible says Liudmyla, one of the group of veterans. “It brings very pleasant feelings. I only had contact with horses in childhood. Honestly, I finally relaxed for the first time – for the first time in many years I hugged a horse,” she adds.
Time is set aside for photos and then comes the time for riding. The horses and their “riders” are taken to a special paddock, where they can ride in a circle.
Oleksandr from Kyiv, who is currently undergoing medical treatment after being wounded, has found himself in the saddle for the first time since his youth. It’s difficultat first, and he hesitates for some time. However, after the first circle, he is smiling.
“The horses are magnificent, I am simply overwhelmed with emotions! It’s wonderful to hug a horse, to exchange energy. Once long ago I rode horses, and it was very pleasant to recall it” Oleksandr says.
There are already hundreds of thousands like Oleksandr and Liudmyla among the military and all need a share of positive emotions for recovery. Currently, in Ukraine, the number of private initiatives, such as that of Iryna Muliava, are increasing to complement the physical rehabilitation of veterans and victims.
All of them will need a share of positive emotions for recovery. Currently, in Ukraine, the number of private initiatives, such as the one run by Iryna Muliava, is increasing to complement the physical rehabilitation of veterans and victims.