Nearly 37 miles from the Austin city center, Restoration Ranch nurtures a space away from the fast-paced buzz where horses and veterans and their families come together to mutually benefit from equine-assisted learning programs.
The backstory
President Beth Rand founded the nonprofit a few years after moving to Central Texas in 2008. She said in the aftermath of the 2011 Bastrop County Complex fire, some horse owners were left without the means to properly care for their horses, with hay no longer available in some pastures.
Rand rescued some of these horses and was met with interest from local veterans who inquired about helping care for them.
“These horses began to have a career with us of giving back and teaching some of our veterans and the veteran families their ways and the way of the horse is non-verbal,” Rand said. “They've gone through a lot of the same things that you have, believe it or not. Being in the country where we are, it was just a great way to start giving back.”
In 2016, the property the ranch currently operates out of was purchased for the program. Rand said in addition to getting to help rehabilitate the horses, participants can find solace in the veteran community that has since grown on the ranch.
Program and outreach coordinator Machelle Taylor first joined the ranch in 2021 as a program participant alongside her husband, Chris, who served in the military for 22 years.
She details how each veteran carries a rucksack with them when returning home from service and participating in equine-assisted learning helps relieve the weight of some burdens.
“Depending on what they have as far as mental issues, mental challenges or physical challenges, everybody's rucksack is filled,” Taylor said. “When they come out here, they get to put it down because you have to be in the moment with the horses.”
The ranch hosts veterans equine partnership programs, a horsemanship program and caregiver workshops. Each equine learning session is tailored to the specific veteran’s needs.
The impact
The various programs and groups offered at the ranch provide a supportive space for veterans and veteran families struggling with common issues such as PTSD, moral injury, traumatic brain injury and transition stress.
Transition stress affects a large portion of veterans because individuals in the military must assimilate to the specific culture created in that environment for extended periods of time and are expected to revert back to traditional day-to-day activities when they return home.
“You throw combat in on top of that and all the stressors that come with that and then you're in an environment that doesn't understand anything about any of that,” Taylor said. “They just need you to be ‘normal.’ It's not that simple.”
“The bottom line is the way that we grow is by the impact we're having ... it's when they leave here and they go out and they have an interaction that makes a difference,” Rand said. “That's where the payback comes for us because it's like leaving them with a whole new set of skills to be able to go on in the world and understand the value horses have in this world and the needs that they fill for humanity, not just veterans and their families.”
In addition to its goals to rehabilitate horses and provide a supportive, community resource through equine-assisted programs for veterans, Rand said the ranch is focused on maintaining sustainable practices so Bastrop can be the program’s home long term.
The practices include hosting agriculture students from Texas State University and having solar-powered equipment on site to caring for the 600-year-old oak tree, which sits in the middle of the property.
Rand said the ranch’s volunteers help out across the board from tending to the garden on site and assisting ranch hands to painting wooden boards and mowing grass. She said they are open to any community member who is willing to help.
Those interested in volunteering at the ranch or learning more about its offerings can visit their website.
- 172A Hills Prairie Road, Bastrop
- www.restorationranch.org
