New Jersey farm offers veterans a path to healing, with help from horses
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After serving in Afghanistan, U.S. Army veteran Michele Farren came home to a new kind of battle — one with crippling PTSD.
“I was really angry,” said Farren, who lives in South Jersey. “I didn’t leave my house. I couldn’t even get in the car. I couldn’t even be a passenger or drive.”
She struggled with nightmares and got easily startled by noises. Traditional therapy and medication didn’t help. She said she found healing in an unexpected way: through horse therapy.
“It’s made a big difference,” Farren said. “The horses get you. They know how you’re feeling. They can read you. And if you have such bad anxiety, they know. They take all our energy and know how to let it go.”
Farren is one of approximately 100 veterans who have gone through the equine therapy program at Forgotten Angels Equine Rescue in Medford, Burlington County. The nonprofit, founded in 2012, gives abandoned and neglected horses a second chance while helping veterans heal from invisible wounds.
Darlene Supnick, co-founder of Forgotten Angels, said her organization has rescued more than 350 horses from slaughter auctions and negligent situations.
“We save the horses, and the horses save the veterans, and actually the veterans say that too,” Supnick said.
The program partners with SpectraCare Foundation to combine traditional talk therapy with time spent working one-on-one with the horses. Activities include touching the horses and walking alongside them through obstacle courses.
“What happens out in that corral, in that field, is like magic,” psychotherapist Micke Stafford said. “I’ve worked with thousands of clients and have never seen anything work the way this does.”
Through the therapy program, veterans rebuild trust, confidence and strength. They often form deep bonds with the animals. Farren, who now volunteers at Forgotten Angels every week to take care of the horses, said it’s given her life a new direction.
“It worked for me,” Farren said. “It changed my life. I’m hoping it can change somebody else’s too.”
New Jersey farm offers veterans a path to healing, with help from horses [Nov 11 2025]