Army Sgt. Michael Buccieri conducts arm movements as part of a hippotherapy session at an Olympia, Wash., ranch April 9, 2013. Elisia Mutter, a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH) certified equine instructor and the program manager for Heartbeat Serving Wounded Warriors: Back in the Saddle Warriors, helps control the movement of the horse. Buccieri was wounded during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2011. He has responded positively both physically and emotionally to hippotherapy and recommends it to other wounded warriors as a positive way to get exercise and improve their daily moods. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin, 19th Public Affairs Detachment)
Army Sgt. Michael Buccieri, Madigan Army Medical Center Warrior Transition Battalion, bonds with Davis, a horse used in the hippotherapy program offered by the Heartbeat Serving Wounded Warriors organization April 9, 2013. Buccieri was wounded while serving as a military policeman in Afghanistan. Working with an occupational therapist from the WTB, the team from Heartbeat and Davis, he said he has noticed a big improvement in both his strength and flexibility. His bond with Davis has also greatly improved his mood. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin, 19th Public Affairs Detachment)
Army Sgt. Michael Buccieri, Madigan Army Medical Center Warrior Transition Battalion, bonds with Davis, a horse used in the hippotherapy program offered by the Heartbeat Serving Wounded Warriors organization April 9, 2013. Buccieri was wounded while serving as a military policeman in Afghanistan. Working with an occupational therapist from the WTB, the team from Heartbeat and Davis, he said he has noticed a big improvement in both his strength and flexibility. His bond with Davis has also greatly improved his mood. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin, 19th Public Affairs Detachment)
Army Sgt. Michael Buccieri grooms Davis, a 6-year-old horse from the Back in the Saddle Warriors hippotherapy program at a ranch in Olympia, Wash., April 9, 2013. Buccieri is recovering from a gunshot wound to the lower back he received during an ambush in Afghanistan. He has been in the hippotherapy program for five weeks and has seen results in his strength and flexibility. He said it is a good alternative to typical rehabilitative therapy because it is fun and also peaceful. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin, 19th Public Affairs Detachment)
Phyllis Lang, a certified occupational therapist assistant with the Madigan Army Medical Center Warrior Transition Battalion, helps Army Sgt. Michael Buccieri stretch during a hippotherapy session at a ranch in Olympia, Wash., April 9, 2013. Buccieri was shot in the back while deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. He is taking part in the Back in the Saddle Warriors program available through a local charitable organization, Heartbeat Serving Wounded Warriors. He and other soldiers work one-on-one with the occupational therapist and the Heartbeat team to work on his flexibility and core strength while riding on a horse. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jennifer Spradlin, 19th Public Affairs Detachment)
Read the full article here: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/105206/hippotherapy-charitable-organization-helps-wounded-warriors#.VDjBAvldVik
