Corey's Story: A Veteran's Journey at Chastain Horse Park
At 17, Corey joined the Army, following in the footsteps of many family members. After 18 years of service, he found his way to Chastain Horse Park through the Shepherd Center's SHARE/Wounded Warrior program. SHARE (Shaping Hope and Recovery Excellence) Military Initiative provides a continuum of rehabilitation care for service members who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) while serving the United States.
At first, Corey was hesitant in the barn. He found the horses’ “intimidating presence” difficult to overcome, but he quickly fell in love with one of Chastain Horse Park’s biggest therapeutic horses, Samantha. Through his relationship with Samantha, Corey learned the importance of being grounded, present, and emotionally neutral—because that was what Samantha needed from him.
One of the lessons Corey heard when he first came through our doors stayed with him: You are asking a prey animal to look at you, a predator, and trust you.
As Corey began to build a relationship with Samantha, he recognized the connection between his own emotions and the way horses respond to them, noting that people help horses as much as horses help people. Horses mirror the calm, collective demeanor we bring into their space. Corey describes that connection as “you and the horse coming together to be one.”
Before his session series ended, Corey was already asking about volunteer opportunities—or, in his words, “free therapy.” He immediately began giving back to the program that had been so transformative for him. In Corey’s words, coming to Chastain Horse Park was the one thing in his week he wouldn’t skip.
Today, Corey supports both SHARE and Chastain Horse Park’s Unbridled Warriors program, created to help veterans reintegrate into our community, all while regaining a healthy sense of independence and hope. As a volunteer with Chastain Horse Park, Corey now empowers fellow veterans in a way only someone who has lived through similar experiences can achieve. Corey brings extraordinary insight and observation to every session, while finding motivation and comfort in being part of a space where –unlike his experience in the military environment – vulnerability is safe.
For other veterans beginning their journey through Shepherd SHARE or Unbridled Warriors, Corey offers this advice:
“Horses are intimidating at first because they are big and so powerful, but they are not programmed to hurt you. As long as you respect them, they will respect you. Most of them are like big teddy bears.”
Help make stories like Corey's possible by supporting Chastain Horse Park's therapeutic programs.
