OPERATION REMOUNT
BY CHRISTINE WALKER
Located just 20 minutes south of Lusk, Wyoming, there is the little community of Jay Em. Jay Em is so small that driving south on 85, you would miss it. The buildings on Main Street have literally been frozen in time since the late 1800s and are flanked by dirt roads. There are a handful of old wood-framed houses and the only service in the town to speak of is a Post Office.
But don’t discount this little pioneer town because within its borders is an absolute treasure for the Veteran community. Located just a few miles down the road on the Mirrored K Legacy Ranch is an up-and-coming Veteran organization committed to PTSD Equine Therapy and Wild Mustang rescues called Operation Remount.
MEET THE ALEXANDERS
Kelly & Karen Alexander met in 2008 through a mutual friend, while Kelly was still active duty Army National Guard. Karen was an Oncology Nurse and Kelly was an Intelligence Specialist. They were married on the day that the Mayan Calendar predicted the end of the world in 2012. Karen joked, “Kelly acquiesced because he could do anything for 24 hours.”
In 2016, Karen moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming while Kelly was stationed in Nebraska. While there, she studied and received her Doctorate Degree to become a Nurse Practitioner. Unbeknownst to either of them at the time, every decision from this point on would soon become the providential foundation of Operation Remount. Kelly, originally served in the Army from 1983 to 1987. He was out of the Military for 14 years until he decided to join the Army National Guard in September of 2000, exactly 1 year prior to the day of 9/11.
Kelly had two long deployments, one to Iraq from 2004-2005 and another 20-month stint to Afghanistan from 2007-2008. “Guard units would take two months at the front and at the back,” he said of his extended deployments. Returning stateside, Kelly realized that he was in trouble and reached out to the VA for treatment and counseling. He was diagnosed with PTSD and TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).
While never having received a head injury, due to the prolonged exposure to trauma, the chemical make-up of the brain can change, causing permanent injury to the brain.
Kelly was diligent in seeking treatment. Unfortunately, “the VA treatments didn’t really work for me,” he said. “The VA is sustained on the lowest bidder. Most of the treatments are short-term and are based on certain methodologies which equal the least possible amount of treatment, so Veterans are left to their own devices,” Kelly firmly stated. “I was involved in cognitive behavioral therapy, which is a treatment that brings back all the fears and memories in a controlled environment. They also tried Alpha-Stim therapy,” an electro-therapy device that is supposed to relieve post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness through a painless electrical stimulation delivered through a smart device.
Between the lackluster one-size-fits-all short-term treatments and the meds, it left Kelly feeling “Meh..”
AND THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED …
While sitting in the waiting room of the VA waiting for his appointment, Kelly was browsing through a VFW magazine and read a story about a group of Veterans who were doing a Veterans to Mustang program at Cheyenne Frontier Days, displaying to the general public what they did. “ I thought it was cool, but I didn’t know anything about horses,” he said.
But Kelly couldn’t get the article out of his mind, so he started searching for Equine Therapy programs, most of which were geared towards Veterans in the local area in which they operated, didn’t meet his specific needs, or were simply a day-long trail ride. In 2017, Kelly finally found a program in Central Texas that he thought would work for him. “I came across a therapy program, went to their website, but I missed the cut-off date by days. I called the program and got the green-light to fill out the application, and sent it in,” he recalls. Kelly knew it was a long-shot.
KELLY & ENDY
In December of 2017, while home on leave, Kelly received a phone call informing him that they had received his application and were looking it over. Another phone call a week later, informed him that he had been accepted into the program. As it happened, Kelly’s retirement and terminal leave coincided with the program start date. Thankfully, Kelly & Karen were in a financial position that Kelly could attend and pay for his trip and meals while he stayed in the couples RV in Texas.
The Mustang Heritage Foundation equine therapy program was 8-weeks long. “I was one of six who was invited to attend. Two of the six were not local.” Kelly said. “Not knowing anything about horses and having put my uniform behind me, I was worried about a job and what am I going to do?” He recalls. “I tried to keep an open mind to the best of my ability, around the second week, I realized, I wasn’t too bad at this and it just might work.”
At the end of 8-weeks, there was a semi-formal graduation ceremony, and Kelly was voted class horseman. “Just because I didn’t know much about horses, didn’t mean I wasn’t a horseman. That ‘Aha’ moment gave me a sense of worth and passion,” he said.
NEW LIFE, WITH THE WIFE
KAREN & BELLE
Kelly returned to Cheyenne. In late Fall of 2019, Karen, now a Nurse Practitioner, received a phone interview from a Clinic in Lusk, Wyoming. The Clinic asked for a second, in-person, interview and in January of 2020, Karen was hired.
The couple was faced with the possibility of living apart and doing the “two-house thing again.” They looked at properties but nothing seemed to fit. Two weeks later, the Realtor called and said a 270 acre Ranch in Jay Em just went on the market. It was close enough to Karen’s job, so they went to see the property. As they drove in, there was a sign that read “Wyoming Horse Rescue.” They looked at each other and knew it was divine providence. Karen said, “It was love at first sight!”
“LITTLE RED MANSION”
The house, known by locals as the “Little Red Mansion” was PERFECT!
The red-brick sprawling, multi-level Ranch style house was enormous, but it was the Barn that sealed the deal! With nine stalls with run-outs, including a mare care stall, horse shower, dog washing station, and two huge shops at the North and South end of the heated barn, it was at that moment that the couple birthed Mirrored K Legacy Ranch… with Operation Remount close at its heels.
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE MUSTANGS…
Mustang horses are Federally protected animals under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.
The act provides specific protections to “all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States,” and makes it a crime for anyone to harass or kill these animals on federal land. It requires the departments of the Interior and Agriculture to protect the animals. Beginning with its enactment, it required studies of the habits and habitats of free-ranging horses and burros, permitting public land to be set aside for their use. In addition, the act required that these horses and burros be protected as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.” The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was tasked with the identification of the areas where free-roaming horses and burros were found; there was no specific amount of acreage set aside, and the Act required management plans to “maintain a thriving natural ecological balance among wild horse populations, wildlife, livestock, and vegetation and to protect the range from the deterioration associated with overpopulation.”
Although wild horse ranges were principally for the protection of the horses, the land was required to be maintained for multiple uses. The BLM was also permitted to close public land to livestock grazing to protect wild horses and burro habitats.
According to Kelly, due to the high-density population of Mustangs due to breeding, it began to take a toll on the available food sources for the horses. The Bureau of Land Management has to round-up thousands of horses every year which are then sold at Auction. It is important to note that every buyer goes through rigorous inspections of their properties by BLM to ensure the proper care of the animals.
Unfortunately, the rounding up process, sometimes utilizing helicopters, and being “kept,” takes its toll on the wild Mustangs, causing stress and PTSD.
OPERATION REMOUNT
When Kelly finished his equine therapy program in Texas, Endy, the horse he was assigned to work with, became his.
As everything began to fall in place, the Alexander’s realized the time was right to launch Operation Remount Corporation. Together, they devised a plan that would not only allow Veterans like Kelly to find healing, but to partner them with a Mustang they could build a life-long bond with. Yes, you read that correctly… If the Veteran is able to care for and stable the horse, Operation Remount will gift the rescued Mustang to the Veteran.
For Kelly & Karen, it wasn’t enough to just run a 6-week program, they want to take it to another level, providing for every single need of the Veterans while they are in the program; at no cost to them.
The program will run 4-days a week from 0900-1530. Mornings will consist of training and education in horse care, safety, horse training, grooming, and a myriad of other topics related to the care of the Mustangs. The afternoons will be a time for one-on-one bonding with their horse. “Dog’s and Horses have an incredible depth with human beings,” Kelly said. This schedule will also allow the participants plenty of down-time to reflect and keep in touch with loved ones.
While in the course, Veterans will be housed on the property, and the community of Jay Em has stepped up to help provide meals. In fact, the community is so supportive, that several have volunteered their time to come out to the Ranch or open their doors for visits. One woman, who runs a canine & equine massage therapy business will be sharing her experiences and expertise. At other times, there will be field trips to Veterinarians, Farriers, Rodeos, and other events.
The first two Veterans to go through this program started in May and a second course is slated to begin in August with 3 participants. Ultimately, Operation Remount plans to run year-round.
“The bond between the Vet and Mustang doesn’t end with the program. I think we can go one step further,” Kelly said.
Upon graduation, the Veteran will receive their curriculum, a grooming kit, their Mustang, and transportation of the horse back to their home state after the initial inspection of their property/boarding stables by the Bureau of Land Management.
When asked about how families can support their Veterans, Kelly answered, “ It takes very special people to support a Veteran with PTSD/TBI, and it starts with the spouse. Absolute support and unconditional love are needed, and it may require a short-term financial sacrifice on the home front.”
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR OPERATION REMOUNT?
It’s Alexander’s dream to expand their mission to include a Bunk House, a handful of Tiny Cabins, and increase the number of participants and horses for the 6-week program throughout the year.
HOW CAN OUR READERS HELP
If you would like to give to Operation Remount, contact the Alexanders through their website contact form.
To sponsor a Veteran | $5000 (this includes travel per diem to and from Jay Em, housing, meals, curriculum, the Mustang, and Equine transportation)
To sponsor a Tiny Cabin | $8000
To find out more, visit their website operationremount.org
Authors Note ** If for any reason the Veteran cannot keep the horse, the horse will remain on Mirrored K Legacy Ranch for the next cycle of Veterans, or will be Auctioned to a good home and the money raised will go back into Operation Remount. Regardless of ownership, the BLM must inspect the properties to ensure the Mustang is in a safe and healthy environment.