Central Minnesota stable provides home for rescue animals, life-changing therapy for veterans and others
John Hillenscheim enjoys a moment with Sir Lancelot, a Friesian and Missouri FoxTrotter, at Angel Reins Stables. Hillenscheim, a Vietnam veteran, credits equine therapy and connecting with other veterans as having a major influence on his life.Contributed / Kathy Zachman, Angel Reins
By Sarah d’Uscio / For St. Cloud LIVE
ST. AUGUSTA — John Hillenscheim remembers a time when things just didn’t seem to be going right.
The Vietnam veteran had turned to the VA for help, but when COVID-19 disrupted his occupational therapy, he found himself more isolated. His daughters were in Arizona, and he said he didn’t feel like he had many people to rely on.
Then he found Angel Reins, a home for rescue horses that also coordinates equine-assisted therapy at no charge to aid veterans, survivors of human trafficking, first responders, area non-profits and others.
“It’s a beautiful place and organization, and it is not only for veterans,” Hillenscheim said. “Animals don’t judge; they can tell when someone is hurting. For me, they’ve done so much.”
Hillenscheim is one of many veterans who have found community at Angel Reins, a volunteer-run nonprofit that provides a place for rescued horses and people to experience healing together.
“The horses have different personalities,” said Hillenscheim, who has bonded with one in particular named Poppy. “It’s like having a new family. If I could be out there all the time, that’s what I would do … it’s so peaceful. It feels like home, like I’m going to be okay.”
That’s music to the ears of Kathy Zachman, who owns the organization that began with an idea she said was placed in her heart. It began in 2018 and received 501(c)(3) status, a certification that makes non-profit organizations tax-exempt, in 2020. Today, Angel Reins runs entirely on volunteers and relies heavily on donations and events — such as its fifth annual Boots and Blue Jeans fundraiser from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Clearwater Rodeo Grounds. It includes dinner, silent and live auctions, a cash bar and more. Tickets cost $35 and are available at the door, but the event is free to veterans. The majority of the money raised will go toward caring for the horses.
“Angel Reins was kind of a vision mission placed in my head my God above.” said Zachman, who didn’t get her first horse until she was 40. “I got in trouble in eighth grade for drawing horses; I was that kid.”
Decades later, she finally got a registered black Arabian named Skyler Black.
“He was my first horse, but look at us now,” Zachman said.
Horses are more than names, manes
Angel Reins counts 20 horses in its current stable, with names ranging from “Blue” to “Yeti,” each with detailed biographies on the organization website at https://angelreinsstable.org.
The community created by the veterans and horses why Brandon Hanebuth, a retired Army first sergeant who served for 21½ years, visits several times a week. He first became involved about four and a half years ago through Friday with Friends, a gathering where veterans could drink coffee, talk and spend time together.
“I still try to make it to those meetings, but I come out here now a few times a week,” Hanebuth said. “I do anything and everything. My job is to put Kathy’s mind at ease.”
For Hanebuth, volunteering is also a way to give back after his own difficult experiences following military service.
“Coming out of the service, I had some dark times,” he said. “I was always looking out for the troops. So I look at Angel Reins as my opportunity to help give back, and I find peace with helping others get through some of their issues.”
Brandon Hanebuth exchanges meaningful touch with Poppy, a Mustang from Angel Reins Stables. Hanebuth credits Poppy with helping him through dark times after he retired from a 21-year Army career.Contributed / Kathy Zachman, Angel Reins
Like Hillenscheim, Hanebuth also is working with Poppy, a wild mustang who ran wild range-wide in Utah before coming to St. Augusta.
The relationship between a person and a horse is not always immediate, Hanebuth said. Different horses connect with different people.
“It just got to be the right horse, the right person,” he said, saying he sees some of himself in Poppy. “The right horse has to make a connection … I’ve always kind of been that free-spirited black sheep kind of person, like he is.”
Finding those connections is at the heart of Angel Reins and is Zachman’s focus — second only to caring for the horses themselves.
“We make sure the horses are met before anything,” she said. “If they are not ready to be worked yet, we don’t override them, and we don’t overwork them. It’s not one size fits all for the people or the horses.”
Patience rewarded with trust
That philosophy is particularly evident in Yeti and Yogi, two Belgian horses rescued from a kill pen in Texas in 2023. They arrived severely malnourished but have since recovered and developed distinct personalities.
“They reminded me of our veterans,” Zachman said of her first memories of the two horses. “They had a full life of service.”
Yeti arrived with scars and his mane ripped out. At first, he wouldn’t even let Zachman pet him. But her patience eventually was rewarded with his trust.
“Now he has the longest mane and his eyes have brightened,” Zachman said.
Kathy Zachman works with Francie, an elderly blind mule, at Angel Reins Stables in St. Augusta. Zachman has 20 horses, most of whom are rescue animals, that she had developed into a mutual support system for veterans, human trafficking survivors, and people overcoming trauma. Contributed / Kathy Zachman, Angel Reins
Along the way, one veteran came to Angel Reins and encountered Yeti, who limped toward the man, put his head against his chest and stood there.
The veteran began to cry.
“He says to this day that Yeti saved his life,” Zachman said.
That moment, she says, represents what Angel Reins is ultimately trying to provide.
“Horses help people overcome a lot of trauma,” she said. “When someone has trauma, they often don’t feel safe with people, and that is very similar to horses that have trauma.”
Equine therapy works both ways
Angel Reins also has developed sessions in which participants work one-on-one with horses in a counseling setting, and there is a Pegasus Program that works with young girls who have lost a parent.
“It’s very hard to measure the success of the therapy because of the fact that everyone has different experiences, and they react to trauma differently,” Hanebuth said. “This is not a cookie-cutter program; we adjust to people’s needs.”
Joseph Sierakowski, who began volunteering at Angel Reins about six years ago, understands that need personally. After serving in Iraq, he said he struggled with the transition home and was homeless for a period of time, eventually living in his car. But with the horses he found a community of his own.
“They follow me around like puppies,” Sierakowski said.
The people make a difference, too. He works with the Pegasus Program and remembers a young girl approaching him.
“She came up to me and said I reminded her of her dad who had passed,” Sierakowski said. “I started crying, and gave her a hug.”
Joe Sierakowski, an Iraq War veteran who found himself homeless at one point, works as a volunteer with the Pegasus Program, which pairs young girls who have lost a parent with equine therapy at Angel Reins. Sierakowski feels right at home with Bingo, a Mule/Belgian cross, and Yeti, a Belgian draft horse, both of which are rescue horses who have found new life in St. Augusta.Contributed / Kathy Zachman, Angel Reins
It’s an example of how two people can connect in the company of animals who can be profound without saying a word. According to Zachman, horses can be keen observers, are emotional and often mirror a client’s behavior, allowing them a sense of safety and a chance to work on their own assertiveness, awareness, empathy and stress tolerance.
“It’s amazing watching people grow after the equine-assisted therapy and just the brotherhood of people that’s formed from being part of the community,” Hanebuth said.
Despite its success, Angel Reins does not currently plan to grow.
“We could have a lot more horses than we do,” Zachman said. “We don’t foresee expanding our programming at this time; it wouldn’t be fair to the horses.”
Instead, the organization is continuing to focus on the people and animals already depending on it.
For Hillenscheim, however, the horses have already given something that cannot be matched by a fundraiser.
“The people out there treat you like you are somebody,” he said. “They put me at ease, and I don’t have to think about anything else.”
Article Source: https://www.stcloudlive.com/news/local/hurting-horses-people-heal-together-at-angel-reins