Up until she suffered a spinal injury that left her hospitalized, Deborah Bai-Lannon thought of herself as a fine arts landscape photographer. When it came time to rehabilitate herself through walks, the Hamilton, Massachusetts resident began making regular trips past the Harvard Polo and Equestrian Center, known locally as, “The Farm.” Eventually, she found herself doing what came naturally to her — bringing along her camera and photographing the club’s horses.
“It’s a major equestrian community. The Harvard University Polo Club is literally down the street from me. Five or six years ago, my husband and I would be walking by The Farm, and this one horse would come over to me. I started photographing the horses and showed the coach the work; he told me that they had started a program with Massachusetts General Hospital’s Home Base Veteran Family Care Program in Charlestown (Massachusetts).”
The program is offered free of charge for service members with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from all over the United States, “from Hawaii to Maine, who stay at the Charlestown Navy Yard; it’s funded by the Red Sox Foundation and other national philanthropic organizations.”
At the start of the two-week program, the vets talk and bond over their shared experiences with trauma. “After five days, they get a break and come to work with the horses, for a day or two days, before returning to Charlestown to develop the tools they need,” Lannon said.