Veterans begin cross-Canada horse ride for PTSD, suicide awareness

Canadian Forces veterans saddled ready for an epic cross-country trail ride that aims to include Canadians within the fight post-traumatic stress, suicide and family strife throughout the military.

Veteran Paul Nicholls left British Columbia's legislature on horseback Monday inside a bid to ride 11,000 kilometres across Canada by November.



The previous soldier from Quesnel, B.C., who served through the Balkan conflict in the 1990s, said he wishes to make countless stops since he and fellow military riders can find out to do to help Canadians and military veterans learn to understand another.

"The Canadians love their troops," said Nicholls on a ceremony marking the beginning of his Communities for Veterans cross-Canada ride. "There's just no question this. It's just often-times we don't know who our veterans are."

Nicholls said he struggled to come back to civilian life, as have many other Canadian veterans, and he's believed strongly that the more the general public and veterans chat with about one another, the more effective and simpler that transition will become.

"I can tell you from personal knowledge that the heart-felt thank you so much and timely support coming from a community, during that time of transition, can be life changing," he explained.

Nicholls said he believes when he and his awesome posse ride into towns their presence will create discussion and awareness about military service plus the issues veterans face when they return home after serving their country in conflict zones.

The ride are going to make stops in each and every province, visiting dozen of communities and cities, taking trails and holding gatherings in areas where people can fulfill the veterans and ptsd their horses.

"It will create awareness and also that awareness will create a big change and with that understood change I know we can easily lower the incidence of post-traumatic stress, family split ups yet i think we are able to lower the incidence of veteran suicides," said Nicholls.

One year ago, National Defence started filling long-vacant positions within its social anxiety branch, while making public appeals for troops suffering with mental illness to come forward.

A veterans study released in 2013 found regular force veterans upon leaving the military rated our health more poorly in comparison to the general population.

It said almost a quarter of those leaving the military reported both physical and mental disorders.

Testifying until the all-party House of Commons defence committee almost couple of years ago, the military's surgeon-general, Brig.-Gen. Jean-Robert Bernier, declared that depression, especially among male Forces members, is double that of this very civilian population.

Nicholls, who became emotional a couple of times while he described the explanations behind his journey, said they have a unique bond along with mare, Zoe. The horse will probably be with him completely.

"She's a very good horse. Horses the population we've been together throughout history. There's a bond, almost identical to that in an infantry platoon as well as a herd of horses. There's this profound need for strong leadership."

http://www.medicinenet.com/posttraumatic_stress_disorder/article.htm

Nicholls said horses are the most honest animals on earth and these people force their riders to look for the real truth.

"Sometimes in order to proceed with a horse but they are not going, you have to look inside and ... you will see things in yourself that perhaps you will have to change," he was quoted saying.

B.C. Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon wished Nicholls brilliant riders a secure journey.

"Today we are celebrating the start of an awesome endeavour by way of a younger series of Canadian veterans," said Guichon, who welcomed the riders to eliminate by to her ranch in B.C.'s Nicola Valley near Merritt.