N.S. hay shortage puts veteran support program with horses in jeopardy

A farm in Nova Scotia's Hants County has been struggling to acquire hay ahead of the winter months, and if the shortage continues it may be forced to sell some of the horses used in a program for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The province is facing a shortage due to floods and long stretches of wet weather this summer that made it hard to get machinery into fields and gave little time for the hay to dry.

"It's extremely stressful," Serenity Acres Family Ranch owner Kristy Falconer said. "Our regular hay vendor couldn't get on the field until just a couple weeks ago and only got a fraction of what he normally would."

Falconer was a first responder who was diagnosed with PTSD four years ago. She's an advocate for equine-assisted learning and its therapeutic benefits. The program allows the horse to be the teacher and help veterans who suffer with PTSD and other mental illnesses. 

"Horses are strong followers of leadership and they need strong leadership," she said. "If someone isn't demonstrating strong leadership, the horse won't follow and walk away on the person."

Hay prices rising

Falconer worries Serenity Acres, which is located in the community of Ardoise, might not be able to meet the need for hay as prices continue to grow due to the shortage.

She said she typically goes through two rounds bales of hay a day to feed 15 horses. She used to spend $30 per round bale, but has recently seen prices reach $75.

"Our business will disappear. It's clearly based on horses and the petting zoo, so without animals there's no, there's no business," she said.

Volunteer and military veteran Ken Carpenter has been involved with Serenity Acres for two years. He said the farm has helped him through tough times, and calls the barn a safe haven for those who struggle. 

"My first time going there I found myself rocking on the steps of the barn because my anxiety was so high," Carpenter said. "Once I started meeting the horses my anxiety level just came right down." 

Carpenter was with the 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment and was deployed to Bosnia. He was diagnosed with PTSD. He describes the horse bonding as comforting, and recalled when one of the horses, Buddy, helped him decompress after a triggering episode.

"He started grooming the top of my head with his lips and he was just letting me know it was OK, that things are going to be fine," he said.

Carpenter said the thought of having to let go of the horses due to the hay shortage makes him upset and he knows it's the last thing Falconer wants to do.

"I know she doesn't want to do that. I don't want her to do that," he said. "But when you have no choice, you have no choice." 

He said he has witnessed people come out of their shells by working with horses. The program is also offered to youth and at-risk teens, and Falconer and Carpenter said they've seen youth go in angry only to be rejuvenated with smiles after leaving the barn. 

Amy VanderHeide, a hay producer and owner of Mountain Base Farm and Coldbrook Farms Ltd. in the Annapolis Valley, said this was the most stressful year they've had. 

In a typical year, she said, the farm would make 10,000 square bales of hay. This year, "we were lucky" to make half that.

She said in all of her years as a producer, she has never experienced a crisis like this, with farmers across the province calling in for hay.  

"It does weigh on you when you're trying to feed other people's animals," VanderHeide said.

'Tears have been shed'

Carpenter believes it's imperative that the PTSD program at Serenity Acres survives, as it has connected people who share the same struggles and built a community. 

Falconer said the program has helped numerous people through their struggles, with people returning to volunteer. 

"Many tears have been shed in that building," she said. "Tears of healing, tears of discovery, self-discovery, self-realization."

Carpenter had a conversation with a participant last week who said all 15 horses felt like therapists.

"This place provides so much to so many people and if we lost that? ... Well, I don't know what I would do ... I'd be at the end of my rope."