“Two Hearts, One Healing — When a Veteran and a Child Found Peace Through a Horse”

Kristian and Outlaw with BlueJeans photo bombing in the background

When Keith first came to Davis Dewberry Farm, he carried years of bottled-up anger and invisible scars. A proud veteran, he had survived battlefields but couldn’t find peace within himself. His temper came fast, his sleep came slow, and his heart carried a heaviness no one could see. He didn’t talk much when he arrived, he simply stood by the fence, guarded and uncertain. That’s where he met Outlaw, a powerful chestnut Morgan gelding who seemed to mirror his pain.

Mr. Keith

Outlaw had lived his entire life as an Amish workhorse, pulling wagons and plows from dawn to dusk. He most likely was not cruelly treated, but he had never known gentleness, never been brushed just because someone cared, never been spoken to softly, never been loved. He didn’t understand affection, only commands. When Keith reached for him the first time, Outlaw’s whole body tensed, eyes wide and unsure. They were two souls who didn’t yet know how to receive kindness.

In those early weeks, progress was slow. Outlaw flinched at every sudden movement, and Keith’s frustration sometimes bubbled over. But the farm has a way of softening even the hardest edges. Each day, Keith came back, quietly, steadily, showing up for a horse no one had ever shown up for before. Gradually, Outlaw began to trust the man with the rough hands and the patient heart.

Mr Outlaw

Around that same time, Kristian, a young boy with autism, began equine therapy at the farm. His world often felt too loud and unpredictable. On his first day, he grunted and hit himself with his fists, ran from his mother, kicked buckets, and dropped to the ground in distress. The barn noises, the snorting horses, the creaking stalls, were overwhelming. But then he saw Outlaw standing quietly beside Keith, still and patient. The horse didn’t move or demand anything; he simply waited.

Slowly, Kristian inched closer. He reached out, not to the horse, but to Keith, grabbing his hand with a firm, trusting grip. Keith froze, surprised, then knelt beside him. Outlaw lowered his head as if sensing the moment. None of them spoke, none of them needed to. In that stillness, a bond began to form. Three souls who had each lived with fear and frustration found a calm none of them had ever known.

From that day forward, Kristian returned to the barn daily. He brushed Outlaw’s coat while Keith stood nearby, their movements synchronized in unspoken understanding. The man who once wrestled with anger now found purpose in helping a child feel safe. And the child who once trembled in fear found peace in the rhythm of breathing beside a horse and a friend.

The joy of watching our equine therapy clients make progress and return to help others do the same!!!

Today, Keith volunteers with our equine therapy program, helping other veterans rediscover calm, purpose, and connection. Kristian still visits Outlaw, running to the barn with excitement and a smile that lights up the paddock. And Outlaw, the once stoic workhorse who had never known love, now stands quietly between them, proof that healing doesn’t always need words.

Sponsor a therapy session. Help veterans, children, and families discover healing through the quiet strength of a horse.