It can be a tough transition: serving our country and leaving a family behind and then trying to come back, sometimes years later, and start where you left off.

Now there’s a new program aimed at helping veterans heal with horses. It's called "Operation We Care" and it's offered at the Trinity Equestrian Center.

This weekend, three veterans got a chance to have a therapy session with the horses there and by the end of their experience they said healing with horses is something that could benefit anyone who's served our country.

"I served three years and got out and I was probably out for a month, maybe two. I couldn't take it. I had to go back," Veteran Timmy Klevgard said.

After serving in Operation Desert Storm, Timmy Klevgard knows first hand the struggles many veterans face when coming back home.

"I couldn't take coming back being a civilian cause I didn't have a job, sitting at home waiting to find something. It just wasn't what I was used to," he explained.

He's one of three veterans that gave horse therapy, or Equine Assisted Therapy, a try.

"It's a little nerve-racking because the horses don't do what you want them to do at first, but you learn a lot from them. It's quiet and relaxing and just let's you think," Klevgard said.

Toni Mattson with Trinity Equestrian Center says horses can form a powerful connection with veterans.

"The animals are so intuitive that they can pick up on those nuances of what's going on inside the soldier and why is he doing what he's doing. And then the whole thing begins to kind of unfold," Mattson said.

One of the biggest outcomes she says is building trust.

"The building of the relationship and the trust with the horses, that begins to kind of open them back up emotionally and they go that's how that feels. They say that's what I want back," Mattson explained.

She says her hope for the program is to reach out and help as many service members as possible.

"If you've been in combat, it is not if you have suffered or that you're carrying home the PTSD type of disorder or issues, it's to what degree," she said.

Mattson says the center plans on keeping the therapy sessions free for military members to ensure economic barriers don't keep anyone from getting the healing they need.

If you want to make a donation to the "Operation We Care" program you can drop one off at Northwestern Bank or send one directly to Trinity Equestrian Center with a note saying it's to go directly toward "Operation We Care."