Trauma program gains ally

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A medevac pilot in Vietnam who created a horse-based healing program for veterans has found an important advocate in the widow of a West Point graduate who committed suicide after serving in Iraq.

Rebecca Morrison of Texas lost her husband, Ian Morrison, only four months ago. She came to Saratoga Springs this week to experience Saratoga War Horse. The fledgling program founded by retired Army pilot Bob Nevins teaches veterans how to manage trauma and stress by interacting with retired racehorses. It's a concept the Texan and Saratogian passionately believe in.

Nevins, 63, retired as an airline captain last year to work on making War Horse a national model for preventing suicide among military personnel. He and a team of specialists built a training program in Saratoga County that they hope will treat 700 veterans and service members annually. The Veterans Health Administration is considering funding the project nationwide.

Nevins invited Morrison to the home of history, health and horses after meeting her at last month's National Suicide Prevention Conference in Washington D.C. The 25-year-old widow arrived Tuesday with her mother, Pam Harrison. They were treated to box seats near the finish line at Saratoga Race Course on Wednesday.

Dressed in a flowered dress on a sunny day, Morrison explained her unexpected journey to being a participant in the national discussion on military suicides, which have claimed nearly one U.S. service member a day this year in Afghanistan, which is more than the enemy, according to reports.

"I am desperately looking for a solution to this problem," Morrison said at the track, her eyes repeatedly moistening. "I don't want to be known as a martyr or a girl whose husband died. I want to be the person who did something about it."

Morrison gave a powerful speech at the suicide prevention conference, essentially telling top-ranking Pentagon officials and members of the Department of Veterans Affairs that what they were doing to fight suicides among U.S. troops wasn't working. Time Magazine profiled the family's tragic story in a July cover article that also featured an Army doctor Michael McCaddon. Both men killed themselves on March 21.

The VA estimates that 6,500 veterans a year commit suicide in the U.S. The military reported in early June that during the first five months of the year there had been 154 suicides among active-duty American troops, compared to 130 during the same time last year.

The epidemic reaches across ranks. Ian Morrison had a promising military career. The captain flew an Apache Helicopter — 70 combat missions in Iraq between February and December 2011. Born funny and athletic, soldiers called him "Captain America" because of his good looks, Rebecca Morrison recalled.

But problems started about three months after Ian Morrison came home. Anxiety turned suddenly to severe depression. The illness knocked him off his feet.

The young couple enjoyed a strong marriage and worked together to map out a plan for his recovery. Finding help in navigating a course was difficult. The 26-year-old helicopter pilot sought advice from the Army a half-dozen times in the days before his death, Rebecca Morrison said. Doctors prescribed drugs, including the sedative Ambien, and Ian Morrison killed himself within three days of taking it, his wife said. She discovered his body.

"We don't have to let this happen to other people," she said.

Rebecca Morrison grew up around horses. She owns two, including "General Ike Eisenhower," which her husband bought and named for her. She recently moved back into her parents' home near Dallas and undergoes professional counseling twice-a-week. She also receives support through a private Facebook group of more than 300 wives of military men who killed themselves.

Nothing soothes her like Ike, though, and not just because Ian got him for her, Rebecca Morrison said. It's the horse's smell, the way it feels, reacts, she said. "I ride my horse every day," Morrison said. "I don't want to sell anyone short, but it's the biggest help." She also credits her Christian faith for pulling her through.

Morrison likes Saratoga War Horse's emphasis on a natural approach to recovery. Three-day courses pair wounded veterans with former racehorses, sometimes in confined spaces. Director Marilyn Lane of Saratoga Springs and a 10-person team created the trust-building exercises in which veterans learn to communicate and bond with the animals. Veterans have credited the exercises for reduced stress levels and improved sleeping patterns, which Nevins and Morrison rated as vital for healing.

"The problem is too overwhelming for the government to handle based on how they do things now," Nevins said. "It's not about drugs, it's about getting help."

Morrison had heard Nevins compare the plight of psychologically damaged veterans with retired racehorses, but she said it took a trip to Saratoga to fully understand the analogy. Soldiers and thoroughbreds are highly-trained and built to conquer. Both face the possibility of getting injured and discarded, she said. On Thursday, Nevins took Morrison to a Wilton farm to demonstrate the human-horse connection.

Morrison got to know Butter, a nine-year-old chestnut gelding that used to race for trainer Todd Pletcher under the name Three Lions. He won one race in his career. But Butter was a winner to Morrison.

"I don't know how it could have been more profound," Morrison said after a few hours with the horse. She added that her time on the farm had emotionally inspired her to start War Horse in the south to prevent others from going through what Ian and she went through. That's the legacy she wants to leave for her husband.

dyusko@timesunion.com • 518-454-5353 • @DAYusko