ALLENDALE – Veterans Mark and Amy Steppe of Ridgewood started the Unbridled Heroes Project to save both wild mustangs and returning service members from the scars of the past.

“The horses, they do heal us. I can’t really explain it. They help you calm down and be in the moment. It saved us,” said Mark Steppe. "The way it healed us and our family, we wanted to give that to other people.”

Life had been difficult for the Steppes, who have two children. Mark Steppe lost eight members of his regiment, and suffered life-altering injuries, while serving overseas.

“It was very hard and taxing on our family," said Amy Steppe. "He also came back with a physical condition. He was in a wheelchair and couldn’t walk. Our family kind of fell apart,” said Amy Steppe, a Marine veteran herself.

An incident in 2012 involving their youngest son, and a medical crisis for Amy, were breaking points for the family. “Everything stood still during that time,” she said.

Then came Phoenix.

Amy learned about a horse rescue farm, and a mare and her foal that had been rescued from a kill pen.

“They told me no one’s been able to touch this horse for seven months, she was so abused before she got here,” said Amy. “I remember looking at this horse and feeling an instant connect. I said ‘We’ll volunteer.’ What that did was force me out of bed every morning. We started spending more time together, outside with these horses, feeding, fixing fences, cleaning.”

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The work helped them regain the bond of their marriage. They starting bringing their children, and their youngest grew close to a rescued mule.

“While we thought we were helping these horses, they were really healing us,” Amy said. “After four months, I was able to touch Phoenix for the first time. It was one of the most beautiful things to gain her trust.”

Learning to train horses by observation, they got the notion to bring this gentling technique to their own farm.

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Launched in September, their horse farm behind Rohsler's Allendale Nursery has 10 volunteers who help with the daily chores and create a home for Chirpa, Hope and Shiloa, three rescued mare mustangs, and two rescued mini horses.

Scars from Vietnam

Mark Steppe met Kevin Henry, 71, of Allendale, at a local festival, and realized they had a common bond, both having served in the same regiment — the Black Horse infantry.

“I told them I’d like to help out in any way that I can, but I know nothing about horses. I like to keep busy and I really like helping people,” said Henry, 71.

“When I came home from Vietnam, I wasn’t in good shape mentally," he said. I managed to get through it on my own. In those days, the VA wasn’t a lot of help.”

He took up woodworking to deal with post-traumatic stress, and today he sells his pieces to raise money for Tails for Hope Foundation, which provides service dogs to wounded veterans.

Working outside is a good kind of tiring, Henry said, keeping your mind from wandering while trying to sleep. Sharing your problems with other veterans is also crucial.

“Listen to others on how they got through it,” he said. “Men and women have been coming home from war thousands of years. You’ve got to motivate yourself, and have to want to get better.

"One way to do that is to help those worse off than you and develop a craft,” he said.

American mustang, heroes and spirit

At the Allendale farm, Hope trotted up to the fence, undeterred by the strangers stepping into her enclosure. She nibbled at their gloves, looking for a snack, but was content with a stroke on her muzzle.

Just a few months ago, the wild horse was entirely different.

“This was a horse you couldn’t even touch because she was so abused. They had to put her completely out just to treat her feet,” Amy Steppe said.

In the same way, another volunteer veteran has undergone a transformation.

Kevin Bombace, 22, of Ridgewood, joined the Marines after graduating from high school. In a few short years, he was stationed all over the world, but his military career was cut short when he was diagnosed with leukemia. Radiation, bone marrow transplants, chemo and other treatments — the experience took a physical and mental toll.

“Honestly, it’s been amazing and life-changing for me,” Bombace said of Unbridled. “It helped me not focus on all the negatives. And putting me to work, helping take me away from all those problems, those thoughts I was having, and being here watching the beautiful horses Amy and Mark have saved.”

His life in the service was far different: very structured, and daily needs were taken care of.

“When we’re thrown into the civilian world, especially as a young individual who’s never had to do a lot of the stuff that most people in today’s world have to do for themselves, they get very disorganized and think they can’t do it. They get very lost,” he said. “A lot of people don’t believe in themselves, and I think that contributes to the 22 veteran suicides a day.”

Amy said Bombace is like a different person than when he first arrived a few months ago: stronger physically and much more positive and cheerful.

“Seeing all my friends go live their lives and their dreams, and all the plans that we had for after the Marine Corps, mine were squashed a year ago," when the diagnosis came. "I had to start thinking about what I was going to do,” said Bombace, who is pending medical retirement.

In the same way, the mustangs have endured a heartbreaking past and faced an uncertain future.

At the heart of Unbridled's mission, Amy said, “is to rescue and rehabilitate these horses stuck in the slaughter pipeline, and wild mustangs, and bring our veterans in as well,” said Amy Steppe. “These horses were free, happy and unbridled, and the government rounded them up and separated them from their herds and family. It’s horrific. There are 45,000 now in holding pens.”

The federal Bureau of Land Management rounds up wild horses to prevent overpopulation and free public lands for commercial livestock. The animals are kept in holding facilities and can be adopted for a fee. While they cannot be sold for slaughter here, a gap in federal regulations means they can be sold to buyers who in turn, truck them across the border for slaughter and consumption.

In other cases, adopted horses wind up with owners who cannot handle these wild animals and become abusive and neglectful.

It’s that parallel between the American mustang, the American hero and the American spirit of demanding change that gave Unbridled its name.

“This country was built on the backs of these animals, they are really smart and majestic, and they should be protected,” said Amy Steppe.

Fortunately, Unbridled’s three mustangs ended up in Florida, under the care of their partner, 16-year-old Cat Zimmerman of CZ Mustangs, before coming to New Jersey. Zimmerman is the co-founder and award-winning head trainer at CZ Mustangs.

“It’s an amazing thing that Amy and Mark are doing, saving these wild horses that had no future, giving them another life, in the same way I was given life and Mark and Amy were given new lives,” Bombace said.

The Steppes plan to run many more programs in spring, such as yoga and training sessions, and make a bench for Henry’s woodworking.

The circle

Sunnyside Equestrian Center in Monmouth County Park hosts Horses for Heroes, a similar equine therapy program for military members and veterans. Yoga with horses is among its programs.

The way horses respond to human needs is uncanny, said Paul Drew, a Vietnam veteran who takes part in the yoga sessions.

“I have my hand on Gracie’s back and I’m supposed to lift a leg. I shake because I’m unsteady. That horse does not move an inch," Drew said. "She knows that I need her to be steady and that’s what she is."

Drew, a Spring Lake Heights resident, has bonded with Gracie the horse in other ways, taking her out for walks, kicking a ball or just grooming her.

He said, "When the horse is supporting the human, the horse knows the human needs it,” he said.

Jackie West, program director, said: “We had invited a couple of the veterans to come participate, marrying the yoga program with our Horses for Heroes was a really nice blend. They really took to it because it is all about grounding, breathing, and living in the moment.”

The programs are free to all veterans and active-duty members.

“I think that they [horses] mimic what is going on with you. If you are wondering what is going on with yourself, a horse will usually tell you,” said West.

"Just being a with a horse, which is not judgmental, and being with a big animal and caring for it is very helpful for them.”

Since the program’s inception a few years ago, about 20 veterans have participated in Horses for Heroes.

“That’s a big win for us and them, because they have purpose, and can share the skills they have learned being around horses,” she said.

Drew said it's an “incredibly humbling and refreshing feeling” to know the horses and even the staff are there to support him and the other clients.

For many vets, in the beginning, “just having a place to go, getting out of the house, going to be with animals and in the fresh air and nature, it’s very healing to have a destination,” said West.

West said some of their veterans went on to volunteer for the Special People United to Ride (SPUR), which teaches horseback riding to those with disabilities.

“It makes participation so meaningful,” said Drew, who volunteers twice a week. “Compassion becomes empathy, on all sides of the spectrum."

Helping out as a lead walker — focusing on the horse so the side walker can focus on the rider — is a truly rewarding experience. SPUR has all kinds of participants, he said. Those he’s helped include a 5-year-old boy with a trachea tube, a 30-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy who cannot speak.

“He has such joy on that horse for a half hour, and I’m a part of that,” Drew said of the young man.

The rewards ripple outward even further.

From the arena, Drew said he can see the smiling faces of the clients’ parents and caregivers. “You are also giving them an hour of peace, because they invariably say ‘Thank you.’”