Some of the deepest healing happens when you don’t call it “therapy.” That’s the idea driving a local veteran horse program near San Antonio, Texas, giving vets an alternative to traditional mental health care they might otherwise avoid. For veteran entrepreneurs trying to build something that actually works for their brothers and sisters, getting this distinction right is the difference between an empty program and one that’s constantly full.
Key Takeaways
- New Tactics, a vet horse program started in 2018, purposely avoids the “therapy” label to get more veterans to actually show up.
- The program mixes mindfulness sessions from a mental health counselor with horsemanship taught in military-style terms by a vet.
- A Baylor University study confirmed that equine work, when added to traditional treatment, helps lower vets’ anxiety and depression.
- Staffing is 100% veterans and service members, creating an instant environment of trust and shared experience.
- As a non-profit, New Tactics runs on donated resources, including 95% of its horses.
Jim Schaale, a 23-year U.S. Army veteran, started New Tactics in 2018 with his wife Tammy, who has an M.S. in mental health counseling. On their five-acre farm outside San Antonio, they run an equine experience for veterans, service members, and first responders, and their entire model hinges on one clear rule. As Jim says, “We don’t do anything with therapy…it’s a real big turnoff for some of our warriors.” He’s convinced this stance makes the program “a lot more receptive” to participants who would otherwise just tune out anything resembling a formal clinic.
Calling it an “experience” is a calculated move, not just a word choice, born from knowing the culture. Many vets are naturally skeptical of therapy, viewing it with a stigma that’s hard to shake after years in the military. By taking that label off the table, New Tactics gets people in the door like U.S. Army veteran Luis Montijo, who retired last October after 20 years. He started riding in March after trying “a bunch of other types of therapy that didn’t work,” finding the “uninvasive process” at the farm far more effective.
The Numbers Behind the Need
The demand for different kinds of support is huge. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 7 out of every 100 veterans will deal with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their life. The rate is even higher for specific groups, with 13% of all female veterans experiencing PTSD, compared to 6% of their male counterparts. These aren’t just numbers. They represent a real-world problem of getting effective support to a community that is often resistant to conventional help.
Equine-assisted programs have been gaining real credibility as a complementary tool. A Baylor University study, for instance, found that adding equine work to traditional treatments helped lower veterans’ anxiety and depression while improving their quality of life. Even though New Tactics steers clear of the “therapy” name, the program still quietly weaves in proven principles like structured mindfulness and goal setting, all within a completely non-clinical setting.
A Unique Blend of Mindfulness and Military Mentality
A typical Saturday session at New Tactics shows exactly how they pull this off. It kicks off with 30 minutes of mindfulness led by Tammy Schaale. During one session in early August, she started with two minutes of silence and then gave a prompt: “Take your biggest negative belief about yourself and reframe it, and give at least two reasons why your new belief is true.” After riders shared their reframed thoughts, a passage from “The Daily Stoic” was read. Before they even get on a horse, each person sets two intentions, one for their riding and one for their personal life.
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Then Jim Schaale takes over for three hours of riding instruction. He speaks the language everyone there understands, using military terms and throwing in some good-natured ribbing about different service branches. He calls it a “tough-love approach” that aims to be “real” with everyone. Montijo says this mix is what works, explaining how Tammy’s process “guides you to it, gets you zeroed in, and then Jim yelling at me on the other side simulates the controlled stress.” The result is an environment that feels both authentic and purposeful.
The riding itself is mission-oriented. Instead of just going in circles, participants have to get through obstacle courses and complete specific jobs. For a guy with a military background like Montijo, that complexity is the whole point. “I need something complex to devote all this energy to so that my mind isn’t wandering.” Giving the brain a focused task is a powerful way to manage the background noise of stress and intrusive thoughts.
Veteran-Led, Peer-Supported
The secret sauce for New Tactics might just be that the entire staff is made up of veterans and service members. This peer-to-peer reality creates an immediate shorthand and sense of camaraderie. You don’t have to explain yourself. Mike Waite, who is in the reserves after 19 years in the U.S. Air Force, first came because his wife pushed him. Now he’s a staff volunteer and owns a horse, and he’s seen how the animals “bring out the vulnerable side of their riders.” He gets why it works: “We have a big macho thing in the veteran world. We all like to be ‘Billy Badass’ and all tough. But you can’t trick a horse.” The honesty of a 1,200-pound animal cuts through a lot of the armor vets wear.
After two years at New Tactics, U.S. Army veteran Nancy Arriaga is now a volunteer staffer. She reports that her back pain and anxiety have both gone down, but the biggest change she’s seen is in her confidence. “I used to be super insecure, very intimidated,” she said. Being in a place guided by people who’ve walked in her boots created a space where she could let her guard down and grow.
The fact that New Tactics is a non-profit also provides a blueprint for how vets can build sustainable programs. They get by because the community steps up, 95% of the horses on the farm were donated. Jim Schaale points out that many of these horses, “like a lot of our warriors, have their own issues that are going on, so we can relate to them and their behavior.” When a vet sees a horse acting out from its own past trauma, there’s an immediate, unspoken understanding that builds a powerful connection. It’s a two-way street.
What this program in Texas shows other veteran entrepreneurs, including us here at Veteransnewstime, is that connecting with vets means getting creative and authentic. You have to build programs based on peer leadership and shared culture. You can read the full story on this program over at the San Antonio Report.
The New Tactics model is a compelling case study for anyone trying to serve this community, because it proves you can create a more effective path to well-being by understanding the culture and building a team of peers. By respecting the reluctance some vets have toward clinical settings and giving them a mission instead of a diagnosis, this approach gets results where others fail. It uses the direct, honest feedback from a horse and the leadership of a fellow vet to break down walls. For more on impactful veteran non-profits, you can explore our other articles.
By dropping the “therapy” label and putting veterans in charge, New Tactics gets a wider group of warriors to participate, creating real growth through shared missions and hard work. For veteran entrepreneurs, the takeaway is simple: if you build it with authenticity and put peers in leadership, they will come, especially when traditional methods have already let them down.
What is New Tactics?
It’s a non-profit organization outside San Antonio, Texas, that provides an equine experience for veterans, service members, and first responders, deliberately avoiding the “therapy” label.
Who founded New Tactics?
The program was started in 2018 by Jim Schaale, a U.S. Army veteran, and his wife Tammy Schaale, who holds an M.S. in mental health counseling.
Why does New Tactics avoid calling its program “therapy”?
The founders found the term can be a “turnoff” for some warriors. By avoiding it, they make the program more welcoming to vets who are skeptical of traditional mental health services.
What does a typical session at New Tactics involve?
A session usually begins with 30 minutes of mindfulness led by Tammy Schaale, then moves to three hours of horsemanship instruction with Jim Schaale, which often includes working through obstacle courses and specific tasks.
How is New Tactics staffed?
Its staff is made up entirely of veterans and service members. This creates a peer-to-peer dynamic that helps build immediate trust and understanding with the participants.
