Horse Therapy for War Trauma; Chinese Military Shakeup; Russian Cybercriminals in Turkey; China's "Combat Talent"

What We’re Reading, Hearing, and Watching – September 21, 2023

Healing With Horses

As the war in Ukraine grinds on, and as multilateral organizations discuss the huge task of the country’s physical rebuilding, local efforts continue to offer respite and restoration for traumatized fighters and refugees. One such effort takes place in stables and paddocks. Hippotherapy and other equine-assisted services, such as the Spirit Rehabilitation Center near Kyiv and a program at the Dergachev Sports School near Kharkiv, have sought to help veterans, their families, and refugees. 

Riding and working with horses can work marvels for wounded bodies and psyches. It gives people traumatized by war a respite from their everyday troubles, forces them to project calm authority to the animals, and bolsters their self-esteem. They sleep better and smile more, say the therapists. After one such session, “One soldier said it made him happy, an emotion he never expected to feel again,” the New York Times reported in August.