Israeli Horse Ranch Heals Soldiers Near Good Samaritan Road

Near an ancient road connecting Jerusalem and Jericho, horses are healing what medication often can't reach.

Ruthy Mann runs a ranch in the Judean Hills that serves over 350 traumatized children. After the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attacks, soldiers started arriving too, carrying wounds no one could see.

One of those soldiers grew up at the ranch. His entire tank crew was killed during combat in Gaza, and he spent a month unconscious. When he finally came home, he drove straight to Ruthy's Ranch.

"The first thing he did after he came back home, he came here," Ruthy remembers. Nearly two years later, he still comes for weekly treatment with the horses.

Another soldier, who served in an elite intelligence unit, started having panic attacks so severe he lost 18 pounds. The sound of kids on skateboards triggered memories of incoming missiles. He couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't leave his bed.

Working with the horses changed everything. "Something about being here just calms you down," he says. "Everything with horses is about feeling."

The horses act like mirrors, reflecting the soldiers' stress back at them. When one aggressive soldier entered the arena, the horses reacted wildly. Seeing their response helped him recognize his own state and begin the work of calming down.

Lieutenant Commander Elia, after multiple deployments, found refuge among the horses overlooking the Judean wilderness. "Without this place, I don't know what I was going to do," he says. "This place is medicine for us."

As word spread, help arrived from Texas. Joshua Waller called his cowboy friends after October 7th and asked if they'd come to Israel during wartime. They all dropped everything.

Why This Inspires

The cowboys became an internet sensation when photos showed them as the only non-Jewish people in the security line flying into Israel while everyone else was leaving. By the time they landed in Tel Aviv, strangers were shaking their hands.

Cowboy Charlie calls it "probably the most special thing I'll do in my lifetime." Together with Ruthy and her team, they're building a resilience center for IDF soldiers. "We turned into a family, like instantly, almost," he says.

The location itself holds meaning. Many believe this area is where Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, a parable about showing compassion to the wounded. Now that ancient message of healing continues through four-legged therapists and cowboys who crossed an ocean to help.

For Ruthy, it's the fulfillment of a childhood dream that became something far bigger than she imagined.