One of those who laid wreaths during Friday's Remembrance Day ceremony in Olds is a veteran of the Afghan war.
Chance Burles, 34, is originally from Calgary. He normally lives in Edmonton with his wife and son. But at the moment, he's attending Olds College, taking equine science.
His goal is to utilize that education to help people suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- like war vets and first responders -- deal with their symptoms by interacting with horses.
Burles was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) during a tour of Afghanistan that began in 2008.
“Our vehicle ran over it. It was a small one, just kind of blew off the tires. But I was in a bad position and it just kind of messed up my back from the blast,” he told the Albertan.
That incident led to the PTSD he now suffers from. The back injury became worse over time to the point where he now has a herniated disc and walks occasionally with a cane to provide balance and strength.
“I didn't really think much of it at the time because it wasn't much of an injury, my back just kind of hurt. And then, over the years of still being in the army and still doing all the training and still carrying all the gear, it just wore it down to a point that it herniated,” he said.
Burles graduates from the Olds College course in 2018. He's hoping to set up his equine therapy facility, which he plans to call Rest Easy Ranch, in about 2018 with some funding assistance. He'd love to set it up somewhere between Cochrane and Canmore but is aware that land there is very expensive.
“Basically you work with your therapist. So they will discuss the issues that you have and what traumatic incidents that you've been around and cause you the most issues,” he said.
“The horse being there, being that it's an animal, it picks up on your agitation far quicker than you ever will. So when you have a third party involved, when you're talking, it keeps you centred on the world around you, so you don't fall back into feeling that the traumatic incident's happening again.”
Burles says that's helped him.
“My family has a ranch. My uncle runs it down by Pincher Creek. Every time I went down to help them out with anything, I would come back and I'd be calmer. I'd be more relaxed; I wouldn't have as direct symptoms,” he said.
“They wouldn't come up as quickly. I'd be able to drive around traffic without getting angry and be able to deal with crowds of people a lot better, that kind of stuff.”
Burles is disappointed that more people don't attend Remembrance Day ceremonies (although the Ralph Klein Centre gym was packed for the Olds event on Friday).
He believes people of his generation tend to respect and attend Remembrance Day ceremonies because they remember Canadians serving in war-torn areas like Kosovo and Serbia as well as other hot spots in the world.
However, he doesn't think younger generations make that connection and appreciate the sacrifices Canadian military personnel have made for them.
“I think most of the time it's looked at as more of a day off from school than an actual day of remembrance,” he said. “It's disappointing, but that's the whole reason why we fought – to give them that right; that if they don't want to show up it's their choice. But we don't like it.”
"My family has a ranch. My uncle runs it down by Pincher Creek. Every time I went down to help them out with anything, I would come back and I'd be calmer. I'd be more relaxed; I wouldn't have as direct symptoms." CHANCE BURLES
