Grit and Grace Horses (USA) – Impronte Equine (Italia). Workshop on the relationship between horses and US military personnel living in Italy

This article presents the preliminary results of the "Grit and Grace Horses" (USA) Impronte Equine (Italy) pilot project being developed between the United States and Italy, focussing on the relationship between horses and military personnel. Specifically, it analyses a workshop at the La Melagrana training centre in the province of Padua, where the interaction between horses and soldiers was observed using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates methods from anthropology and psychology. The main objective is to lay the foundations for an innovative paradigm aimed at developing a replicable theoretical and practical model useful for understanding and addressing systems of coping with suffering and expanding knowledge of interspecies relationships. The aim is therefore to reflect on how the interactions between humans and non-humans can be applied in contexts of recovery, psychological support and general wellbeing.