Marietta police trying horse therapy to combat officer stress, improve mental health and policing

The Marietta Police Department recently launched a pilot project offering officers time at a horse therapy program in northwest Georgia. The farm program is designed to help participants process job-related trauma and release accumulated stress that research suggests puts officers at higher risk for divorce, substance use, lower life expectancy and suicide. (Jess Mador/WABE)

Half a dozen Marietta police officers in street clothes gather in a semicircle outside a barn at McKenna Farms therapy program in the rolling hills of Paulding County, in northwest Georgia.  

“Y’all are welcome,” says Gabriella Hartz, standing before the group. 

Hartz is a certified therapeutic riding instructor at the farm. She and another instructor introduce the horses the officers will meet during their visit.