We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tammy Oluvic. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tammy below.

Tammy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My husband had just retired from the US Navy and had been diagnosed with PTS, anxiety and depression. We had purchased a small ranch in Alpine and decided to adopt two rescued horses. The symptoms of PTS include anger and my husband had been struggling with that. When he started learning about our horses and learning how to train them, he realized he needed to recognize when his anger was starting to be an issue. With the horses, he learned that if he was mindful of being present, he could control his anger. He started feeling like his old self, a happy and fun person. When we saw the effect the horses had on him, I knew we had to offer this to other veterans and first responders. Horses are amazing healers of our souls. These horses started us on a journey that we wouldn’t trade for anything. This is how Saddles In Service was born.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Once we realized how much horses can help with persons dealing with post traumatic stress, anxiety, depression and traumatic brain injuries, we decided to start a 501 (C)3 non-profit to help our veterans and first responders. We also wanted to rescue horses, rehabilitate them and give them a new purpose, helping our nation’s heroes. We decided to call the men and women going through our program, Heroes, because that is what they are to us. These heroes are veterans, active duty military, law enforcement, EMTs, fire fighters, nurses and all other first responders. Our program at Saddles In Service teaches our heroes natural horsemanship, from learning about their prey nature to moving cattle on their horse. Our program is about a year long and our heroes come weekly or when their schedule permits. They learn how to walk/trot/canter and learn how to move cattle. Once they go through our program, we send them to our site in Wyoming and they move cattle in the Big Horn Mountains. At night they learn leatherwork and make a pair of chaps or saddle bags. Our program has grown into a truly one of a kind experience for our heroes. One of our heroes father’s said to me, “Thank you for giving us our son back.” Our heroes are finding healing by working alongside our horses.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Veterans and even some first responders have difficulty when transitioning out of the military or job profession. This has been one of the reasons we have seen suicide rates rise among this group of individuals. We wanted to foster a community of “family” within Saddles In Service. When heroes finish our program we want them to continue being a part of our family. So we have developed a Hero to Wrangler program in which our heroes can help new heroes coming into our program. What better way to learn than for someone who has gone though the program and can relate to what the hero is going through. We are truly one big family that continues to grow daily. The healing journey for our heroes is celebrated with our entire Saddles In Service family.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

When we first started our program, some of my husband’s navy colleagues started contacting us to see if we could help one of their friends/family members that had served or were serving in the military. That started a big influx of veterans through word of mouth. Then we started contacting the various wellness departments in our local police departments and fire departments, and Border Patrol agencies. Inviting the wellness units to tour the ranch and learn about our program first hand definitely played a big part in our growth. But honestly, word of mouth has been the main reason for our increased growth. We served our first veteran in December of 2017 and have now served over 800 heroes to date.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.saddlesinservice.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saddlesinservice/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saddlesinservice
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saddles-in-servicee
• Twitter: @stormsonsranch