Michael Hall: Holding The Reins of Resilience - Healing Warriors Through The Power Of Horses

Holding the Reins of Resilience – Michael Hall's Mission to Help Warriors Heal

In this powerful episode, Marcus and Melanie meet with Michael Hall, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL from BUD/S Class 267 and the founder of Hold the Reins, a groundbreaking non-profit organization dedicated to equine-assisted wellness and coaching for special warfare operators.

Michael shares his journey from the battlefield to the barn, explaining how his deep love of horses and his firsthand experience with the challenges of military life led him to create Hold the Reins. This program provides early intervention tools to help Navy SEALs, SWCC, and EOD teams develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, communication skills, and goal achievement—all through the incredible connection between humans and horses.

With the unique pressures that come with a career in special operations, divorce and suicide rates remain devastatingly high among service members. Michael recognized this crisis and made it his mission to provide a lifeline—a safe space where warriors can regain control, reconnect, and find healing.

Now, as he transitions into running Hold the Reins full-time as CEO and counselor, he's determined to give back to the community that shaped him.

Tune in to hear Michael's inspiring story, the science behind equine therapy, and how his program is changing lives one ride at a time.

In This Episode You Will Hear:
• [My dad] asked me blankly one day, “What do you want to do?” It was just one of those things where I just spit out the first thing that my heart said, “I want to be a SEAL.” (8:43)
• The Air Force recruiter looked at me, “Well, whatcha been up to since you graduated high school?” I didn’t hold anything back. I just gave him anything. He was like, “There's no room for you in our Air Force.” (9:31)
• [I saw] this recruiting commercial come on. Helicopters come over the horizon. It said, “We’ll take you from high school to flight school.” So, I get in my truck and drove 150 miles to the recruiting office and joined the Navy. (15:41)
• That why we started this thing, to help guys hit the pressure relief valve. (17:45)
• The world’s too slow. We’re moving too fast on the inside, and we start trying to numb that down, and we do it in unproductive ways.
• Our organization is called Hold the Reigns. We use horsemanship to teach guys how to emotionally regulate the present moment focus, and allow them to narrate their own story to us. (19:08)
• Were the only organization, possibly in the nation that I know of, that’s run by frogmen. (19:28)
• I feel like God has created in me the way, or persona that’s gonna be able to help guys. (23:23)
• You can’t team guy your way around horses. (26:24)
• I’ve dealt with a lot of really dangerous horses and people made them that way. (43:18)
• That's kind of a surprise thing we do – we put them in a really vulnerable situation, so you’re no longer the hairy-chested, bullet-proof frogman. You’re now just a little worried about your safety. (54:14)
• A horse is completely honest. They do not know how to lie. (59:40)

Socials:
- Website: Holdthereins.org
- Linktree: https://linktr.ee/holdthereins?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=77f57f3f-f76e-4374-bff3-5f37d6a085b1

- IG: team_neverquit , marcusluttrell , melanieluttrell , huntero13
- https://www.patreon.com/teamneverquit

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