
500 Miles
Combat veterans wrestling with PTSD and addiction take on a 500-mile trek through the backcountry, guided by the Heroes and Horses program and partnered with sixteen mustangs selected for their instincts and temperament. The film follows the group as they leave behind cell service, comfort, and routine, trading them for trail navigation, horse care, and long stretches of silence in rugged terrain. Interviews with participants trace how the isolation and physical demand strip away the usual distractions from trauma, while the horses, unpredictable and unmoved by rank or bravado, force a kind of honesty the men can't fake their way through. Statistics on veteran addiction and PTSD frame the stakes early, but the film's real material is the ride itself: blistered hands, spooked animals, exhaustion, and the slow shift in how these men talk about purpose by the time they reach the end of the trail.