At age 42, Steve Herbel spent almost half his life serving in the United States military. As a mortarman, interpreter and interrogator in the Marine Corps and Army, he was severely injured six times, honorably discharged and awarded the Purple Heart Medal for combat wounded veterans, according to a news release.

For Herbel, the road back to his family following his tenure with the military was made difficult by post traumatic stress disorder. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs defines PTSD as a mental health problem that can occur after someone goes through a traumatic event like war, assault, or disaster.

As one of two participants in the Mustang Mentor pilot project, Herbel was on hand to answer questions and join in the Sept. 11 Purple Heart Golf Tournament at River Place Country Club to benefit the program.

The mentor program, a part of the Mustang Heritage Foundation, pairs a veteran with a Bureau of Land Management wild horse and trains the former serviceman or servicewoman to tame the animal in about 100 days, said Danny L. Baker, Commander of The Military Order of the Purple Heart, Chapter 1919 Texas. The horses involved in the project are then placed into adoptive homes.

There are about 50,000 wild mustangs in holding pens currently waiting to be adopted out, Mustang Mentors program director John Collins said. The Sept. 11 event, which included a noon flyover by the United States Air Force, was the first fundraising activity for the Mustang Mentors program since it was created through the Mustang Heritage Foundation in May, he said.

The Mustang Mentor program is also working with Fort Hood PTSD victims, Baker said. Nationally, 22 veteran suicides occur each week, with three veteran suicides in Texas during the last two weeks, he said.

"A lot of us come back [from military tour] injured, displaced," tournament player Shane Savage said. Savage, who served four years in the United States Marine Corp, was medically discharged, and then returned to service in the United States Army. He served five tours in the military—four in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

Savage was hit with shrapnel in 2008 and later fractured 24 bones in his ankle during an attack in 2010, he said. He earned two Purple Heart Medals for his service and has been involved in organizations which help returning veterans with PTSD, he said.

"[When we return from a military tour], we don't feel comfortable with ourselves, the bonds with our family are lacking, and narcotics make us feel incomplete," Savage said.

Herbel said he felt relief immediately as he began training his horse.

"The horse doesn't judge you—it's not biased," Herbel said. As a result of PTSD, Herbel retreated to his home for two years and considered suicide, he said.

"Vets feel like they are a prey animal," said horse trainer Byron Hogan, who worked with Herbal at the Weir, Texas, training site. "Like these horses, they are in survival mode."

Hogan said he uses a pressure and release technique with the injured veterans to promote communication between the former soldier and the horse.

"It's about being able to develop a nonverbal relationship because, as a vet, sometimes you forget," Hogan said.

Now an alumni of the program, Herbel said he is looking forward to sharing the knowledge he gained from the Mustang Mentor experience with other veterans who are in the same desperate situation he had been.

"If you can move a 900-pound animal, you can do anything," Herbel said. "Mustang Mentor gives you a foundation to work with a wild animal and offer that horse a home at the same time—it's a double win."

The golf tournament, held at River Place Country Club, followed a Sept. 10 dinner and dance gala that raised $30,000 for the program, Savage said.