Retired Army National Guard Sgt. Todd Plybon got a certain pride out of taking care of "his guys" while in the military. But that changed when he got out.

"When you're released (from the military), it's like being put out to pasture," Plybon said during an interview this past week. "They're done with you, and you don't have anybody that you're responsible for."

After starting equine therapy five years ago, he found that he could develop that sense of trust again, where you're watching out for someone.

On Monday, Plybon, of Taylor, Texas, who is medically retired from the military, will discuss how equine therapy helped him recover after the Humvee he was riding in during a 2009 deployment to Afghanistan hit an improvised explosive device, or IED. He lost two friends in the blast, which also severely injured him.

Horses are sensitive animals, Plybon said, that mirror your mood.

"If you come in and you're anxious and you feel keyed up, the horse will start to reflect back on you whatever state you're in," he said. "It's forced me to calm down. At first, I'd have to calm down when I got there, eventually I got to where I'd calm down before I'd get there. Now I'm much better."

His experience with horses was a big reason his brother-in-law Craig McCalister, a retired Coast Guard chief petty officer, started Veterans Equine Therapeutic Services, which provides equine-assisted programs to veterans with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges at no cost. Monday's talk is a fundraiser for VETS, which McCalister started after he saw how much the equine therapy program Plybon goes to in Texas has helped him.

"With Todd (Plybon), he'd be fidgety, agitated and then afterward, it was like they hit him with a wand and it was all dissipated," McCalister said. "That was the magic I saw."

Plybon's wife, Tara, who has been caring for Plybon since his injuries in 2009, also noticed a huge shift in him.

"This is a guy getting weekly counseling, getting mental health services. ... But all that stuff aside, it didn't do anything near what horses do for him," Tara Plybon said.

Tara Plybon, who has led a local support group for caregivers in Cedar Park, Texas, since 2011, also will talk about her experience as a military caregiver at Monday's event.

The "Vets Mess" event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10 at RD86 Space, 86 Golden St. in New London. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at www.vetsct.org. Those who can't attend but would like to support the initiative are encouraged to buy a ticket on behalf of a veteran to attend at no cost.