Helping Veterans, Responders, and Their Supporters Forge a Brighter Future On any Wednesday night at Black Horse Forge, you’ll see the fire as you pull into the parking lot. Then you’ll hear the hammering and the metal grinders buzzing. It looks and feels like an industrial workshop. But what is forged here isn’t just metalwork. Each strike of a hammer represents a life reshaped, rebuilt, and sometimes even saved. Black Horse Forge instructs veterans, active-duty military, first responders, and their supporters in the art and craft of blacksmithing with the goal of providing a sense of accomplishment, mental and physical wellbeing, and the knowledge and experience to continue the craft in their own communities. “Blacksmithing is the ultimate art therapy for those who are mission-oriented,” said Steve Hotz, the retired Army Sergeant who founded Black Horse Forge. Steve is a combat veteran who struggles with his own PTSD. When he discovered how blacksmithing changed his life, he wanted to pay it forward by establishing Black Horse Forge in 2018. Since then, the 501(C)(3) non-profit has helped thousands of men and women find a productive way of coping with PTSD, TBI, and the everyday effects of high-stress jobs that keep our communities and our country safe.
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WWW.HomelandMagazine.com / DECEMBER 2021
The act of working with hot metal doesn’t leave room for dwelling on negative thoughts that can spiral into depression and other issues, Steve explained. Participants focus on heating metal in a 2,300-degree forge, shaping it at first with large, aggressive blows, then refining their project with more calculated hits. The final touches, including heat treating, grinding, filing, and sanding, all work together to give the ‘smith a sense of mission, accomplishment, and pride. “It wears them out,” said Steve. “When they walk away at the end of the day, they are tired. They go home, think about what they’re going to do with their project tomorrow, and they sleep well. It just puts some of that other stuff out of their minds for a while and gives them something positive to look forward to.” Popular classes include basic blacksmithing, knife making, railroad spike knife making, tool making, hammer making, and decorative metalwork. All the benefits don’t happen at the anvil, though. Once a veteran or first responder completes a class, he or she is eligible to attend Open Forge nights each Wednesday where they can work on their own projects at their own speed, alone or with a cadre member; or they can just hang out with others who have had similar life experiences.
