When Dan Purviance was in seventh grade, his teacher assigned the students a 10-page research paper about a career that interested them. As a 13-year-old in rural Missouri, Dan had just gotten his first horse. He wrote about becoming a veterinarian.

“What else would I want to do?” he asks today with a smile. “God has always given me a passion for horses, I’ve just enjoyed them all my life. It’s the reason I became a veterinarian, and it just opened a lot of doors for me.”

Dan’s veterinary career started in Missouri caring for large farm animals – mostly cattle herd management. But after he married Melanie, they realized the grueling schedule might be tough on their future family. They came to the Rockford area in 1982 for Dan to join a small-animal clinic in Loves Park with another Christian vet.

Now 70, Dan retired two years ago after more than 42 years as a veterinarian. Though he wasn’t treating horses most of those years, his passion for them remained. Since 1991, he and Melanie have lived on a farmette in Caledonia and enjoyed owning and riding horses. And now, Dan’s variety of volunteer activities includes BraveHearts, a therapeutic riding organization near Poplar Grove. Bravehearts has received a Jeremiah Fund grant from First Free Rockford.

Bravehearts provides equine therapy to kids and adults, and is largest program of its kind for veterans. Dan has been trained to assist riders, or to catch, saddle and lead horses while someone rides. He didn’t have to be taught the therapeutic value of being around a horse.

“It’s different than if you just sit in a therapy room,” Dan says. “They do minor physical exercises. Like when they ride, they ask them maybe to put their arms out, to help strengthen their musculature. Or hands on the head. For some, it’s speech therapy. Some of these kids are autistic. Some have disabilities where they can’t walk at all. But it’s amazing. On a horse, they just come alive.”

For veterans, equine therapy is even proving to reduce suicide rates in those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ministry everywhere

For Dan, retirement has opened a world of opportunities. Along with Bravehearts, he and Melanie have become involved with Filter of Hope, an international ministry that provides drinking-water filters to people in places where no fresh water is available. Dan and Melanie have worked with local churches in Cuba and Belize, not only providing families and schools with water filters that will last 10 years, but also sharing the gospel in places where it is very welcome.

Dan also has volunteered with First Free’s Habitat for Humanity team, and is always looking for new ministry opportunities. “When you take work off the table, it does open up a lot of possibilities,” he says. “It opens you to the possibility of God just giving you the schedule. That can change every day. I love sitting here having a quiet time and asking, What do you want me to do today? A lot of times it will be, You should call this guy or that guy or, or write a letter. Whatever he brings to my mind, I am now free to do it.”