Weekend in Numbers

The 'small' setup at the Arabian show!

10: Average number of hours per day I was at the Arabian show this weekend. (12 hours the first two days, and a short 7 on Sunday!)

9: Number of hours a day, on average, an 8 year old kid was hanging out at the trailer with me. She and her mother were showing; apparently mom thought it was totally fine for her daughter to chill at a tack trailer with a stranger for the better part of the day. (This was a very awkward arrangement, and several people assumed she was my kid!)

8: Number of people who asked me if I had "sparkle pins" for their hair. Apparently, these are very hot with the saddle seat set. (Sadly, we do not carry them, but I feel like they might appeal to some dressage people!)

7: Approximate number of times an hour I heard Flo Rida's "GDFR", which is a terrible, terrible song.

Buttons keeps an eye out for customers.

6: Length, in feet, of most show horses' tails at this event. I don't think I saw a horse whose tail didn't drag the ground.

5: Number of after hours trips I made to the store this weekend to restock or drop off various items- I went morning and night!

4: Number of customers that would inevitably be in line when I returned from a bathroom break, no matter how short it was or how dead it was before I went!

3: Number of hours it took me to set up on Thursday- the gridwall doesn't go up (or come down) very easily when you're by yourself!

2: Number of people who spent time explaining to me what dressage was, even after I mentioned that I ride dressage pretty regularly. (One person went so far as to explain to me that "You have to canter in First Level!")

I might know about dressage, but I know very little about english trail class!

1: Number of kindred spirits I met this weekend- this wonderfully friendly woman was showing her Arabian gelding in Intro dressage for the first time the weekend; she described dressage as a 'lifelong dream'. She was so excited and enthusiastic when she placed second with a 63% and rushed back to the mobile unit to tell me about it! People like her are my favorite part of going to shows.

It was definitely interesting to spend the weekend at an Arabian show- I had no idea the breed had so many variations. The saddle seat classes were wild, and I saw some very...interesting interpretations of hunter under saddle!

What were y'all up to this weekend?

Working a horse show

My employer, The Horse of Course, has a lot going on: there's a brick-and-mortar store, an ever-expanding web store, and two mobile units. One is pretty much permanently out of town: THoC's owners travel with it up and down the East Coast dressage circuit. (So if you'll be in Wellington, FL this winter at a dressage show, go say hello!) The other travels more locally- mostly to hunter/jumper and a handful of dressage shows here in Oklahoma.

Over the weekend, the local trailer was parked at the Hunter Jumper Exhibitors of Oklahoma's Fall Finale Show, one of the biggest H/J shows in the state. I was very excited that I'd have the chance to spend the day working the trailer on Thursday. After all, I'm reasonably knowledgeable about the H/J world (thanks in no small part to many of your blogs!) and love chatting with people. I don't often have the chance to interact with in-store customers, as I am usually in my office doing things that require me to sit in front of a computer.

There's a lot that goes into prepping for a show: loading the trailer started about a week before the event. All sorts of things are stuffed into the trailer: grooming supplies, all manner of tack, show clothing, casual apparel, helmets, gift-y items. Display racks and grid walls are also loaded onto the trailer. It's a process, y'all. Everything has to be secured and tied down so it won't shift much while the trailer is hauled to the show grounds. The trailer arrives at the show grounds a few days before the show starts; the show management moves the trailer into the building for us. 

The trailer, crammed full of stuff. (There was even more stuff, but it was unloaded already.)

On Wednesday, my coworker Emilie and I headed to Expo Square in Tulsa to unload the trailer and set our display up. Even though the show didn't start until Thursday, we wanted to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything; we also wanted to set up our grid walls and tables and get a general feel for how our merchandise would be displayed.

Grid walls are up, tables are up, and rugs are out!

Just about the time Emilie and I got everything set up, schooling in our arena ended. At the end of the day, all the merchandise that's out is loaded onto racked and stored in the trailer overnight. The chairs, tablecloths, and any loose items on the tables go in the trailer, too; it's all locked up until the next day.

I arrived at Expo Square around 7:45 AM on Thursday. (Which is way earlier than I normally get to work!) I brought one of my dogs with me- after all, nothing attracts people like a cute dog, right? 

Buttons says "TREAT NOW YES"

It took me just over an hour to unload the trailer and hang everything in its place. I schlepped water in a pitcher from the water fountain for the coffee pot and did my best to make our setup look inviting and fun.

So much stuff, y'all.

I had the best time working at the show! The first customer who came in was a teenager who asked me, "Do you have any Perfect Prep?" (I almost died laughing after she left because of the "What Your Show Helmet Says About You" video.) I sold all sorts of things that day: hairnets, Zocks, sweaters, helmets, and even a few bits. I had a wonderful time chatting with everyone who came in. One girl had recently started a Pony Club in Northwest Arkansas. One woman was thinking of buying a friend's tack shop and wanted to know what working at one was like. Someone asked me my advice on my favorite type of boot socks.

Perhaps the funniest customer of the day was a harried-looking show mom who came in with her disinterested daughter right before I closed down for the night. She looked at me, wild-eyed, and demanded "DO YOU HAVE ANY BITS?" 

I gestured to the wall behind the cash register and said, "Sure, we have a lot!" 

She said, "I just need like, a regular bit!"

A little confused, I said, "...Like, a snaffle?"

She said, "Uh....I guess?"

I held up a D-ring and asked, "Does the bit you need look like this?"

She said it did, and asked if we had any 4 3/4" bits. The only one I had on the trailer was a Happy Mouth; Show Mom called her daughter's trainer and asked, "IS A HAPPY MOUTH OKAY?" The trainer said that no, a regular D-ring was fine. I fished around and found a 5". Show Mom calls the trainer again: "ALL THEY HAVE IS A 5", IS THAT OKAY?!" Trainer replies that a 5" is totally fine. I put the bit on the counter, and Show Mom notices that it's slightly curved. She snaps a picture, then calls the trainer: "IT'S CURVED!! IS THAT OKAY?!" Trainer replies that curved is fine. I could only imagine the daughter's poor trainer, rolling her eyes at frantic Show Mom

Show Mom informed me that her husband had taken apart the horse's bridle to oil it and forgotten to re-attach the bit; I got the impression that Show Mom was on the brink of divorce over this infraction. I was genuinely puzzled as to why Show Dad was the one oiling the bridle, instead of the horse's rider; better yet, why didn't the rider know why kind of bit her horse needed?! 

At any rate, the show was super fun- I had a great time talking to customers and encouraging people to pet my dog Buttons. I'm hoping I'll get sent on tack trailer duty at future shows! 

Buttons watches for customers.

Blowout sale on various apparel

Thanks for all your well wishes for Moe! Rest assured, he appreciated them. I'm definitely looking forward to moving both horses this weekend to a barn where I feel confident about their care.

Onto a more fun topic: sales! Well, a sale. My first task at my new job is to update all of the clearance apparel on the tack store's website. There's a ton of it, most of it last year's winter lines from various brands. The price on most of these items is at or just above wholesale cost. The catch? A lot of it is uncommon sizes and extremely limited quantities.

I'm only about halfway through this massive project, but thought I'd give y'all a heads up about some of the sweet deals that are available. (Disclaimer: I don't get a commission if you buy things online. But maybe I'll get a raise one day?)

Anky sleeveless top, $10. Super soft and lightweight polyester polo tank. It's very flattering and stylish- it's hard to see in the picture, but it's a wrap-style top. There's one left, size medium in a cream color. (That's my coworker Jasmine modeling.)

Gersemi stretch cotton tee, $10. This is an extremely soft and luxurious t-shirt. Gersemi is a Swedish high-fashion equine line that makes all kinds of clothing. There are two of these tees in size small in the amethyst color pictured. 

Truitt Jane Polo, $10. These polos are very, very cute in person. They're a nice pique fabric with an embroidered zebra on the left breast. I like that they only have two buttons on the placket- I hate polos with tons of buttons. They're available in lime green, neon orange, mauve, and black. They're most available in small and extra small, but there are a few mediums there too.

Irideon Chinchillaaah Half Zip Fleece, $29.97. This thing is seriously soft, y'all. It's so cozy and warm- it'd be perfect for brisk fall days or worn as a layer under a heavier jacket in the winter. There are a few sizes in each color (sugarplum and saddle)- you'll have to check the website to see if what you want is available.

Irideon tall boot tee, $16.17. I love these long sleeve t-shirts! They have a modest v-neck and are a nice, slightly stretchy cotton. The graphic on the front is a small circular Irideon logo on the left breast and you can see the graphic on the back- a tall boot composed of horse related words like "half chaps" "jump" and "ride". 

Anyway, over the next week for so, more inventory will pop up on the website as I get through it. There are some heavy insulated winter breeches and more long sleeve shirts on super sale (50% off MSRP). 

If any more crazy cheap stuff comes up, y'all will be the first to know! 

Desk jockey

Good news, y'all! Yours truly is no longer unemployed! Or rather, yours truly is no longer under-employed teaching the occasional riding lesson and training the occasional horse.

Starting Monday, I'll be the web manager for my local tack store The Horse of Course! When I was in to browse saddle pads a few weeks ago, I noticed they were hiring. I applied, and thanks to a well-placed call from a friend with a contact there, I was granted an interview.

I'm really excited, but also a little nervous. It's a full time position, but has flexible hours. The barn is now a solid 45-60 minute drive away; I think as long as I get up bright and early, I'll be able to ride before work. After all, someone has to keep Freddie in line and feed Moe cookies.

Speaking of Freddie, I got a hack in on her this afternoon. She was excellent in the arena, all softness and bends and little baby lateral movements. I headed outside for a walk around the hay meadow with our friends Holly and Sundance for company; Freddie was a real gem for about five minutes. Then she went from calm and happy to omgomgomg bolt now wut! in approximately 30 seconds. 

I don't have a clue as to what set her off. Perhaps Sundance was too far behind her? Maybe the grass was extra tickly today? At any rate, Fred spent some time on a tiny circle and sidepassed for the better part of the walk back to the barn. We went back to work in the indoor arena for about 10 minutes, where she was cool as a cucumber. I'll just file today under "learning curve" and leave it at that.

Horsey Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and it always has been. It's the day after my birthday; as a youngster, that meant cake and presents one day and candy galore the next. (Somehow, I never had a birthday/Halloween double-party.) I've always enjoyed dressing up and having fun with the spooky holiday.

This year, I didn't dress up (my zombie costume that saw me through college is a little too bloody for a therapeutic riding center), but I arrived at work early to get a jump on decorating the horses!

Fancy as a Dalmatian.

Sledge as a cowboy.

Honey as a giraffe.

Wolfman as one of Santa's reindeer. (With his decorator, Sarah!)

Kloe as a skeleton.

King as a (grumpy) cowboy.

Speck as a patriotic pony.

The paint on the Honey and Kloe is kids' finger paint; Fancy has face paint on. The two pintos at work were Indian war ponies and had red and yellow finger paint on their coats. The white finger paint and face paint washed off without much difficulty; poor Jake and Cherokee are still sporting red circles around their eyes and yellow hand prints on their rumps! 

Did anyone else decorate their horse for Halloween? Any suggestions on costumes for next year?

Horse Camp

This isn't a blog challenge post, but I thought I'd share a little of what I've been doing this week in hopes it might bring a few laughs to your day! The therapeutic riding center where I work hosts an able-bodied day camp for a week during the summer. Somehow, they've decided to put me (mostly) in charge of it, which is both amazing and terrifying.

Here are some highlights of the week so far:

• The fattest, slowest therapy horse in the barn transformed into a super forward hunter type once he had a bit in his mouth. Seriously, y'all, I can't persuade this horse to trot to save his life when he has a special needs rider on his back, but stick an able-bodied kid on him and turn him loose and it's like he's aiming for the Maclay! (Hilarious, because he's a fat pinto horse; not hilarious because he terrifies the children.)
• One of the boys in my group is ten years old and knows all the words to "Don't Stop Believin'". He also asked me if I was "letting [my] hair go" and if Johnny was looking forward to the cake tasting part of wedding planning. ???
• While swimming, the kids latched onto me in the pool, demanding I tow them around like a train. It doesn't matter how often I nearly drown; they are intent to continuing the train.
• You can teach kids how to bridle a horse a hundred times; this is totally irrelevant unless they can actually reach the horse's head.
• No matter how many times you tell a child "Brutus doesn't need any more hay; he'll get some with his dinner," Brutus will get at least six times more hay than usual. 

I am having so much fun with summer camp, despite some of the weirdness and mishaps! Have y'all ever done a summer camp? Love it? Hate it?

Respect

For most of my life, I've ridden english. When I was very young and just beginning to take lessons and learn to ride, I rode my Shetland pony Daisy in a tiny western saddle. My pony came with that saddle, and I think my parents thought it would be easier for a 4 year old child to stay on with a deeper-seated saddle and that horn. There's photographic evidence somewhere of 12 year old Stephanie dressed and ready to go in the local Bridle & Saddle Club's western pleasure class, bandanna and all. But for the majority of my life, I have ridden english. I ride in an english saddle on trail rides, when I'm schooling a therapy horse at work, and when I'm tootling around the arena for fun. I've even attempted a barrel race at a fun show on Moe in my jumping saddle.

Although I've never been a western rider, I've never felt that western riders were somehow beneath me. Sure, I've thought that riding in western pleasure classes would be boring. Or that trying to gallop in a western saddle seems counter-intuitive. But I've never thought that people who choose to ride western are bad or less capable than their english counterparts. There are good and bad riders in every equestrian sport, right?

Unfortunately, two new employees at work don't seem to share the same views. Both are rodeo competitors- one a barrel racer and one a roper. Both have the attitude that english riders are somehow less capable because we don't chase livestock around and wear silly jackets. I've been on the receiving end of comments like "Dressage? That horse dancing stuff? That's about the stupidest thing I've ever seen" and "The only good horse is one that works cattle" and derogatory remarks regarding the ability of english riders.

While Oklahoma is certainly cowboy country and horses are still an integral part of ranch life and culture, I am totally bewildered by the lack of respect for equestrians in different disciplines. I never tell these two, "Yeah, your horse must be so good at working cattle because he LOOKS just like a cow" or "If you didn't have that horn on your saddle you wouldn't stay on" even though I'm tempted to. I bite my tongue to keep the peace at my workplace, but it makes my blood boil to be treated with such contempt.

Have y'all ever encountered rude riders?

Certifiable

Please excuse my absenteeism from blogging for the last few weeks- I've been swamped at work training our new instructor and preparing for my PATH International on-site workshop and certification!

As most of you know, I work as equine manager/instructor for a mid-size therapeutic riding center. While I feel very comfortable managing the horses, I've always felt a little behind the curve as an instructor. I've taught riding lessons to able-bodied typical people for years, but have zero background or experience in helping people with special needs outside of my current job. I'm lucky to have a great mentor in my boss and have learned a lot from other instructors that have worked at our center and as I've taught therapeutic lessons for the last year or so, I've become more confident and competent in what I'm doing.

PATH International is the industry's professional organization which accredits centers and certifies instructors. The certification process is convoluted, expensive, and time consuming but generally required for people who desire to teach special needs individuals. (E.g. most TRCs will not hire an instructor who is not PATH-certified.) This is the process for becoming a certified instructor:

• Pay PATH a membership fee.
• Pay PATH a fee to begin the instructor-certification process.
• Take two online, self-study tests: one on PATH's standards (i.e. contraindications for riding, safety while riding) and one on general horse knowledge and pass both with a 90% or better.
• Find a professional horse person (such as a person with an equine degree or a veterinarian or farrier) to sign off on a horsemanship skills checklist, which includes skills like picking out hooves and identifying lameness.
• Obtain CPR and First Aid certification.
• Mail aforementioned items to PATH, who will send you an official instructor-in-training letter.
• Find a PATH-certified instructor to be your mentor.
• Teach 25 hours of group riding lessons to people with special needs under the supervision of the mentor. The mentor must verify with PATH that you actually taught these lessons.
• Pay an exorbitant fee for an on-site workshop/certification. The site will send you a packet of paperwork.
• Fill out and return the paperwork, which includes your resume as an equestrian, a personal reference, a professional reference, three essay questions regarding your teaching philosophy and methods, and liability releases.
• Travel to the site of the workshop/certification and spend 2.5 days learning about various teaching techniques, how to manage volunteers, horse selection, disabilities, and lesson plan writing.
• Execute a riding test on one of the horses at the site.
• Demonstrate your ability to teach by writing a lesson plan, teaching a 20-minute lesson to a group of riders, and evaluation your own performance.
• Pass or fail!

(The entire process took me about a year; I tried to finish it up in about 6 months, but one workshop/certification I signed up for was canceled and another never received my registration form and payment.)

Last week I traveled to Equest, one of the nation's premier TRCs. It's about a 5 hour drive from where I live. I didn't find the workshop very beneficial, as I'd learned most of what was taught through hands-on experience at my job or through my mentor. I nailed the riding test; Equest has an outstanding group of horses and gave me a very well-trained Canadian warmblood gelding to ride. (I fed him about 5 apples afterward, I was so relieved.) The teaching test had me worried, as my two assigned riders were much more capable than what I'm used to teaching. I also don't do much in the way of lesson plans. Fortunately, I had a fairly good lesson and was pleased to find out I'd passed both components of the certification test. 

So, yours truly is now a PATH-certified therapeutic riding instructor. While I'm glad for the official-ness of certification, I sort of think it was an expensive time-suck. I certainly believe that people who teach riding lessons to people with disabilities need training and some sort of metric to measure if they're good at it or not, I don't know that this is the best way to do it. I also don't have any other suggestions.

At any rate, now I'm certified! If you're interested in teaching TR lessons, I definitely encourage you to find a PATH-accredited center and visit. Would I encourage you to go get certified? Not unless you want to make it your career.

Considerations of the Therapy Horse

As the equine manager of a therapeutic riding center, I receive lots of calls from people who want to donate their horse(s) to us. I get more calls in the winter than any other time of year; some people seem to view TRCs as horse rescues and are frequently surprised (and sometimes angry) when I tell them we aren't currently accepting or seeking new horses to add to our program. It's the truth- the center at which I work has twenty horses. We've had twenty horses since May 2012. The feed, vet, farrier, and general care budget is planned around this number. Our hay quantity is planned around this number. (All of our hay is donated; we sell what we project will be extra.) There's certainly some wiggle room, but generally, winter is not the time to begin adding horses to the program. 

There are a lot of reasons to donate your horse to a therapeutic riding program, but not wanting to feed them through the winter is not one of them. And before you call your local center to gush about how great you think your horse would be as a therapy horse, consider the following:

• Is your horse sound? Your horse or pony doesn't have to be sound enough to go out an gallop a cross-country course tomorrow, but it does need to be able to endure up to three hours a day of walking and some trotting, frequently with very unbalanced people aboard. We have a few horses with some issues: a horse with low scale chronic laminitis; a horse who tore a suspensory ligament a couple of years ago; several senior horses with mild to moderate arthritis. These are issues than can be handled relatively easily with a good farrier, glucosamine injections, and careful consideration of workload. If your horse is dead lame most of the time and limps around the pasture, please don't call me. Therapy horses do work and need to be able to hold up to the load.
• How old is your horse? The average age of a horse at our center is about 20 years old. Our youngest horse is 10; our oldest is 31. We're open to evaluating horses of any age as long as they're in reasonably good health, but many centers will not consider a horse over about 15 years old. While older horses usually have more experience and exposure than their younger counterparts, they also come with the potential for more health issues and more expense. If your horse's teeth are falling out and he has one hoof in the grave, either euthanize him yourself or let him live out his days peacefully at your place. Not only is it expensive for TRCs to care for your very senior horse, it's extremely traumatic for our students (who are all special needs) when a horse dies. Conversely, we are definitely not interested in your yearling. 
• What kind of experiences has your horse had? I spoke with a gentleman a couple of months ago who wanted to donate an ungelded yearling and an unbroken three year old. Clearly, he thought we were conducting a different type of program. Recently, I received a call from a woman was interested in donating a four year old mare who'd had about sixty days of training around two years ago. She assured me the mare was very gentle and had wonderful manners. I assured her we were not looking to add any more horses to our program at this time. Therapy horses are exposed to all kinds of stuff- from riders who hum and rock back and forth to wheelchairs to Christmas trees in the middle of the arena. Horses that come from show backgrounds (especially rodeo backgrounds) and trail riding families are usually okay for therapy work, as they've seen and heard enough commotion to be unfazed by Sally Sue screaming at the top of her lungs and bouncing a rubber ball off the horse's poll.
• How big is your horse? We never, ever need a 17hh+ horse. Ever. Period. Typically, we aren't looking for miniature horses either, although some centers with driving programs may be interested in them. Most of our horses are around 15 hands, though we do have three ponies that are about 12 hands tall. Remember that many special needs riders require lots of assistance mounting and dismounting. Mounting ramps are used for many riders, but even lifting a 150 person two feet onto a horse's back can be difficult. Lifting them any higher is damn near impossible. Dismounting from a large horse can be troublesome too.
• What vices does your horse have? My center has a whole slew of horses that pace around their stalls. This is an easy vice to deal with, especially since the horses are turned out almost all the time. Vices that are deal-breakers include kicking (people or other horses) and biting. Occasionally, some horses get cranky and begin nibbling on people leading them; we usually deal with this by working with the horse to address the issue (as opposed to immediately kicking them out of the program).

Other things you'll want to consider before donating your horse:

• What options are their for giving your horse to a TRC? The center I work for is part of a state university; as such, horses that are donated become property of the state. The owner gets a tax write off and relinquishes control of the horse. Since the horse is state property, it's disposed of as such if we decide it's no longer working out for us. Generally, we try to find someone to foster the horse, but sometimes the horses are sold. Oklahoma state law dictates that state property must be disposed of at public sale or auction. We don't ship any horses down to the stockyards, but we do advertise the horses for sale in local newspapers and on the university's website. On the advertised date of the sale, sealed bids are submitted for the horse(s) and the highest bidder wins the horse. If you're concerned about where your horse might end up after his therapy career is over, I'd encourage you to talk with your local TRC about what they do with horses that aren't suitable for therapy any more. Not all centers are bound by the same restrictions we are, as most are not affiliated with a state entity. I know of one center in another part of Oklahoma that essentially uses donated horses as fundraisers- they take all horses as tax-deductible donations and if the horses don't work out, they sell them at the stockyards. Please take the time to ask for clarification and understand what happens to your horse when he retires. Ask if there's an alternative, like a long-term lease. This is the option I encourage people to use; in a long-term lease, you retain ownership of the horse. If you decide you want him back, you just submit a written notice. If we decide he's done with therapy work, you get him back to do whatever you want. You don't get a tax write-off for long term leases, but many people feel better about their horse's ultimate fate.
• Are you sure you're done with your horse? Once you've given your horse to a TRC, he's there to work. Our horses average five rides per week and are sometimes ridden twice a day. If another horse is injured, your horse might have to pull double-duty. (For example, last semester when one horse was recuperating from an eye injury, we had a big pinto gelding pick up most of his riders. That gelding ended up with nine riders a week.) We encourage owners to come visit their horse as often as they like and I send owners three letters a year with pictures and an update on their horse. Don't expect to ride your horse once he's at a therapy center, though. It would be difficult for us to schedule a time for you to come ride him; most horses are under a heavy enough work load that we prefer to let them rest on days they don't have riders. If you still want to take your horse on trail rides or occasionally hop on him bareback and ride around the pasture, please don't donate him yet.

A career as a therapy horse is a great option for a mature horse that's retired from his first job but isn't ready to be turned out in the pasture 24/7 yet. Horses that enjoy people and like to work, but maybe aren't up to the rigors of reining or roping or regular gallops are good candidates. It's rewarding as an owner to see your horse helping people with disabilities achieve their goals. 

If you want to give your horse a new lease on life, don't do it because you can't feed him this winter or because you're tired of paying for the medical expenses of your senior horse. Do it because you love him and want to help other people.

My Job, or People Are Awesome

I don't blog much about my job, even though it's where I spend the majority of my time and is frequently the reason I don't have a lot of time to spend riding Moe, Gina, and Colter. I don't want to get into one of those messy losing-my-job-because-I-blog-about-it situations. And on a day-to-day basis, my job isn't crazy interesting. But today, I felt compelled to share with you, all twelve of my readers, a little bit more about what I do and why it's totally, totally great.

I work as the equine manager for a therapeutic riding center. I am in charge of the care of our existing herd of therapeutic horses, the evaluation and selection of new horses, the desensitizing process, and otherwise preparing horses for therapeutic riding lessons. The center at which I work has 19 equines (14 horses, 1 mule, 1 pony, 3 miniature horses) and I am their boss.

Brutus, 12 year old Haflinger/Belgian gelding.

Therapeutic horses are a special kind of horse. They can be any breed, but here in Oklahoma, we see a lot of American Quarter Horses because they're popular for rodeos and ranch work. They can come from any background; most of our horses are ex-ropers, but we also have a former reiner, a hunter, and an ex-police horse. Therapy horses can be any age. While older horses are par for the course because they've usually seen everything and been everywhere, our horses range in age from 4 to 30 years old. However, no matter what breed, background, or age, they are all calm, intelligent, and very, very empathetic.

Roscoe, 16 year old ex-police horse, makes a silly face.

Every day, the horses are exposed to a plethora of stimuli that would drive most horses nuts. People with special needs aren't always in control of their bodies, so the horses must cope with riders who pull their manes, pat their necks too hard, yell or cry loudly, bounce on their backs, squeeze their sides, or lay on their necks. They must unfazed by brightly colored rings and poles, balls bouncing off their heads or sides or rolling under their legs, music playing, and squeaky toys. They must tolerate a person leading them and two people walking at their barrel. They must be responsive enough to stop quickly in case of an emergency, but quiet enough to stay calm if something happens.

At age 28, ex-roper Wolfman shows no sign of slowing down.

I have seen horses stand calmly while their rider had a seizure and was dismounted by volunteers. I have seen a horse just keep walking while his rider bounced a ball off his poll. I have seen horses slow to a stop when their rider leaned too far forward and give them time to adjust. I have seen a horse put his head in his rider's lap, just asking for a hug and not noticing her wheelchair.

Twenty-six year old former reiner Eddie gets a good roll.

All of our horses come from loving owners who, in most cases, simply wanted a place for their horse to go where it would be well-cared for and useful. For some owners, the cost of keeping an older horse was becoming prohibitive, but they didn't want to send the horse to a sale and worry about where it would end up. Some owners had a horse who had sustained injuries that made it unsuitable for what they did. Some people wanted to find a home for their older horse that perhaps wouldn't be comfortable actively competing, but would be bored and miserable turned out in a pasture all the time.

Cherokee, a 20 year old Pinto trail horse.

I met with a girl today who wasn't much older than I am. She wanted to visit our facility before making a decision on donating her horse. I'd already visited with her, her father, and the horse at their farm last week. He was a friendly, personable Missouri Foxtrotter gelding who wasn't too tall or too wide and whose smooth gait made him an ideal candidate for our program. All horses are taken in on a 45-day trial to judge their suitability for therapy work. Those who are are either donated to long-term leased to the program; those who are not are returned to their owners. Before this girl made her decision, she wanted to visit with us on our home turf, see our other horses, and get a feel for where her horse would be living. 

Poncho (bay Mustang) & Speck (red roan QH) race in the
pasture. Speck is a former AQHA & NSBA champion.

I proudly showed her our tidy vet/feed room, with its hot water and non-slip flooring. I took her to our barn and showed her our big, airy stalls and assured her the horses got as much turnout as possible- they're only in when the weather is truly terrible, they're injured, or immediately before a lesson they're in. I drove her down to the paddocks, which are currently dry and dusty, but are clean, have two tanks of fresh water each, and all contain a large round bale of good quality grass hay grown right down the road. She met each of our friendly horses, who all came jogging up to the fence, looking for pats and treats. I told her the stories of each horse as she patted their noses. By the end of our tour, she was crying- with happiness, she assured me- because she knew her horse was coming to a good place where he could help people.

Fannie gets a good belly scratch on her round bale.

Here is a woman, no more than 30 years old, who wants to help people by donating her horse. Her horse is a beautiful pinto Missouri Foxtrotter gelding. He is sound, safe, and only 12 years old. She has owned him since he was a gangly two-year old baby. She told me about how he'd been a expert trail horse with the smoothest gait you'd ever ridden and never spooked in his life except once, at a surprise tractor. She could probably sell her horse and get a fair price for him, even in this economy. But instead of thinking about her bottom line or what she could get out of it, she chose to donate him to a place where he can help people who have many, many challenges in their daily lives.

Red, a 30 year old mule, was a champion jumper.

People like her represent the best humanity has to offer. So do the people who volunteer their time at our lessons, camps, and fundraisers. So do the people who donate a halter they're no longer using, or a saddle their children learned to ride in, or an extra $10 they found in the sofa. Every single day, I get to witness people who are absolutely awesome. It never gets old. 

Heat and a Horse Camp

I haven't ridden at all this week. In fact, I've barely managed to drag myself out to the barn to feed the horses, let alone actually saddle one up and ride it. The reason for this is twofold: one, it's been 100+ degrees every day this week, and two, I've been busy managing a horse camp at work.

The heat isn't going anywhere, so it's finally time to really, truly dedicate myself to getting up at 5 AM and riding before work. This time of year is also perfect for taking Moe swimming in the pond in the front pasture.

Horse camp is finally over, which is a huge relief. I was tasked with planning and organizing it, something I was initially very excited about! I attended several horse camps over the years- everything from a two-week sleep-away Girl Scout camp where we spent every minute practicing a drill team routine to my Pony Club's two annual summer camps (Rally Training Camp, the hardcore week-long prep camp for the Midsouth Regional Pony Club Rally, and All Kids Camp, a less intense, more fun week of games and water bucket fights). I was really excited for the chance to teach some non-special needs kids about horses and riding.

In the years since I have attended camp, I forgot something very, very important: children do not care about heat; they only care about the horses. While I was sweating bullets every day and working on my now-awesome sunglasses tan, the seven campers were riding their horses under the blazing noon sun, mucking stalls in a stuffy barn in mid-afternoon, and begging to ride again during the hottest part of the day. We kept them well-hydrated between water and snocones, and cool with frozen bandannas and trips to the pool. I am honestly surprised the elderly therapy horses we used didn't keel over in the torturous heat. In the end, everyone ended up happy, gained some horsemanship skills, and zealous promised to come back and attend next year. One kid's mom even asked if he could take lessons from me on the weekends (yes)!

I plan on riding tomorrow morning, or at least going to visit my darlings and hose them off. After all, how could I say 'no' to this face?