Did I also find fellow horse lovers here?...

[horserider]

I am new to the boards, about 2/3 weeks now and I thought I came across a post on horse care questions. You mean I not only found a supportive group, but also some members that are cowgirls at heart? Awesome. I had to post and explain how I got back into horses.

My younger sister and I grew up riding on the Hunter/Jumper circuit and I was horseless for many years after she went off to college. I found a non-profit horse therapy program 6 yrs ago for chronic and terminally ill children. I begged the director to let my son into the program, we hit it off and she made an exception that changed my difficult child's life. She is now one of my best friends and my difficult child's strongest mentor and support outside of his family. This gal gives lesson's for free to all the children, we seek sponsors from businesses, etc. Recently their home went into forclosure and we had to find a place to move 10 horses or the program would shut down. My difficult child is a different child at the barn, he wraps his arms around the other kids, lead lines them, mucks stalls, loads hay, etc. Basically went to knowing nothing about horses and now can ride any style he chooses (western, english, saddleseat, driving). He is currently in long term treatment and misses the barn tremendously. He learned to ride on a very gentle saddlebred that he has bonded with, will groom, love on and talk to at length. This saddlebred is blind in one eye, all the more reason my son feels they both have their own struggles in life. We took my difficult child and his buddy to his first away show a few years ago. My difficult child was very concerned of the indoor areana and dust getting in his bad eye, and the bad lighting. His horse therpist explained to the judge our son was special needs and asked if she could stay in the rink with them (a walk, trot class). Well he got his first blue ribbon that day, I'm crying, his therpist is crying and my difficult child is crying as he comes out of the ring feeling so proud.

Unfortunetly 2 of the horse came down with strangles this week. Totally different world when she had to move them to a facility with- other horses for the first time, instead of having them at home. The plus side is we now have an indoor areana we can ride through the winter, as some of the children could not come out in the cold months.

Last month my wonderful friend added all spectrums of Autism to the program and we have some new children coming. She knows it's been therapy for me, as well as my difficult child to beable to go and ride, groom and just be around the horses. Heck sometimes I just go to muck stalls.

Take care all, have a good weekend

 

[gcvmom]

There are a couple people here with horses -- and one donkey lover... but she's usually in the corner somewhere.

We have people with fainting goats...
Chickens (like me, f'rinstance)...
Parrots...
Dogs...
Cats...
Fish...
Rats...
Dagus...
Reptiles...
husband's... oops, jk!

 

[Abbey]

I WANT A FAINTING GOAT!! (that should go well with 3 parrots and a Degu.)

Had horses growing up...stubborn old things. Daughter went to equestian private schools but then found boys. She still trains younger kids and buys/sells horses for a barn in IL.

Abbey

 

[Shari]

We want to breed our fainting goat again, Abbs, maybe I can send you a fainting baby! (Please name it something more creative than "GoatGoat")

There are a few "horsey" people on the board. I'm one. We don't have anything fancy, just trail riders and a buggy team, and I've started mounted shooting, tho with a difficult child, my progress in the sport is slow (but that's ok, its my "therapy").

I didn't realize it then, but when difficult child 1 was growing up, horses were a big part of our bond. We spent hours and hours a week together doing horse things. His dad always wanted to punish him by selling his horse, and that was where I drew the line...something deep in my gut felt that if I lost that connection to him, I'd lose him, and he rode with me frequently and stayed very involved til he was 17.

difficult child 2 came along and when he first started riding with me at 4months old, he was content on a horse like no where else. He was a hyper little guy from the word go, but could sit on the back of a horse for 10 hours a day and never complain. He's 7 now, but that first couple of years, he'd just sit there with me, allowing me to hold him close (he wasn't a snuggler) and chew on the end of the rains and click at my poor mare who was pretty close to senile by the time he stopped riding her (from being clicked at to go faster and then immediately told to slow down...over and over and over and over...lol poor girl. She should be sainted.)

We did 2 or 3 years of therapeutic riding, but as he got to be a better rider, he got a little bored in the confines of the arena, so we stopped.

We just got him a younger old horse (his previous horse was 30+) and he's looking forward to an overnight trail ride in the near future. His saddle bags are packed (with the ever present binoculars) and hanging in the trailer, waiting to go. I took him on our first "solo" outing (just he and I alone) 3 years ago this month and it was the longest 10 mile ride I've ever been on...we stopped every 200 yards to "look at nature" thru the binoculars. But hey, who's complaining...

 

[ML]

My difficult child (manster) is in the local Westernaires program and learning to ride. So far he seems to be enjoying it and I haven't heard complaints about not wanting to go. This is huge for him!