Progress! Progress

Sometimes I forget about how much these kids do and how much progress they make. But this past Saturday it all became clear how much they actually do make. B. has been taking lessons with me for about a year, she came to me with muscles in her legs contracted. We are working relaxing her legs and fine motor control. I just wanted to show everyone how much progress she has made. Just look at the picutres and compare. It's great, isn't it!

Pumpkin's Hooves

Pumpkin is such fun and a joy to be around. Which kinda makes me sad because this afternoon the vet said she had a scratch on her right eye and has the early stages of laminitis. But, there are medications which can help both injuries. Much better than in 1971 when I was still showing and my show horse came down with laminitis. I remember working with farriers and vets around the South Texas area. Daddy & I would change the medications/poultices, take her to a wading pool (one that daddy dug out) and changing the sand in her stall when needed. I remember it took us about 1 year to get her healed, then to have her hurt her hoof again at a show and everything to start all over again. We tried to get her back again, but it was too severe this time for us to battle. Time past and I was in college and came home one weekend to find that Daddy had to put her down. Needless to say, we all were upset and crying, but she had been is such pain. One interesting thing did happen... the day Daddy put her down, the mare who was in the same pasture with her(who just happened to be her mother), knocked my dad aside and went to stand beside her grave for two days. AND some people think that horses can't think and feel. I'll keep you posted on Pumpkin's progress.

Pumpkin's Magic

Two weeks ago a wonderful new horse joined our barn. She was donated to our therapeutic ridng program for use with nonambulatory students. Her name is Pumpkin, a 4 y.o. silver buckskin miniature mare. She came with her buggie & trappings. And a wonderful attitude! She strolled in and let all the boys know she was THE girl in the barn and they better not forget it! Well, of course with that, all the guys fell in love. Since then she has proven she is worth her weight in gold! She walks & stands with the kids, letting them decide where and how fast to go. On Wed. she had a young girl, that does not talk much, just talk and name all her body parts! We heard more on Wed. than we have heard in a year of work! It's just amazing. Tomorrow Pumpkin will get to work with all the kids and I'm sure I will see and hear more amazing things!

Del Tera - visiting

Del Tera has come to our barn while he is waiting for Travis to come pick him up on Sat. Yesterday Resa was out playing with him and had a blast! And he is a character, he really likes being with people.

Mare, Stallions & Geldings

Mares are from Venus

Stallions are from Mars

but Geldings are from Heaven

A Cardinal at the Barn

You know most people think of a barn and a cat going together, but we have a "Barn Cardinal" Each spring he comes around and tells us he and his girls are back. They come to the barn to eat the dry cat food we have out for the cats. BC (barn cardinal) comes everyday while I'm there and checks the food. If there is enough there he starts telling everyone to come eat. BUT, if there isn't, he begins chirping, if I don't hurry and get it for him fast enough, he gets closer and louder. Of course, he gets results when he does this. He is such a treat to have, everyone who comes out asks about him and his girls.

Jesse James

An auction barn is not always the best place to buy a horse
The sellers information doesn’t always come from a reliable sourse
But good looking horse flesh is hard to withstand,
So I bought this horse and gave him my brand.
I found out to late that he had come from another town.
No one there would buy him, cause his reputation was know all around.
The local cowboys had given him his name.
They called that outlaw Jesse James.
For a month that horse bucked, tried to stand me on my ear.
Then he would try to kick my head off ever time I came near.
Finally I said Jesse, your days are through,
There’s too many good horses out there to mess with you.
To the sale barn I’m takin you back
And I hope you end up in a dog food sack.
Jesse hung his head, he looked kind of sad.
Made me wish I hadn’t talked so bad.
Never havin a good home, I knew how he must feel
So I got a bucket of oats to feed Jesse his last meal
While he was eatin I started pettin on him and he looked kind of surprised
Then a little sparkle came into his eyes.
I started scratchin on him and he seemed to want more.
No one had ever been nice to Jesse before.
From that day on, Jesse turned around.
A better horse can’t be found.
If you want to rope a steer, he’ll put you right there,
Or put three kids on his back, he don’t care.
You see love worked on Jesse, just like you and me
Now He’s the kind of horse that God created him to be.
There’s a lot of folks in this world like Jesse James
They’ve been spurred in the neck and folks have jerked on their reins.
We Christians have a command from above,
God said go those folks and show them My kind of love.
You see God loved the world so he gave his Son.
He wants us to tell that to every one.
But if they won’t listen, have no fear.
If we mix that message with love, then they will hear.

copyrighted: Ron and Will 2003

Fantastistic Helper

Yesterday was a busy, busy day at the barn! I had 9 students come for their lessons. Usually, I am able to handle the hectic day and have the horses ready, but the schedule had changed some and I needed Help! Thank goodness I had the help of a eager teenager. Casey, her mother and sister came out to visit about 2 weeks ago, they were wanting to volunteer at a place that had horses and kids. With Casey's help (she knew how to catch, saddle, lead and ride a horse) we were able to have a great day. This picture is of Casey and Jake.

Minis and Buggies

This is Del Terra, Travis and Bonnie(husband's family) This past Saturday I went to look at a mini that they are buying for Travis. I got to ride in the cart and attempt to drive. I say attempt, because I used the reins and tried to neck rein Del Terra! Well, needless to say that didn't work. But I had fun anyway.

Major Dot

Here is our newest member of the Horse Connection. Major Dot is a 9 yr.old Quarter horse. Although, I think he has some Tennessee Walker in there. He started his life as a therapeutic horse during one of my summer camps. In this picture he was turned into a "paint" horse. We discovered that Major loves to "kiss" everyone, which can be overwhelming to non-horse people. But I see great times ahead for Major and the kids.

Student Artwork

It is always a wonderful gift, when children draw a picture for you.

Lil' Cowgirl

This is Gabby. She just started lessons this summer. She has the best time with her "Cowboy" and learning different words.She was so excited to come out and have her "red" boots and hat on!

Support Our Troops

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Mini Horse Show

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending my 1st mini horse show. My husband's relatives had a mini-stallion participating in the Family Fiesta AMHA Miniature Horse Show at the San Antonio Rose Palace. I haven't been around minis and I wasn't too sure what all you could do. But what a wonderful experience! I met some wonderful people including Mary Ann & her granddaughter. Mary Ann was able to explain and show to me all the different events and what the judges were looking for in each class.
For Travis & his family it was a learning experience. This was their 1st show with their 1st horse. Harley(the horse)learned what to do and what not to do around other horses. As with all shows nerves ran high when it was Harley's turn to jump in the Hunter class. He had a refusal on the 1st jump, but did jump it & all the others and placed. Everyone took a deep breath when he finished cleanly and prepared for his Jumper class. He wasn't as successful in this class & did not place.When the show was over, everyone was glad to go home.
The only flaw/downside to this show is that they had the youth performance classes at the end of the day. The end of the day was at midnight Sunday! I haven't been in the show circuit in a long time, but for the youth (12 & under) classes to be at the end of a show (Midnight) seems a little extreme.
Overall I had a great time, being with family & horses is the best there can be!

July 9th Summer Camp

After weeks of preparing, building and worrying we had a successful 3 day camp last week. I had 2 great helpers, Kyle & Kate and 2 fun riders, brothers, Caleb & Noah. Noah has been taking lessons from me for @7 months. Caleb has been coming out and watching Noah during his lessons and decided he wanted to come to camp too.
Monday the boys were able to groom and saddle their horses. Noah, Cowboy & Kate were together and Caleb, Jake and Kyle were partners. They then rode around the arena practicing stopping, turning left & right, walking in & out of the square and weaving in & out of the cones. After riding all morning & after lunch the riders had a surprise activity. They "painted" the horses. They used several colors of tempra paint to paint their favorite pictures, letters and names on Cowboy & Jake. After painting the horses, they got to wash the horses. I think the kids enjoy washing the horses as much as painting them.
Tuesday we started with grooming & saddling then the riders had some new games they played on horseback. One is called "Pony Express", the rider has to mail letters to the horses, another is "Bucket of Frogs", where the rider drops a frog into a bucket. After practicing, the boys had a relay race to see who could get their buckets filled first.
After lunch, Kate had a special surprise activity. She showed them how to make "slime". the boys had a great time mixing glue,starch, water & food coloring into their favorite slime.
Wednesday's camp turned into a family outing. Abel brought his daughter (who comes for therapeutic riding lessons) & wife & his family from Mexico out for riding and games. Several family members rode Jake, Cowboy & Rusty. They were very interested in therapeutic riding and asking many questions because there no programs available where they live in Mexico.
Overall, we all had a great time and we're ready for the next camp in August!

Summer Scenes

Kerrville Kids

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Our Horse fun

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Summer Camps

Work and plan and call... Trying to get our summer camps underway can be somewhat daunting. but now I think I've gotten together. I am planning three one-week camps for riders. I am having games, which will help teach fine/gross motor skills, eye-hand coordination and help teach crossing the midline. The riders will be able to groom and tack their horses, PLUS paint their horse. This activity is a favorite with the students and the parents. We discovered that by using tempra paint and brushes, the riders get to paint their names, favorite shapes and hand-prints on the horses. The next activity is to give the horses bathes, which the horses like.

Boerne Students

Boerne Students

At the end of school some students from one of the Middle schools in Boerne came out the barn to visit the horses. They enjoyed brushing, riding, and feeding Cowboy & Jake.

Jake's New Name

Last Wednesday while giving a lesson to Sophia (a rider who has a speech delay), she gave Jake a new name. We have been working on telling her horse to go. I believe that while teaching students the normal comands, such as, walk on, is important. However I want to tach my students words and concepts that they can apply anywhere. I wonder where any of my special needs students are going to use the words "walk on". Instead, I want them to learn a concept that they can use at home, school and anywhere they are. Anyway, Sophia had been working on - "Go, Jake", she was so excited she said "Go, Cake!". I did a double take, but good horse that he is, Jake started walking!

Saturday Riders

Each day I have riders and I think that the lessons are going to be plain and ordinary. but I should realize that would not happen. Between the kids and the horses more interesting things happen. When I go get Cowboy and get him ready for the first rider, he practically puts the halter on himself. He sticks his nose down into halter and marches out to get the saddle on. He is so-o ready to work. But he can also try to get out of a lesson, he tries to stop early and get a drink of water.
But he is the one that I use whenever a new student rides. I use him because he shows me how the child/adult feels when riding. The student feels relaxed, he is relaxed. If they are nervous, he is very hesitant, careful and slow with his walk and movement. I am posting a short show to introduce him to you.

Birthday

Today is my birthday. It's been a pretty good day even though I feel really wiped out today. My boys came through this year with a card and a present!
But now I'm doing what I enjoy,(besides working with the horses). I've uploaded some pictures and am attempting to add them to this blog.

Magic & I

Here I am riding Magic. She is a 6 yr. Appaloosa we have begun using in our therapeutic center in Fredericksburg.