Field of Friends
A mother and daughter learn unexpected lessons while volunteering at a horse rescue.
From the time she could speak, my 8-year-old daughter, Lucy, has had an affinity for horses. We want to get Lucy a horse of her own, but sadly, our love for horses is more abundant than our experience with them. It’s been years since I’ve been around horses and Lucy has only taken a few riding lessons.
Wanting to learn more about horsekeeping before making the leap into ownership, I began researching local organizations that would give us more exposure to horses. That’s when I discovered the volunteer opportunities at Saving Horses, Inc., a nonprofit horse rescue. This would be the perfect chance to teach Lucy about the responsibility that comes with owning a horse—that it isn’t just about riding and grooming. So, at the beginning of the year, we signed up to volunteer every Wednesday.
At first, our volunteer responsibilities involved a lot of grunt work—which comprises most of horse ownership. We mucked stalls. We mucked arenas. We mucked barn aisles. And then we did it
again. Every day. Eventually our chores involved caring for the horses directly. We learned how to feed and finally we were allowed to handle the horses. Working with the horses these past few months, bonding with them and helping them develop trust has been an incredible experience. We never expected to become so close with them. All of the horses are special, but here are a few who have had the greatest impact on us:
BUDDY
Buddy, who has a habit of banging his hoof in impatience, intimidated Lucy at first. But even with his quirks, he has become her favorite. He’s the first horse she wants to feed, the gentlest for her to lead and I’ve never seen a kid so happy to muck a stall! Even though Buddy can be a bit stubborn, he lowers his head for bridling and lets her ride him bareback around the arena. He’s a wonderful, safe teacher and he has helped Lucy develop confidence and poise.
GADGET
Gadget is the resident ranch pony and the most stubborn of the lot. Lucy wanted to take care of Gadget because he was small, but she quickly learned that ponies are not always easily controlled. Gadget is good for her, though, because he keeps her on her toes and requires her to communicate directly and authoritatively.
AERO
I love Thoroughbreds, so I’m drawn to the four living at the ranch, especially Aero. He has wobbler syndrome so he can’t be ridden, but he still needs exercise, usually in the form of handwalking and free longeing. Audrey, the owner of Saving Horses, Inc., has an ability with horses that to the novice looks as if they simply listen to her every command. I’ll never forget the awe I felt watching Audrey direct Aero with subtle flicks of the whip during a longeing session. Their communication was invisible; it was as if he was reading her mind. Things did not go as smoothly for me. When Audrey let me try, Aero cantered wildly, snorting, prancing and ignoring me. He knew he had the upper hand with the “newbie” volunteer. Under Audrey’s guidance, I learned how to ask Aero for what I wanted, and he learned how to listen to me. Each week, we go a little further and do a little more. We respect each other and my confidence has grown immeasurably.
GEORGE
My favorite part of our weekly visit is walking George. He’s a big draft horse who gets grumpy around other horses. Because of this, the younger volunteers don’t want to walk him and the job falls to me. He doesn’t move quickly, so we just stroll around the arena as I tell George about my day. His easy, ambling gait is calming, and I think these walks are therapeutic for both of us.
If you ask Lucy about volunteering at Saving Horses, Inc., she’ll say, “It’s awesome!” She talks about the horses all week and looks forward to every Wednesday. We’ve learned so much more than how to muck and feed. We’ve learned the confidence that comes with communicating with an animal many times your size, the peace that comes from spending quiet time with a gentle giant and the joy of watching a nervous horse calm under your touch. We look forward to learning even more at Saving Horses, Inc., and one day, learning with a horse of our own.