George The Therapy Horse

SUMMER - WINTER - SPRING

2012-02-09T06:26:00.001-08:00

Wow ... what is happening to Kansas weather!!!! We had the hottest summer in 2011 on record! This winter has been so mild (no complaints here) and now I'm ready for Spring.

What a year!!! Things are really moving forward with my collaboration with Horses to Humans (www.horsestohumans.com). I am now fully certified as an Equine Specialist with EAGALA - Equine Assisted Growth and Learning (www.eagala.org). I have a website specifically for my Equine Assisted Services work at www.ktequineassistedservices.com (go for the obvious, I always say :)

George is doing great ... he just turned 16 last month but is fit and happy. I have him boarded at Lone Pine Stables (www.lonepinestables.com) which is only a few minutes from home ... so a great arrangement for me! We've been riding out in a large hay meadow recently and he's much more into that than riding in the indoor arena!

Although I am still working on getting the first George the Therapy Horse book printed, I was thrilled recently that someone found my site and requested a copy! So ... it's something that I've got to make time to do. Any encouragement is greatly welcomed!!!

Wichita is hosting Equifest this weekend. I will be sharing a booth with Horses to Humans so if you are in the area, come by and say "Hello".

Get outside and enjoy this amazing world that God has created for us.

Love and care for each other.

Kathleen.

SPRING IS COMING!!!

2011-02-19T09:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's what I said ... "Spring is Coming". It's inevitable I know but it's long awaited by residents not only in Kansas but most of the country!!! Wow ... what a winter!!!

George (the real one) moved to a new stable this winter. He loves it! We now board at Lone Pine Stables in Derby, Kansas. This is also the new home for Flint Hills Therapeutic Riding Center (co-incidence ...?) and classes have begun for the season. They had several cancellations due to weather but this last week as been full tilt! If you live in the area or are visiting Kansas, please come by to visit them. They are the only Therapeutic Riding Center in this area.

Check out their new services in equine therapy ... Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) and Equine Assisted Learning (EAL). For more information see their website at www.flinthillstrc.com. This is a wonderful work and if you enjoy horses there's just no other way to go. The results of equine therapy are astounding!

The "George" books are still on the shelf (sorry .... couldn't help myself!). I have confirmed an illustrator so am now working on finances to cover all the other aspects of getting a book published. Keep us in your prayers that God would guide me to accomplish this feat!

Enjoy those warm days we've been having by getting outside to ride your horse or start working on your gardens.

God Bless.

Kathleen.

WHAT'S HOT IN KANSAS?

2010-08-08T15:42:00.001-07:00

What's HOT in Kansas??? Wow, Wichita Kansas is very HOT this summer.

When we have day after day of temperatures above 100 degrees F we focus on keeping ourselves from overheating. But let's not forget our equine friends even though they do acclimate to high and low temperatures better than we do.

George has done pretty well this summer as I haven't pushed him to work unless the temperatures are comfortable ... for me, that is!!! We ride in the earlier part of the day before the temps start soaring. Even so, a 60 minute ride with only a couple of spurts of cantering and trotting, he breaks a pretty good sweat. I reward his willingness to work for me with a cool bath when we get back to the barn and some hand grazing ... I pick out some nice spots around the yard that have some fresh grass. It's a nice relaxing time for both of us.

With temperatures like we've had in Kansas this year (I can't remember the last time it rained) ... don't forget the basics: Plenty of available, clean water and some shade.

The Therapeutic Riding Center where I volunteer has not been having classes past noon and as I work full-time I've been unable to spend any time out there. In September we'll be having classes again in the evenings so I will be able to re-connect and get into my Equine Therapy groove again.

This September I'll also be attending the EAGALA Part II Certification class at Selby Stables just outside Haysville, Kansas. This will complete the requirements to participate in Equine Therapy Services as the Equine Specialist part of the therapy team.

Seems like it's been a very busy summer and the "George The Therapy Horse" books have yet to go to print. It's something I hope to focus on this fall and winter.

Best Wishes to you all .... and try to stay cool!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE JOURNEY?

2010-04-17T19:02:00.001-07:00

A good friend told me today about an equine assisted organization's website at http://www.unbridledchange.org/. In it I read some of the founder's "Life Journey" and it got me to thinking ... we ALL have a life journey, don't we? And wouldn't it be great if we could all share the twists and turns and outcomes with others in a way that would help and encourage them?

I'm just focusing on my life journey today as it relates to my life with horses. One of my earliest memories is riding the donkeys at the sea-side in England and how much I loved it! Nobody in my whole family were 'horse people'. I remember sitting on the back of the sofa pretending I was riding a horse. And I remember wanting to hang out with the local girls who had horses. Then there was the time in my young teenage life when I would ride my bike to the next village to clean stalls at a stable so that I could ride a horse in exchange. This must have been a complete mystery to my family that I would go to such extremes to be around a horse. But it was never mentioned ... I think they thought it was a 'whim' and would eventually pass. After all .... don't ALL little girls love horses?

Well, it never passed. Except for a brief time when I thought dating should take the place of horses!!! (age 16-21) I have loved and been involved with horses for all my life. It's been such a part of my life that it hasn't seemed special or important ... it's only now at the age of 61 that I am starting to realize what a WONDERFUL element this is in my life. I'm completely amazed ... Wow ... where did it come from?

I spent several years raising my two children on a small horse farm where we lived and breathed horses from breeding to training to showing. We only showed our own horses, never did it for a business, but it was a total committment and I loved it. When I thought I had to give it up due to a divorce I went back to college and got a degree and spent the next 20 plus years working in an office environment ... but the desire to be outside with my horses never left me.

It was late in the Fall of 2008 that circumstances led me to a local Therapeutic Riding Center where I began volunteering ... and I found the love of my life! Helping children with disabilities through the use of horses. This led to being a part of a pilot program in our area with an organization for mentally ill adults utilizing Equine Assisted Therapy. Wow ... my eyes (and my heart) were opened up in a way I had never experienced.

Now I see my 'journey'. I see how things came together through the years to bring me here. And I see that my journey is an ongoing, living thing that will continue until I breath my last breath. And I hope that my journey with equine assisted services will lead me to places where I can be a part of the amazing world of helping people ... with the assistance of a horse!

God Bless.
Kathleen.

HOW A HORSE BECOMES A THERAPY HORSE

2010-03-20T14:07:00.001-07:00

Not every horse can become a therapy horse. Too many times a horse owner contacts a therapy center and offers their 'old' horse to the program. And too many times, the horse has to be turned away because they did not pass the evaluation.

Therapy horses, whether they are for therapeutic riding or working with clients on the ground, need to fit specific requirements. Yes, the older horse does seem to typify the horses used for equine therapy but it's not their age that qualifies them ... it's that the horse has probably come to the end of their career.

Maybe the owner no longer wants to work as hard with their horse or the horse just doesn't have the same kind of stamina but they want their precious friend to still be useful but in a new career that isn't as demanding.

Sometimes, the equine therapy candidate IS a younger horse, but they meet the criteria of the equine therapy center, so are accepted into the program.

Any candidate, whatever age, must posses many skills. These will include but are not limited to .... A good personality; Willingness to learn; A great temperament; Used to being handled; and Does not get agitated easily.

If you know of a well behaved horse who is free of bad habits and is gentle and kind ... you may be looking at a future therapy horse!

IS IT SPRING YET?

2010-03-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Well, the Rainbow Meadows Annual Fundraiser was a great success. You know that the money raised will go directly to saving even more horses who have been neglected. Don't forget to follow their website to see if there is a horse you would like to give a 'forever home' to.

http://www.rainbowmeadowsranch.com/Rescue.htm

Well ... IS IT SPRING YET? It's starting to warm up and today (in Kansas) we have a really nice rain. Coming down in buckets and our dry ground is just soaking it up ... makes me want to go get a drink myself!!!

We are always so glad at the Therapeutic Riding Center when the weather starts to level out and we know we will be able to work with our clients on a regular basis. When it's so cold the lessons are cancelled I have to wonder who misses who most ....? Do the horses miss the interaction? Do we miss our wonderful clients? Do the clients miss us? I'm guessing it's a combination of all. The work we do with our clients is SO important!!!

If you are not currently involved with a local organization that offers therapeutic riding and/or equine therapy (like http://www.eagala.org/) ... please do some research and find out if there is a place near you where you can volunteer. It's the most rewarding use of time you'll ever make. Our client's age range is from small child to adult ... but I have to tell you, when you help a young child onto that horse and even if they cannot speak, their face lights up and they squeal with delight ... your heart just fills with complete joy!!!

If you are not a horse person ... don't let that stop you! We have so many opportunities in our communities to give. And there's no explanation for it but when you give ... you get back so much more!!!

Have a Blessed week.

BENEFIT TO AID RESCUE HORSES

2010-02-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

It's completely amazing to me that a human being can treat an animal badly! There's no reason why a human hurts another human ... maybe we can look deeper and see the psychology behind why we do that ... but an innocent animal? A being that lives only to please us?

THANK GOODNESS for those who spend their lives rescuing the innocent from atrocious neglect and abuse. People like those at RAINBOW MEADOWS EQUINE RESCUE & RETIREMENT. A wonderful place that finds and saves damaged horses and gives them another chance. A chance to find out that all humans are NOT cruel and hateful ... but there are some of us who are kind and will love our Equine companions forever.

If you agree with these sentiments, please support the annual Benefit Gala that will allow the people at Rainbow Meadows to continue their work. The Gala will be held in Wichita, Kansas on February 27th. For more details, please go to their website at ww.rainbowmeadowsranch.com/Rescue.htm.

Take a moment to read the success stories of those special horses who are now happy and healthy ... thanks to human kindness.

I'll be there and am donating a beautiful cowhide table runner. Come and bid. View the runner at www.anolepillowcovers.com and click on Table Runners. All proceeds go to support the work at Rainbow Meadows.

THANK YOU & GOD BLESS.

THE HORSE BOY

2010-02-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have already heard of or even read the book "The Horse Boy". This true story is about a father whose son is diagnosed with autism. The family takes a remarkable journey throughout the untamed landscape of Outer Mongolia, and with the help of the Shamans and horses a healing process begins and changes their lives forever.

The Tallgrass Film Festival has a showing of the movie scheduled for Thursday evening March 18, 2010 at the Flint Hills Therapeutic Riding Center in Wichita, Kansas. There will be a wine and cheese reception beginning at 6:00 pm and the movie will follow at 7:00 pm. Tickets are only $12.00 at the door. All proceeds go to the Film Festival and the Therapy School to continue the great work they do in the community. Flint Hills is located at the Murfin Stable just east of 143rd Street East and 13th Street North.

If you are planning to attend, please contact Flint Hills at 316-733-8943. You'll be so glad you did!

Starting My Blog

2010-02-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm finally in the 21st century!!! I'm trying to run an online blog! So, this might take a little time to become 'easy', but I'm up for it! My hope is that my blog will bring awareness to the amazing physical and psychological healing that's attainable through Equine Therapy.

Wow, to see those young ones laugh and play while they are riding a horse. Or, the adults who are struggling with mental or emotional disabilities, walk around and touch those gentle giants and feel a connection.

My heart fell in love the first time I volunteered at a therapeutic riding center and prompted me to write a children's book about a very special horse ... you guessed it ... George The Therapy Horse!

More to come ....