For Sugar
People ask me all the time what connects girls to horses. After 25 years of searching, the answer is simple; trust.
People ask me all the time what connects girls to horses. After 25 years of searching, the answer is simple; trust.
On Trust
Is it trust then that causes you to wrap your tiny hand around the gnarled cotton rope and breathlessly tug as you walk away assuming that 1000 lbs of pure flesh and bone will follow you quietly? Is it delusion? Or arrogance? It doesn't really matter because the 1000 lbs at the end of the rope is looking at you trustingly as he follows you. No matter who you are, you know that this is amazing.
Continue reading "Girls and Horses, what's the connection?" »
The subject has come up lately about bringing in new horses and selling others. I've been faced with students, parents and supporters who feel like this reduces our horses to commodities to be bought sold or traded at will. It seems like time to debunk this train of thought.
First, for every horse for whom we find a wonderful home, we are able to receive, rescue, care for another soul. The number of horses in America who end up at slaughterhouses is staggering. This year, the number of horses sent to slaughter in the US and Canada is expected to be 100,000. The work we do at Square Pegs is committed to be "one horse, one student at a time." This is important work to us here.
Currently, with staff (that's me) and volunteers at this level, the 9 horses we are caring for today is about all we can handle. This means that each horse is cared for, groomed, vaccinated, has regular vet and hoof care, special diets and exercise and lesson plans appropriate to their mental and physical needs are attended to. If you have spent any time at the barn, you know that there is ALWAYS work to be done. During the short days of winter, darkness seems to fall about 20 minutes too soon. Our board bill would make you cry. And our board just recently went up!
We are on weather hold here on the coast again. It's been pouring rain here today, except when it isn't. The last month has been tough on us because this weather requires that we cancel lessons, and we never quite make them all up. That hurts program revenue and we're still running pretty tight financially.
The bad weather also means extra work for us. The horses stll need exercise, and we have to be especially careful of blanketing and other care to be sure our buddies don't all get sick.
Hopefully by next year we'll have a covered arena, making us at least a little bit more weather-proof!