So much is happening and yet it seems like the calm before the storm. Speaking of storms, the horses have had their share of rain over the last week. Something to realize with short-legged minis.......their little tummies really get wet and muddy when it rains. I just think of them as pasture squeegies! Kinda a Sham Wow Mini :) Even Rocky "lost" his spots under a coat of mud for a couple of days.Last night we had volunteer training at Stagecoach. What a mob! We had some familiar faces show up: Dean, Pat and Bethany. Bethany started <16 when we were still at the fairgrounds. Here she was ready to apply to vet school. We also met at least 25 new, eager folks who listened to the schpeel and had good ol' Rosie demonstrate leading, sidewalking and the other horsey stuff. Rosie was shuttled to Stagecoach from the Jungle just for the occassion. She did pretty well considering she didn't have her herd with her. She wondered where they could be....kept looking toward the pasture and pawing at the gate.
In the Spring our friends' hearts turn to One Heart. I have had a dozen vols email in their choice of shift! Such a wonderful response. We still have our ear to the ground waiting for some more familiar faces. Watch the website calender - but to clarify: We will ride on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. We have two shifts for vols on Tues- 4-6 & 6-8 pm. On Sat. we have three shifts: 7:30-9:30 / 9:30 - 11:30 / 11:30 - 1:30. We START classes Tuesday, April 20 and Saturday April 24. We really have some fun classes put together. If you ol' pro volunteers recall your first shift......please consider signing up to help guide our new folks.
Even if you are a "seasoned" volunteer you will see 5 new horses coming to the arena. All 5 need to be fully evaluated. Then there is Rocky. Rocky is ready to have a real job (we think:) He has practiced being a therapy horse all of his life, essentially. It is time he gets a real try.
Beginning today and going through Sunday, the Iowa Horse Fair will be in Des Moines. We are all planning on wandering through to meet and greet old friends and make new ones. The State meeting of NARHA will be from noon-2 pm on Sunday in a meeting room of the Varied Industries Building. You can hear about what the other members and centers around Iowa are working on. Friday, April 16 is the pre-conference workshop of the Region 7 NARHA meeting. Dani, Jennifer and I will all attend this meeting. The pre-conference is on the subject of the Autism Spectrum. Over the rest of the weekend we will attend short-courses for centers, instructors, and other informative sharing. It is also the time when the States forming Region 7 come together to address issues presented by NARHA. We are planning on having a really good time. After all, equine-assisted therapy and activitiy topics are one of our favorite subjects!
We plan to arrive back fully jazzed and ready for Session 1.
Wed., April 14 we will host the Gilbert Middle School Horse Club. They are having their service day and will be grooming the One Heart herd. George, our farrier will also be coming at that time so 1- he will have lots of help and 2 - they will get to see a farrier in action. If you are a volunteer with One Heart already and would like to help Jennifer direct this bunch please email in and I will let Jen know.
A core group of the herd will move to Stagecoach on Sunday, April 11. They are going to be in a paddock until the pasture is ready - May 1. Thanks to Gary and Sandy for helping with these arrangements.
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