Where to begin?

Hi friends;
I have decided to "begin" chatting about last summer, around Session 2. I will eventually catch up - chronologically - and go from there. So, I had better start catching up.
The reason I picked Session 2 is because it was record breaking for us in number of clients. We mounted 30 individual each week during the six-week session. Wow. For you keeping the box scores - this amounts to lots of volunteers considering we need 3-4 people assisting each rider! We had a great response from our volunteers. You will hear me mention volunteers alot. We are ALL volunteers at One Heart - I'm the "head" volunteer. We pay our instructors and therapists for arena time. They always do so much more. In fact, it would be crazy to have them calculate the time they spend outside the arena working and contributing to One Heart. I will be mentioning the instructors and therapists frequently so you should meet the cast of characters: Dani, Jen and Linda instructed this year. Summer, Kate and Denise are therapists. Did I mention that One Heart is what they do for "fun"? They all have "day jobs"!

Back to the summer. We actually finished Session 2 on June 30th and we were all looking forward to summer break, including the herd. The horses got shuttled back to their vacation pasture, a lush, hilly (especially for Iowa), wooded field. This pasture has been donated for the use of One Heart for over 9 years by my neighbors. In reality, it is a greenbelt running through the mega-productive cropland along each side of the creek. It is also a lowland that handles the runoff from the fields. This means that the lovely babbling creek frequently puddles out of its banks and several of the lower spots have standing water most of the year. If you are a creative surveyor with high powered equipment you might be able to measure about 30 acres where the horses can wander. This doesn't count the areas were the water takes the fences out and allows them to explore the fields until someone calls to report their errant ways. The 30 acres is covered with a highly diverse cover of native prairie species, some improved grass, and lots of poison parsnip. In the fall the horses find every burr ever born. It is such an adventure for both people and horses that we fondly have named the pasture, "The Jungle". It's still hard to argue about the vintage red barn, the 365 day/year water supply or the fact that they live next door to me when off session. I could go on and on about the wonderful people who have donated it as well. Without this contribution, it would have been hard for One Heart to be started let alone going strong 9 years later.

So, the horses were moved to the Jungle. All but one. Dagmar. I will save this story for another time.

By the second week of July we became concerned that some of our more portly easy-keepers might get too many nutrients from the Jungle so sought permission from Helen to move our fatties to her farm. You need to meet Helen, one of the cast of characters you will come to know. Helen's property shares a fence with the Jungle. Helen raises thoroughbreds, of racing breeding and has a thoroughbred rehab stable for those needing rest off the track. Her pastures are well fenced, well groomed, her stable has lights and running water....all those amenities the Jungle lacks.

It appeared the fatties were doomed once they ate through the bottom of the muzzles intended to limit their intake of calories. There was also concern voiced that if the muzzles came off in the Jungle, they would never be found. Good logic. Helen accepted Angel, Rosie, Shane and Bri to Wildrose Farm. So civil, so manicured, so structured. If fact, it must have looked so nice that both Peanut and Rocky appeared the next morning. They simply swam upstream through the water-gap in the fence separating Wildrose from the Jungle. Rocky returned home, but Peanut moved in.

Having Peanut at Wildrose worked well for us. We were able to take all the preliminary work that Tiffany (vol) did in preparing him to get hooked to his little cart for the first time.

Our summer started settling in to playing our little "horsey club" at Wildrose while the rest of the herd ignored us from the Jungle.

That is, until we got a very interesting and suspicious call. I will tell you about that tomorrow.
for now.....walk on! Kris