So far in Session One...

A HUGE thank you to all the volunteers and the Strum family for the great facilities.  It was great to see a crowd at Wednesday Workday, and we started this year off with less on our To Do list than ever. 

By the numbers for Week 1:

Shedding version... we lost count, but the ponies are less furry! :0)

•   36 volunteers signed in (we know there were more, there was a missing sign in sheet at least part of   a day)
•   3 trailer trips to move horses back (and Rosie was SO happy to see her barn again!)
•   17 horses/ponies were dewormed
•   27 clients served (normally we'll have more, so if a vol felt left out, keep coming, we will need you!)
•   40 hooves trimmed
•   11 bridlepaths/manes clipped
•   LOTS (piles!) of fur was shed, brushed, or pulled off (hey, sometimes it's just easier to use your hands on all that loose fur)
•   12 muck buckets dumped 
•   2 harnesses cleaned
•   6 carts/carriages moved
•   8 saddles cleaned
•   1.5 round bales of hay were eaten in the last 2 weeks.
•   2 bags of Senior feed for Alex
•   2.5 escapees--Jen forgot to check the pony gate latch--Peanut only made it 1/2 way out, then decided to back himself into the pen (the What, I've been inside the whole time! act).  Dandy and Spunky sampled a few bites of hay before parking themselves back in the pony pen.  I do love our minis--saved me chasing them in the rain at night!

For the start of Week 2:

• Dani taught a volunteer the Shetland Shuffle
• Thanks Tues. vols for the safe, smooth night!  It's great to see cars parked in the vol parking when I'm running late from work!
• VEISHA is coming, will there be enough vols on Sat.?
• Peanut has recovered from his tummy troubles and is back to his Nutty self.
• Thanks to my mucking buddies, we raked all the manure out from under the eaves. 
  
• And 4 minis are spending some quality time in the nice, dry arena.  After last week, I decided that it was easier to chore than for all of us to attempt to clean the soggy little mud balls.  It's hard to stay clean when your belly is inches away from the mud (that's why Kris calls them the Pasture Squeegees). So dry, fluffy ponies for the Mini Power class tomorrow!  So far it seems like they have had lots of fun playing with the hula hoops-- they were scattered around in the back of the arena tonight.  And yes, Kris, I moved the banner! : )
• And the Story City Girl Scouts made a few new arena toys--they will brighten things up! 

First load of horses to the new location



Peanut and Miracle.  Miracle is happy to be out of his
stall - or mini "time out" since he was slipping through the fence
for the greener grass.

Today Buddy, Alex, Dandy, Miracle and Peanut cruised to Roland in ol' blue.  They loved the new pasture with a run-in shed and lots of posts to scratch on.  Their neighbors, the Strum's horses, across the drive were delighted to have visitors.  Our gang settled right in.  Then they saw the calves.  Our "cow pony", Buddy snorted the most.  The minis pretty much checked them out and then forgot about them.  The calves were still staring at our herd when we drove away. 

Dani, Jen and I spent a few minutes digging through the moved boxes, tubs, crates, and barrels and started setting up.  Jen and I plan to spend some time there tomorrow if anyone would like to join us. 

We had to compliment the owners on their wonderful design.  The facilities are so easy to work in, so clean, and so spacious.

Vols - start checking in.  I have shifts set up.  I will get them on the calender soon.  Can't wait to ride! Kris

Alex and Buddy at the new location - the other horses are thinking this is a play date!

This is yesterday - Peanut and 22 year old Alex "rarin' to go" to the new barn!   I hope you are just as ready!

TOMORROW,  SATURDAY, MARCH 26 is the big day.  Meet at Stagecoach at 9 AM.   We will disassemble the ramp and lift, load carts, carriages, stuff, misc. and etc. and head off to the new barn.  When that stuff is moved, a crew will be dispatched to the Lager house to get the saddles, harnesses and other goodies for the trip to Roland.    Remeber your gloves, friends, trucks, and trailers.  Also, it looks like we will need our Iowa "spring" weather gear.  

Tomorrow will be our day to find out where the closest pizza is to the new place :):):)
Truck on!  Kris

Updates from One Heart

Hi Everyone - I'm BACK!
We have just finished Session 2 and are entering our summer break. Next up is our fundraiser - the Ride and Tie Benefit for One Heart then Special Olympics.
If you have followed along, I spent two weeks in Russia - which was a dream trip! After that I "commuted" to KC to be with my Dad as his health deteriorated. Dad died peacefully on June 3rd. I would like to thank you all for your sympathy and kind thoughts and words. I especially thank Dani and Jennifer for bearing the burden of all our activities and filling in for me.
I know there are several now who follow the blog...since you now politely mention that there hasn't been a post for awhile. There is so much to catch up on that I will just take it in little bits.
I'll start with referring you to a blog post on Nov. 11, 2009. To remind you, it was about a new mini program Jen started. What I am reporting today is the results of that wonderful program.

On June 13th our stable of minis; Peanut, Dandy, and Miracle went with Tesia to a fun show. Of course, Dani, Jen and I went along for the ride :)
We actually started out early Saturday, June 12 with Day 2 of Session 2 at Stagecoach-our "home" arena. It was storming, complete with thunder and lightning - and rain as we caught the horses to bring them from the pasture to the arena. We were soaked.

We had a fun day riding and then loaded a shaggy, muddy, furry, whiskery, bedragled group of minis into the old "true blue" trailer. Off to Marshalltown we ventured.
Meeting us in M-town was Tesia and her family as well as members of the Iowa Miniature Horse Club, the hosts of the event. The show was designed as an introduction for newcomers and a show for horses new to the showring. It was the spring warm-up, a chance to get a good practice in prior to show season. We practiced and practiced and learned and had fun. After the Saturday intros were winding down we started bathing our moutly three.
In short - we started out the day wet and ended up the day drenched! I need to remind you or inform you at this point that our three minis are a combination of all white or red roan and white. Our little pasture tribe needed to be presentable.

Pasture Rotation Has Begun

Hi Friends;

I see Jen, Dani, and Katie are keeping you updated on the arrival of Sofie and Boomer.  They are so excited!  They should be.  I got to meet Sofie and Boomer yesterday and was very impressed.

The change of seasons reminds me of how poorly humans remember.  At least me.  Every winter I can't believe how cold it gets.  Every summer I am suprised with how hot it can get.  There are those fleeting spring and fall episodes when I can't remeber how nice it can be.  This is one of those weeks.  Sure, there are small drifts of snow secluded along the fences and in the woods but with a call for temps in the 60s and 70s we can ignore the remaining white stuff and rejoice in green and sun.

Kelly and Jen strung the electric fence wire around the newly installed automatic waterer a couple of weeks ago.  We planned to be ready when the weather gave us the all clear (at least for awhile).

The trailer rambled over to the jungle on a mission.   It was time to move Rocky and Peanut to the newly fashioned pasture at the Lager's. The plan was to use the occasion to introduce Miracle and Dandy to these two prior to moving on to Stagecoach.   We called ahead to make sure Miracle and Dandy were packed and ready to go.  To keep your bearings; The Lager farm is the West anchor, next door is the Jungle, the last farm down is Helen's Wild Rose Farms and is the East anchor to our horsey neighborhood.  These acreages stretch for about a mile facing the Lincoln Hwy and are backed by a double track for the Union Pacific Railroad.   Dye Creek and several drainage tributaries cross-section all the properties.

Peanut to the Rescue

Hi Friends;

You who know me have heard me declare that I avoid descriptions of "miracle" and "dream" and other such words suggesting what we do in our therapy arena is less than calculated, planned, organized, and orchestrated work. I suppose it is my left-brained, analytical nature that promotes this. I will take that a bit further. I avoid talking about "miracles" and "dreams" out of a driven desire to develop and promote equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) as a true and professional approach to treatment as much as they are compassionate and fun. Now, here is where I get to talk out of the other side of my mouth. All the professionalism and continuing education and research and planning and training doesn't prevent those enlightened moments which happen all the time at One Heart. It also doesn't mean that I don't see them! One Heart has always been about following a "greater plan" and learning not to say no to those insights that could be interpreted as divine. While following this blog I hope you learn the many dimensions of One Heart and EAAT.

Through the networking of the NARHA centers of Iowa, an email was forwarded from a person with a miniature horse for donation. This mini was located in Eastern Iowa, probably an hour and a half from One Heart. A picture was attached. I forwarded the email with picture to Jennifer since she was "in to " minis. I advertised this potential donation using all of the worse descriptions possible. Truthfully, I felt this little misfit was not only muggly-ugly, but as a yearling wouldn't contribute to our program for a long time. This mini was of no use to us. There could be potential, but not without an investment of time and money. I phoned the owner to discuss the particulars of her little stallion which is when I found out he was born in Wisconsin. She had located and purchased him as a weanling through the internet. Her goal was to find a pure white mini who could accompany her to renaissance festivals and be her lovable unicorn sidekick. Her plan fell through and she felt the pure white mini with glass-blue eyes needed a new home. She had him boarded on a farm away from her and she couldn't give him the time and attention he deserved.