Month: December 2015

Stephanie Ashe  wrote today's essay - we are very grateful that she evesdrops ;-)

During this season of gratitude, my family and I always take the time to talk about the people and things for which we are grateful.  This year, at the top of my list is eavesdropping.

Now, I don’t make a habit of eavesdropping.  Or, more accurately, I don’t make a habit of letting people know that I’m eavesdropping.  That changed a few months ago at Peet’s in Half Moon Bay. 

I was having a tough morning. My 11-year-old daughter, Gilly, has anxiety.  Not the run-of-the-mill, butterflies in the stomach, average nervousness kind of anxiety.  Gilly has clinically diagnosed, overwhelming, mind-numbing anxiety.  We have battled this anxiety for years with therapy and tutoring to help her keep up in school.  But, over the past several months, Gilly’s anxiety has increased and prevented her from going to school.  She has been in the hospital, gone through intensive therapy and has been moved to a few different schools as we tried to find the right fit.  Sadly, due to her anxiety, Gilly also stopped doing many of the activities that she enjoyed the most, including riding horses, something that she has loved since she was five.

That morning at Peet’s, I was holding my breath.  Gilly had just started a new, small and very hands-on school and I was nervously trying to get some work done at the local Peet’s.

I happened to sit next to Joell Dunlap, who was in the middle of talking to someone about her ranch, Square Peg. As I tried to write emails, I kept getting pulled into listening to Joell talk about her foundation that takes therapy riding to another level.  Joell’s enthusiasm for her work with special needs children, her description of her “castaway” horses who need the kids as much as the kids need them, and the intense passion with which she talked about the supportive, peaceful and calm environment where kids and horses thrive, was too tempting for me to keep quiet. 

I interrupted Joell and her friend, mid-conversation, and asked if this place could possibly be real. I think Joell could sense the desperation in my voice and she very kindly spent the next 20 minutes talking to me about Square Peg, listening to my worries about Gilly and encouraging me to visit the ranch.

For our first visit to Square Peg, Gilly and I planned to observe for an hour, at the most.  Gilly was nervous and made me promise that we would leave the minute she started to feel uncomfortable. We stayed  five hours. 

We met each horse, groomed several, cleaned out a few stalls, met and fed the goats, pet the dogs and got to know the wonderful Square Peg instructors.  And, under Joell’s kind tutelage, Gilly tacked up and rode Roxie, Square Peg’s trusty pony.

Needless to say, Gilly and I have spent a lot of time at Square Peg since our first visit.  We have gotten to know Rachel and Becca, two of the kindest and smartest “horse girls” I have ever met. Gilly has lessons with Rachel and Becca, she often helps at the ranch, and the instructors have endless patience with all of my horse personality and anatomy questions. We can’t seem to get enough of the place!

Beyond riding, Rachel goes out of her way to check in on Gilly to see how she is doing after riding, with school, etc. Rachel has found yoga classes for us, told us where to get the best milkshakes on the coast and has even given Gilly some of her old riding equipment.

Rachel and Joell have also introduced me to other parents who have children with special needs.  Their stories, understanding and encouragement have been a big help to me during this time.

Gilly is doing so well. She likes her new school and gets so much comfort and support at Square Peg. She is calmer, stronger and sleeps better. I know that we still have a long way to go with helping Gilly work through her anxiety.  But, I have faith that Gilly will forge her way past this tough time and learn how to lead a happy and productive life.  And, I know that Square Peg will be a big part of that effort.

Thank you, Joell, Rachel, Becca, Roxie, Panzur, Ace, Patti, Tucker, Molly, Wasabi and all of the other amazing souls at Square Peg!

Sponsoring a Square Peg horse is the Holiday gift that makes miracles happen every day!  Today's featured horse is Roxy - the pony who brought real smiles to this family.  Below is the monthly breakdown to sponsor Roxy's care: 
Occupancy: $250 (rent, maintenance, insurance)
Staff: $150 (includes care, training, grooming and exercise) 
Feed: $135      
Farrier: $21      
Vet: $52    
Other: $41 (Dentistry, chiropractic, supplies, supplements)
$7,788 annually $649 per month

Today's Gratitude Essay is from our friend Irma Mitton.  The Mitton family recently adopted Square Peg horses Ricky, Rico and Sam.  We are so grateful for our adoptive families.

The Kunze Family has offered up a challenge to raise funds for Square Peg. Every dollar you donate between now and the end of the year will be matched up to $10,000! Your support is a lifeline to our families and the horses who call Square Peg their sanctuary. We are so grateful for your support.

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.  — Ralph Waldo Emerson

The perfume of horse happiness – grassy, earthy, sweet, unfiltered. Once it gets into your olfactory system, it makes its way permanently into your heart. It becomes part of your bloodstream, and as necessary as oxygen.

This year, Square Peg gifted our family with its own unique formula of horse happiness. We’ve always enjoyed riding in many disciplines and our Pescadero farm served as a happy home for several equine athletes retired by our trainer and friends. This year, the time was right for us to branch out and find a new way to immerse ourselves in horseyness.

Our daughter Laurel began volunteering as a barn girl with Square Peg this June. Three afternoons each week, she came home tired, sweaty, dirty, and with a radiant grin that could outshine a full moon. After cleaning 20 stalls, grooming and tacking up half a dozen horses, she was covered in that unique “perfume” (ahem, cough) of horse happiness.

Her happiness sparked a resurgence of excitement about horses in our entire family. Suddenly, I remembered what it means to be a true horse(wo)man. I found myself again spending hours watching training shows on RFD-TV and re-reading the classics (Tom Dorrance’s True Unity, Mary Wanless’s The Natural Rider, and of course, Alois Podhasky’s Principles of Classical Horsemanship).

We find ourselves spending more time together as a family in our own barn, which is now enhanced with two retired Square Peg horses, Rickie and Sam, as well as Rico, a beautiful young OTTB rehomed through Square Peg as well.  Laurel takes her enhanced confidence and sensitivity, as a rider and as a person, with her wherever she goes, and our son Rob has also begun riding again (thank you, sweet Rickie!).

As we approach the holidays and reflect back on our year, we are immensely grateful for all the Square Peg has bestowed on us this year: exposure to so many different horses, new friendships and connections with strong and compassionate role models, and a stress-free place to hang out, laugh, and BREATHE.

Most importantly, we grateful that our experience with Square Peg reminded us of a very important lesson: regardless of your age, physical condition, or state of mind, time with horses is therapeutic. Horse happiness may smell a little different, but it can heal pretty much anything.

We are more than half way to meeting our $10,00 challenge grant! Every dollar you donate between now and the end of the year will be matched up to $10,000! Your support is a lifeline to our families and the horses who call Square Peg their sanctuary. We are so grateful for your support.