Hi, I’m Gus. I work here at Carousel Ranch. I’m a horse. I give riding lessons to people with
disabilities. You might say I’m the therapist. A lot of people have their own
ideas about riding a horse, but I thought it would be interesting for the
humans if they heard what a lesson at Carousel Ranch is like from the horse’s
perspective. Here’s the inside look
into my head during a riding lesson.
Ready? Hold on tight. Neigh!
It’s ‘one
‘o’clock on a Wednesday. It’s time for Rachael Benson’s lesson. Oh boy, here she comes! She’s one of my
favorites. She always has a smile on her face.
Usually, we spend the entire half hour walking around in the arena, but
today, her riding instructor, Eileen, asked her if she wanted to go for a trail
ride.
The words “trail ride”
are music to my ears. I love the feeling of being out in an open field with all
the green leaves. There’s always plenty of food on the trail. It’s a horse’s paradise. Rachael says yes. I kick my heels up in
excitement. “Whoa Gus, take it easy.” Scott says as he pulls on my rope and
pets my nose. I can’t help it. This is going to be a fun day for both of us.
Rachael walks up to the platform
and gets on me. Scott closes the gate behind us and we head on up the trail. As
we head up, Rachael and Eileen start singing songs and talking about things only
humans can understand.
Suddenly, I
hear them laughing. Rachael is laughing
so hard that she can’t control her body and falls forward on to my mane. Ouch!
That hurts!
What’s so funny? I wonder. I
wish I could understand human conversation. Whatever the joke is, it must be
pretty good. Rachael pushes herself back up and we keep going on up the trail.
Soon, I
start to get hungry and try to head toward a plant. Scott pulls me away from
it. “No Gus, not now,” he says.
You don’t really mean that.
I think to myself. I try again. This time, I bend my head all the way
down. I want that plant! Again, Scott
pulls me away from it. “No Gus! Dinner time is later.”
I finally
realize I’m not going to get what I want, and give up. I neigh as if to say,
“Okay fine!” and we move on.
Suddenly, as we start to go down hill a little bit, there’s
an awkward silence. It takes a lot of concentration for Rachael to stay in the
center. We get down the hill, and Rachael and Eileen start talking again. About
what, I have no idea. After all —I am a horse.
Finally, Eileen looks at her watch and tells Rachael It’s
time to go home. We head back toward the ranch and Rachael gets off of me.
As she walks away, she says, “Bye
Gus, I’ll see you next week.” I neigh
as if to say, “Bye Rachael.” She giggles. I may not understand much about
humans, but if there’s one thing I do know, it’s when they’re happy. Her giggle
lets me know she understands me. She has such a friendly laugh!
After I say
bye to her, I realize something. I have a purpose here at Carousel Ranch. My
purpose is to bring joy to people with disabilities and their families. Maybe I
didn’t get the food on the trail I was hoping for, but that’s okay. The smile
on Rachael’s face makes my job worthwhile. That’s good enough for me. I look
forward to seeing her every week!
* Carousel Ranch is always looking for volunteers! If you're interested in helping or would like to know more about the program, visit their website at: http://www.carouselranch.org/
