April Issue #14. Changes... With growth, comes change! So here s a few:

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1 April 2017 Issue # FM 973, Manor, TX Changes... With growth, comes change! So here s a few: 1. We decided that it was best for the sanity of the staff and horses that we would not do the Gold Stirrup Horse Show or Special Olympics this year. We are going to have our 2nd annual Ranch Horse Show on July 2nd so that all of our students can participate and show off what they have accomplished this year! 2. For the same reason, we will not be having summer camps. Too many students couldn t go to camp and we felt like it was excluding too many! Lessons will go on throughout the summer with time adjustments to accommodate the heat. We will be adjusting the class schedules in May, so stay tuned! 3. Our barn bash committee is working hard on our 3rd Barn Bash Fundraiser that will be held on Friday, August 18th from 7pm - 11 pm. This will be the first time that it will not be at the ranch. This year it will be at the Palm Door on Sabine in downtown Austin! We still need sponsors and in kind donations to make this successful. a. So far we know that Samantha Lee and the Family Tree will be our band. I can tell you that they are fabulous! b. We have some fantastic live auction donations like passes to Disney World, Caribbean Vacation packages, dinner packages, and so much more! 1

2 Q. Please share a little about your background, where you are from (grew up), education, personal interests, so that our readers can get to know you. A. I grew up in Nassau County on Long Island and the hometown pride is strong! I, of course, wanted to get out of there pretty much my whole life, but now I look forward to going back to visit whenever I get the chance. I'm actually headed there in April to see Billy Joel play the first show at the new Nassau Coliseum -- it's a huge deal for us islanders. I did eventually move away to go to college at the University of New Hampshire. Most of my friends are still scattered around New England, but we make a point to see each other every year for an annual ski trip in the White Mountains. An Interview with Erin Patterson Q. What brought you to the ranch and what are some of your favorite aspects of volunteering? A. I grew up taking riding lessons at Camp 4H on Long Island and I knew I'd want to get involved with horses again someday. I'm not an expert rider by any means, but I love being around them. As far as therapeutic riding goes, I've had a couple of eye-opening experiences working with children on the autism spectrum that almost made me change career paths. When I learned that therapeutic riding was a thing (just a few months before I started volunteering), I knew I had to get involved because it was a perfect fusion of things I care about. I had been living in Austin for about a year and just Googled therapy riding, which is how I found out about Healing with Horses. I came to the volunteer training a couple of weeks later and am so glad I did! The best part of volunteering is seeing the progression from week to week in each student. It s especially exciting when a student sees, first-hand, what happens when they focus. Their horse listens and responds to them when they do that, and they get excited about it. It definitely teaches them an important lesson about being present. Q. Please share a little about the work you are doing with Joey and some positive changes you have witnessed. A. Joey is awesome. He comes to the ranch excited and eager to learn. He tends to lose attentiveness, but he can usually get back on track with some reminders to focus on his task. So, we work on that throughout most of the lesson -- particularly when he s grooming. One of the greatest moments was on a day where he took charge in picking Wiseman's hooves. Up until then, I d usually help quite a bit and remind him to pay attention and be ready, otherwise, Wiseman would drop his leg. Then one day, I didn't have to say anything. He was ready and attentive and got through all four hooves without losing focus. It was incredible! Joey improves every week and has a real connection with the horses. I think he has a lot of fun. Q. What does volunteering at the ranch bring to your life? A. Serenity and perspective. Q. Who is your favorite horse at the ranch? A. Wiseman was my favorite from day one! I was drawn to that horse and I wasn t really sure why. Then I found out he was a retired racehorse. I grew up 5 minutes from Belmont Park, have visited college friends who live in the horse capital of the world (Lexington, Kentucky; a place I ve seriously considered moving to), and my cousin in Virginia has 3 retired racehorses who have lived to be 32, 30, and 29. I kind of love that Wiseman is a slowpoke in the arena and on trail rides. He put his time in, being forced to run fast, so he s just taking it easy these days. Erin, we truly appreciate your help and time commitment to the ranch! You are a valued volunteer that we can always count on - and that means the world to us!!** Thank you for your help on a regular weekly basis and for always jumping in where needed. 2

3 ANGEL Angel (AKA Sweet Cheeks) is 10 year old 12 hand paint pony. Dori Wiseman Johnson offered her to Healing with Horses after her son outgrew her and she arrived on March 20th. Though she is still on trial, Angel passed her test to become a therapy horse. You will notice that Angel has angel wings on her back which is how she got her name, but we thought about naming her Double Stuff because she is about twice as big as Oreo. Angel s test to become a therapy horse at Healing with Horses Ranch includes a temperament test that challenges her calmness by playing with noisy toys, taking off jackets, having things dropped from her back, blowing bubbles around her, being crowded with sidewalkers, being ridden off balanced and then being ridden by an inexperienced volunteer rider. She passed with flying colors. Angel has gradually been introduced to the herd and Holly looked at her with what appeared to be confusion. It was almost as if Holly thought that Angel was her baby. She is about half of Holly s size! She is now in with the whole herd and has settled in quite well! We have had a few of our students ride her and it is love at first ride. WILDFIRE WildFire - Originally came from Cowboy Harley Davidson... he was "adopted" by a wonderful family off of Gilbert Rd where he lived until the owners had to sell and couldn't take him with them. Davina & Crystal Merkel had been with him and the other horses since he moved to Gilbert and agreed to give him a forever home. He now works with them at Healing with Horses Ranch and keeps a watchful eye over the amazing herd out there. 3

4 April is National Autism Awareness Month Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. We now know that there is not one autism but many types, caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences. The term spectrum reflects the wide variation in challenges and strengths possessed by each person with autism. Autism s most-obvious signs tend to appear between 2 and 3 years of age. In some cases, it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months. Some developmental delays associated with autism can be identified and addressed even earlier. Autism Speaks urges parents with concerns to seek evaluation without delay, as early intervention can improve outcomes. Some facts about autism - p The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates autism s prevalence as 1 in 68 children in the United States. This includes 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls. p An estimated 50,000 teens with autism become adults and lose school-based autism services each year. p Around one third of people with autism remain nonverbal. p Around one third of people with autism have an intellectual disability. p Certain medical and mental health issues frequently accompany autism. They include gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, seizures, sleep disturbances, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and phobias. And remember to wear blue and "Light It Up Blue" on April 2 for World Autism Awareness Day and throughout April, for World Autism Month. Note: In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association merged four previously distinct diagnoses into one umbrella diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These included autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome. The fruit of the month for April is Strawberries and that is not a joke! Many owners report that their horses are completely in love with strawberries. When cleaned properly strawberries make an excellent treat for horses as they are bite-sized and sweet enough to be very appealing to horses. Strawberries are excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants and will therefore go towards ensuring that your horse is happy and healthy. In fact strawberries are one of the few fruits that a horse might actually have had a chance of eating in the wild. Horses would take any chance they got to eat from berry bushes as a supplement to their normal foraging diet. Because of this you do not have to worry if your horse eats strawberry leaves as they are non-toxic to horses and shouldn t have any adverse effects whatsoever. The most important part of feeding a horse strawberries is to ensure that they are all fully cleaned in cold water. Also make sure that they are not moldy, rotten or old as any spoiled food is it at risk of upsetting your horse s stomach. Visit Horses Can Eat Strawberries 4

5 Jessica B 4/1 Melany R 4/2 Lauren R 4/10 Kate G 4/11 Lauren H 4/16 Christine H 4/17 Waylon S 4/21 Zoe L 4/21 Kareem A 4/22 Ismael M 4/26 Michelle L 4/30 Don't forget - Mileage to and from the ranch is tax deductible! April 23-29th is National Volunteer Appreciation Week! 5

6 Volunteers are so critical to Healing with Horses Ranch. They are involved in everything we do. In 2016 our volunteers logged over 10,000 service hours alone (and that does not count the hours for folks who often forgot to sign in - you know who you are! ). To thank our volunteers for their hard work and dedication, we held our Annual Volunteer Recognition Party on Sunday, February 19th at Patty and John's house. Over 70 people attended including volunteers and guests. We could not have asked for a better event! We want to give a big shout out to everyone that made this event such a success including p The band - Samantha Lee and the Family Tree. What a great show - We are big fans and they are now our "house band"! p The cooking - Keith Merkel and team. Outstanding fajitas and fixings! p The beautiful flowers - Doran Floral. They were so beautiful and everyone got to take some home! p Coffee/Tea & Lemonade - Cups-n-Cones. p The Round Rock Kohls Associates in Action team for their help with set up. The decorations were outstanding. p Target for all the fun fiesta decorations and to Hadley Hill for her time spent shopping. p Everyone that entered the dessert bakeoff and to the winner Matt Nail for his delicious Banana Pudding p and to Mother Nature for holding off the wind and rain until well after the event! Also many thanks to the numerous individual volunteers and staff that helped with shopping, set up, and tear down - Hadley, Jenny, Noah, Davina, Jesse, Crystal, Karolina, Katy, Pelham, John, Patty, Lauren, Matt, Abbie, Susie, Dorothy, and Sierra! We extend sincere congratulations to the night's biggest winners : p Volunteer of the Year - Amalia Nordin p Youth Volunteer of the Year - Zoe Lacey p Horse of the Year - Lacey Volunteer Recognition Event Recap These ladies work incredibly hard and are constantly helping in so many areas. Amalia is an instructor in training, organizes the conditioning team, is a trainer for our volunteer training, helps on the feed team, helps with lessons as a horse handler and side walker and basically wherever she is needed. She logged 398 hours last year. Zoe is on our conditioning team, helps with weekly lessons, feed team and helps to serve as an interpreter with the volunteer groups from the Texas School for the Deaf. She logged 190 hours. Lacey takes her job very seriously. She is always ready for the task at hand, and won t let anything stop her. She is so versatile, great at communication, and has without a doubt changed many lives for the better. She dedicated 100% of her time to the ranch! 6

7 Patty has been having fun in some of her classes! On Sunday s, she and Instructor s-in-training Cameron Davis and Libby Hallet have been working on trust in their lessons. They have introduced some very basic vaulting maneuvers while the students are being lunged at the walk. Bri, Cameron, Ava, Thomas, Daegan, and Nautica have been practicing going around the world and even are standing on their horse s back while their horse is walking. Because of this they are trusting in themselves and their instructor and volunteers, increasing their core strength, starting to move with their horse. Because of that (and not having to think about reins) each one of them have increased their body control while trotting and 2 have started cantering! We are so proud of our kiddos! Thank you to caregivers that have entrusted their kids to us! 7