One Heart Equestrian Therapy

2011 Region 7 PATH Intl Instructor of the Year - Jennifer Lamoreux

2012-01-21T21:22:00.000-06:00

One Heart's own Jennifer Lamoreux is the Region 7 PATH Intl Instructor of the Year. (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International- formerly NARHA). Region 7 includes Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas which include some big cities and large centers.

Dani nominated Jennifer for many reasons including the creation of the Mini Power program.

In the winter of 2009, One Heart instructors found out that one of the Special Olympics riders had a health status change and was now contra-indicated for riding and driving. The student and her family were devastated because the highlight of the student’s year had been competing in the Equestrian Special Olympics.

It's a Peanut S'more!

Jennifer thought she could find a solution using a miniature horse (Peanut) that had been donated to the program three years prior as a yearling. The mini had shown willingness to work and courage in the face of challenges. Jennifer networked and made connections with miniature horse people, and found out that miniature horse shows have classes for people with disabilities.

Receiving this award meant Jennifer was in the running for the PATH Intl Instructor of the Year.
Jennifer, Dani and Kris went to the PATH Intl Annual Meeting and Conference in Lexington, KY Nov 9-12, 2011. And as I've heard more than one person state "Jennifer was robbed!" Although we may be just a little itty-bitty bit biased.

CONGRATULATIONS JENNIFER!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO!!!!!!!!!!!

Angel Tree- part 2

2012-01-21T20:51:00.002-06:00

The horses (and the humans who did the hauling) say THANK YOU!!!!! to all our Christmas Angels from the Ames Theisens Angel Tree! (one of these years we'll actually remember to get a photo... ops!)

Angel Tree @ Theisens in Ames

2011-12-08T15:59:00.000-06:00

The horses dropped off a holiday list at Theisens in Ames under the tree. They also like gift cards. (Y'all know how they love to shop. :D) The horses and volunteers appreciate every item. And I'm pretty sure the horses are stocked on treats... no matter what they say!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Ride and Tie photos

2011-11-04T15:59:00.005-05:00

More photos have been posted on the Benefit Ride and Tie for One Heart Equestrian Therapy web site www.oneheartrideandtie.org Here are just a few:

Fall update

2011-09-25T11:10:00.002-05:00

Wow, where has September gone?!?!?! I can't believe it's nearly October. We've had one busy month.

On August 28th we celebrated One Heart's 10th Anniversary out at the barn with an ice cream social and silent auction. THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us get this far. We couldn't do it with out volunteers. We hope everyone enjoyed seeing the facilities in Roland.

The next weekend on September 3rd we had the 2nd Annual Benefit Ride and Tie for One Heart. Friday night a few of our One Heart riders gave a little demonstration. Saturday we had several teams ready to head out when the rain and lightening hit. So we had to postpone until Sunday, which actually worked out better since it was a beautiful day! We had 12 teams complete the 3 distances. Five teams for the short course of 6 miles, 2 for the 12 mile course and 5 (yep 5!) did the 20 mile course. For the 20 mile course times ranged from 1:56:27 to 2:34:39. Congratulations to everyone that competed and THANK YOU for your support. We hope to see you all for the 3rd Annual Benefit Ride and Tie on Saturday September 1, 2012.

We have LOTS of photos from several photographers so it's taking a bit longer than we thought to get them up. But keep checking back on our Facebook Page and on the Ride and Tie website.

But wait! we're not done (not by a long shot)! Saturday September 10th was the Iowa Special Olympics Equestrian Event at Jester Park. I don't have results but I hear Rosie, Shane and Bri worth their weight in "Gold, Silver, and Bronze" :)

The next week (are you keeping up? it's the week of September 12 now) we started Session 3 for all of our riders and drivers. We put people up on Tuesday and Thursday nights (5:30-8:30pm) and Saturday mornings (8am-1pm). The more volunteers the merrier! So please come out and help. We can give you day of training. (It's useful if we know ahead of time so just give Kris a buzz if you can- oneheart@netins.net but if not don't worry just show up and join the fun!) There's still 4 weeks left of Session 3.

I think sometime around the end of October we'll be rested up. Maybe in time for Halloween? As you can see it's been a VERY busy and exciting fall. I'm sure Kris, Dani and Jen will get around to giving more details and photos when they've finished their naps! :-P

Until next time!
Katie- web communications volunteer

ATO Fraternity House Meets Animal House

2011-08-17T21:56:00.000-05:00

One Heart put 25 young men from Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity of Iowa State University to work on Wednesday. Boy, were they alot of help! Things got built, moved, sorted, cleaned, painted, moved again, swept, washed, arranged, and repaired. Following all that work we had a chance to have our volunteers try out Petunia. This was her first round with a rider. She was great! Of course, there was some newness to having sidewalkers and a rider on backwards but Jen and I were pleased with what we saw. Fritz also came into the arena for the first time and played with all the stuff. He was especially facinated with the mounting block which he kept pawing and chewing. When a barrel was rolled in front of him, he stepped up to it instead of backing away. All we have to do now is not SPOIL him!

We found ATO to represent their goals of a brotherhood striving to gain leadership skills and demonstrate Christian values. It was a fun time with forward progress on the big clean up for the party. Thanks, ATO!!

It Looks Like Shane was cut out of the other picture

2011-08-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

I made it smaller to include Shaney-boy!

Help Locate Everyone for the 10th Anniversary Celebration

2011-08-11T19:40:00.000-05:00

10th Anniversary Celebration: Sunday, August 28th 4 - 6 PM

at One Heart: 59149 140th St. Roland, IA

Hi Gang;
I have this lovely picture of Rosie, Kyle and Shane printed as an invitation postcard. I used my handy dandy PhotoShop to turn one of my fuzzy pics into this fresco. I think it is coooool.
Right now I am putting together a mailing list for the invitations. I opened an old folder titled "Historic Mailing Lists" This goes back to 2001!   MANY,MANY, MANY of our volunteers, as students, have moved far and wide since their contributions to One Heart.

Can you help me find them?   There were 250 volunteers in our 2nd year!   Can you imagine how many total?   Other than a mailing list of a kajillion.......I only have very OLD addresses. Most defunct.
So, if you have kept track of friends, neighbors, roomates, relatives, church members, town folk, high school buddies that came to One Heart - let me know I am looking for them :)

Here's the deal......if you would like a postcard invitation, I can mail it to your postal address IF I have it.
2. If you see this and don't need a mailing, please send me an email that you have heard about the party. 3. If you could let me know if you can come or not that would be nice, since we are rounding up ice cream and the works right now.

By the way, if you think Facebook would help try that. We have a FB page. We just need friends. It is not a "group" page but a regular page. I think it is listed as a "place". I'm not the FB-master....I am just trying to catch on.   The FB page is One Heart Equestrian Therapy.

Now for the goodies!!!!!!   Maureen will be at the party and is dying to catch up with you all. Reading through the mailing lists of old, I know how much you have all contributed and how much we miss seeing you. You might be interested to know how many names are on the old lists and we still have them 'hanging around' - joyfully!!!
The silent auction is featuring ISU stuff such as football tickets, football and basketballs signed by the coaches, a Seabiscuit movie poster, books, dining certificates, etc, etc. Have to come see!
This is open to riders, their families, volunteers, their families, donors and friends, their families, supporters, their families, group home staff, well.....our buddies!
More....

We are going to miss some of our friends from BITS (Best in Iowa Traces Society) since their summer show is that weekend in Webster City. Several other of our stalwart supporters have weddings, reunions, vacations, and other activities. They have emailed in their regrets.
Others will be there with bells on!   Instead of a boring program, (me) rambling, rambling we are setting up different stations featuring our different activites; Instructors, the Fjord Project, Special Olympics, The Old Days, One Heart through the Years, etc. You may drift around and see pictures and other items of the events.
One Heart is about YOU.   Hope to see YOU!   Please Help circulate this notice. Thanks, Kris

Ice Cream Social and Silent Auction.

Petunia and Fritz Join One Heart

2011-07-28T06:02:00.001-05:00

Hi Gang;

After meeting Petunia and Fritz at their home in South Dakota, we were pretty convinced that they would suit our program.   Due to the milage, the owners agreed to meet us 1/2 way to make the exchange.   This looked like Sac City.   Due to the suppressive heat, the owners were interested in making the exchange early in the morning.   Earlier than I wanted to drive....so, Jennifer, Dani, Lucy and I drove to Storm Lake the night before.   This is because - unbelievable as it might seem - the Sac City Motel was full!   Storm Lake was the next closest.   We arrived late Sat., July 16th - so late the innkeeper had called to tell us to find our key in they mailbox and to check ourselves in. We were to check out in the morning but left before seeing anyone.....It was quite a stay. I won't say it was terrible, but it didn't help convince Jennifer that motels were a step up from camping!
We met the Christensens, the owners of Petunia and Fritz in Early, Iowa. They unloaded and reloaded perfectly and we were on the way. We made it to the barn and got them pastured to rest. The picture I have of them is when they arrived. I jumped out of the truck into the heat and humidity and when I snapped the shot - I found the lens had fogged over from the drastic change in temp.
Last night we gave Fritz his first haircut - The Fjord Buzz. He looks awesome!   He also started in lines last night. Can't wait for you to meet them.

Chat soon; Kris

Full Fjord Immersion

2011-07-27T18:16:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone;

Dani, Jennifer, Lucy and I started out July 16th at the Midwest Fjord Horse show held this year in Cedar Rapids. I was really glad I was not grooming for this one!   It was HOT and muggy!   It was really fun watching so many Fjords showing. It was also fun watching the trail class to see who might be able to work in therapy. There is a really neat class - Walk - Trot trail. The horse starts out the obstacle course being led through different stations. The rider then mounts 1/2 way through and completes the course.   I had never seen this aspect added to trail. It was a good addition. It seemed most like a therapy class to me.
The most impressive classes were the driving. So nice and elegant. To me the highlight was wandering back in the barn and visiting with owners. The stall that stopped me was a lovely grey dun stallion with a pedigree plaque on the door. It caught my eye -"Anvil's Fjellrosa" - that was our Rosa! She was this stallion's paternal grandmother! Made me feel at home - made me miss Rosa.
We stayed at the show as long as we could.....

And off we drove to meet Kelly with the trailer along I-35.   We traded him the car for the truck and trailer and off we went on our adventure to meet up with the Christensens to get Petunia and Fritz.

Who said we took time off:????     HA - Chat soon, Kris

Time to catch up!

2011-07-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

Hi All;

I have tons of news and fun stuff to share. We are just starting our summer break. It's been a funky weather year but has finished off HOT! Keep checking back because I won't be able to share everything at this time. Too much chat!
The first item on the agenda is SAVE THE DATE. We are celebrating our 10th Anniversary on Sunday, August 28th from 5 - 7 pm. Maureen will be here! This is open to everyone...friends, riders, families, volunteers, donors, community. Please save the date and plan on dropping in. It is totally informal - just a chance to see you all. We will have displays from "over the years" and thank everyone "officially" around 6 pm. You can come and go - not a big sit down event. More info will be coming. We don't have a location at this time. Also, anyone willing to help put on a silent auction or donate goodies - we need help with this.

Another - SAVE THE DATE - the One Heart Equestrian Therapy Ride and Tie will be held this year on Sept. 3rd. Please see the website http://www.oneheartrideandtie.org/ to register. This is a knockout FUN time. It's fun to watch.

Let me catch you up with the new location; We are at 59149 140th St. in Roland. This is a fantastic facility that has allowed us to really open up and expand. Our gracious hosts, Lon and Sandy love having us there. Lon pitches in all the time helping with the horses. We are helping him with his group of minis. There are two new foals that need halter practice and a yearling we are starting out for driving.

Meanwhile, we have been looking at......

two new Fjords! This picture shows (L-R) Petunia, 11 yr old mare, Elvis, jumbo gelding, and Fritz, 2 year old gelding

Jennifer, Dani, Lucy and I took a road trip to South Dakota on 4th of July to investigate a mare advertised on the Midwest Fjord Horse website. Her name is Petunia. She tested at her home fantastically! Although the owners, Chauncey and Carla Christiansen were eager to show us that she was broke to ride, we instead brought out the balls, hoops, surcingle, and swim rings. This was definately new for the Christiansens. After we met Petunia - and a two year old gelding, Fritz, we enjoyed meeting their herd. They have (had) 29 Fjords! What a sight! You would have thought there wouldn't be a blade of grass in sight :):) but they were all quite happy out on the fields. There were three mares and foals in a barn lot and the new stallion in with them. It was fun to spend time with them. We had a great time meeting the Christiansen family and their fjords. We were having a fun visit on the way home when one of Iowa's Finest....pulled us over (me driving). I was advised to "Use more cruise - less chat". After a paperwork transaction:( we headed on home.

Move later.....Kris

Derby Day at One Heart

2011-05-11T17:23:00.000-05:00

We had a great time with Derby Day classes! Jen (instructor) had her first class decorate their saddle pads and helmets to match - like the jockeys. Jen also had a race course/candyland game set up in the arena. When everyone came in there were candy and cookies to represent Mint Julips and Grasshopper pie. For the big kicker......Jen had a craft table set up where vols, riders, and moms customized beautiful Derby Hats to wear. Here is just a selection of the pagentry and excitement befitting Derby Day.

"Like" us on Facebook

2011-05-11T15:47:00.001-05:00

Hi all. Facebook is changing some things with the Group feature in the next few months so we're moving to a Page. There is a bit of a learning curve involved for all of use so please be patient. I'm not sure when the Group will go away... (I think) that's up to the people at Facebook.

Please "like" the new One Heart Page.

Thanks!

Love those One Heart Volunteers

2011-05-10T21:46:00.000-05:00

I can never remember - in 10 years - of having such a swing in weather. If you recall, we cancelled week 1's Tuesday night classes due to a blizzard. Today, check it out. It's week 4 and we could have cancelled tonight for either temperature (officially 97) or heat index (I don't want to know:) At one point we were calculating the "wind chill" of the breeze going through the arena. Please pardon the cobwebs on the arena thermometer - and also consider it was hanging on the west wall. Maybe it was broken ? Wishful thinking :)

The riders and drivers were all in good shape, the horses seemed quite comfy and eager to come into the arena and the instructors had some tricks up their sleeves. It was a good night to go over the parts of the saddle and work on transitions and reining at the walk. I always applaud the volunteers but today a VERY SPECIAL thank you goes out to our dedicated bunch - three of whom were newcomers.

The driving class ended with a trip to the wash rack for a shower.

Thank you all for a very nice evening.

Our New Motto!

2011-05-09T16:31:00.000-05:00

You have often heard us say, "Many hands make light work". It's a great motto. Now, we have a new one.

"Get your Walk-On"

Everyone, parents, instructors, program directors, riders, volunteers and horses all know that the horse doesn't go until they hear "Walk ON!" For many riders these are the first words they ever have spoken. For some of our riders it sounds like, "Waaaaa". For others it is "AAAAAK" It all means the same, "Walk-ON!". The whole team responds to the command. This is the phrase all of our riders remember each ride, each week and each year. It means more than we can describe. It means everything. Now, it means more. For leaders and sidewalkers, grooms, horses and arena assistants, as well as instructors - we all know after an hour working in arena footing - you have had a work out. Forget the gym, forget your treadmill, forget your trainer, forget the jaunt around the neighborhood, forget the powerwalking. What we have is Better! Come to One Heart and Get Your Walk-On. You will find it as motivating and fulfilling as any self-motivated reasons you may have for taking a walk. See you soon! Kris

Many Hands Make Light Work

2011-05-09T15:33:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's our motto. May not be original, but it certainly works for us. I am speaking particularly about Tuesday and Thursday evening classes. The photo is of one of the two riders in the 6PM class. It shows a leader, the instructor, two sidewalkers and the "music assistant" this rider likes. The other rider has a parent walking and Jen (instructor) leading. If you can find the time please come share the fun. Thanks, Kris

Quick update for the week from Jen

2011-05-09T09:48:00.000-05:00

Done with finals? Enjoying perfect weather? Come out and play at the barn. We have several horses/minis that could use work, and with smaller classes this session it's the perfect time to do it. We're 90% unpacked, the tack room and stall are labeled, so the hard work has been done. And our riders would love to see some of our experienced volunteers again! Besides, you can come see how much a mini broodmare can stretch. We keep on expecting the Strumm's mini mares to have a foal at their side, but they just keep on getting wider and/or lower bellies. Poor girls. We should have a contest to see who can guess which mare and what day. I'm guessing the bay in 2 weeks.
Thur. May 12: This is a biggie--most of our Thur night volunteers (including myself) need to be leaving for end of the year Girl Scout awards ceremony by 6pm. That's right when classes start! Only 2 riders per class, but they need 3 (and possibly more, don't know what Dani has planned) vols each. Tonight's volunteer base was 100% Girl Scouts, so we don't want to leave the class grounded next. The riders are making enormous, gigantic, wonderful progress with Dani, we don't want to slow them down! If you can't come, can you help spread the word? Even if you can add just this single Thur. night to your schedule that would help.
Finally, we could use 4 more vols. for the Tue. 7-8 class. Tue is our busy day, with minis starting at 5, a sport class at 6, and our largest sport class at 7. Hopefully with school winding down we'll be able to pick up a few more people. But May is a busy month, so who knows. I'm thinking we need to make some vol recruiting posters to hang at fitness centers. I'm actually losing weight this week (I've been playing at the barn every day) and not noticing the deep sand so much. Rosie and Shane can sure speed walk. And Bri enjoys the bright arena, too. Almost miss the big hill at Stagecoach up to the barn, that made me work off some candy bars. But I'm quite content with the level gravel drive (and shorter distance) to the horses now. What can I say, I'm lazy. And I guess I'm not quick either!

Mighty Minis Strike Again

2011-05-08T16:26:00.001-05:00

The moment we have waited for. The custom carts are here, Miracle and Dandy are suited up, and able-bodied whips are in place. The therapeutic driving program is going strong again.

This class is with Jim and John who show exceptional skills already. We comment on their quiet hands and voice command skills.

Driving is on Tuesdays beginning at 5:00 pm. At the same time our first vol shift should be arriving to prep for the 6:00 pm class. If you can come to help, we need you Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

These pictures are from Dick our photographer. By the way, both pictures are of Miracle. Check out Jim negotiating the cones. Only one over on his first try. We will get trickier as the session goes on. Please come join us for the beautiful facilities, perfect weather and fun, happy smiles.

What did I tell you about our photographer???

2011-05-03T20:46:00.000-05:00

Remember my post that showed our new volunteer who wanted to be our photographer and ended up sidewalking? Here is an example when we have plenty of sidewalkers and can free him up. Isn't this a lovely portrait of Rosie and Jennifer! Rosie is a camera hog - poses every time she sees a camera....but Jen is hard to catch :)

We have shifts Tuesday evening and Thursday evening that could use a few hands. I know we are transitioning over finals week. That gives me an opportunity to congratulate all of our volunteers who are graduating this year. Many have spent their whole college career fitting us into a busy schedule. Several have been able to incorporate a project for One Heart into a class report. For those who are not pursing jobs in far away places we look forward to you continuing with us. Many High Schoolers are also graduating soon and we plan to hang on to them if they select a career or college near home. Our best to you all!

Watch for some awesome driving pictures when Dick gets them to me. He was able to snap some first shift tonight but had to sidewalk second shift. When all the corn gets in and graduations are over we sure hope to see you. We are also registering for Session 2. Please contact me when you can volunteer for Session 2. Thanks!

2011-04-22T22:11:00.000-05:00

We are ready to ride on Saturday of Easter Weekend. Hope to have you join us if you don't have travel plans. See you at the barn! We have a new horse coming and the two new mini-carts. Yippee!

No classes tonight, Tues

2011-04-19T10:41:00.000-05:00

We are getting hit with all Mother Nature/all the time. Whew! Wind, ice, slush, sleet, hail, rain, snow, blizzard, lightening, thunder. Thank goodness no tornadoes at this time. However, our group from up north decided not to venture out. We will set a make-up day for them. Thanks, please circulate this message to other volunteers.

We will work out a better day!

Riders are up and it's Good!

2011-04-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

Hi All;

We started our ride Sat. for Session 1 and had a great time. The new facilities are getting all kinds of rave reviews from riders, parents, staff, and volunteers. It was beautiful teamwork to have everyone work together to find the best procedures in the new building complex. We did pretty well considering the "competition" from Veisha. We could definately use a handful more vols. All I can say is that we all felt quite good from the wonderful rides we had.

Monday was a very good day. Our Instructor-In-Training, Hannah put her first classes up. After a sleepless night of fretting - she did a terrific job. I have included in the post a photo that I took. The significance of this is that our "photographer" is sidewalking. I am sure he would do a much better job than I did - even after this shot got a photoshop "bath". So, if you can come Monday, maybe we can get some better pictures :)

More riding Tuesday and Thursday this week. Our riders are looking forward to seeing familiar faces and making new friends. Thanks! Walk On.

Girl Scout Tsunami hits One Heart

2011-04-13T17:19:00.000-05:00

The Roland-Story Junior Girl Scout troups came to One Heart for a "Wednesday Work Day". And boy did they do a great job!
The gang of 13 youngsters with two leaders attacked the chores with ferver. So many things were accomplished, bringing us a step closer to our start day - THIS Saturday! After chores their other leader, Jen arrived to conduct some horse chores. Bri got a start on her mane and there are much fewer burrs in everyone. Can't thank you enough Scouters - come back soon. Kris

Where Did Dandy and Miracle Go?

2011-04-12T22:18:00.002-05:00

Don't worry - Dandy and Miracle are a super big part of One Heart....But after their body clip on Sunday it looked like about 1/2 of them was gone! Swept away in a giant hair bunny. Does anyone want to make mini-yarn??

Yes, there is a wash rack at the new location!

Thanks gang for all your help setting up and preparing for session 1 in our new location. We look forward to having all our volunteers come enjoy the new place. We start riding on Saturday and have added classes on Monday mornings, Tuesday and Thursday evening. Lots of super choice vol shifts. Check Facebook for carpool info if you need it. It is under the "discussion" tab. See you soon!

Volunteers, we need you

2011-04-12T17:00:00.001-05:00

Hi All;

Riding begins Saturday, April 16th. Please check the schedule on the website for shifts. Keep in mind that this is also VEISHA Sat. We won't have a long day - but the first day of first session is usually a doozie :)

The horses have all been introduced to the new arena and love it. Please email Kris with your prefered shift. Here are Buddy and Missy checking out the new place....and also begging for treats.

Me and My Shadow

2011-04-11T17:00:00.007-05:00

Sunday was a fun day at the barn. Lots of cleaning and some horse work. Two new ponies came on trial. Rodey is a 14 year old mare who has had lots of kid miles. Sorry I don't have her picture yet. I was too captivated by Alex and his new little buddy, another new donation, Prancer. Alex is 22 and Prancer is 5. They really seemed to hit it off!

Don't forget to contact Kris for your vol shift. Check out the calender on this website for shift times

Help Wanted - GROOM!

2011-04-10T19:00:00.000-05:00

Monday hours at the barn (new location)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Bri needs some attention!

Come to the Barn

2011-04-07T11:32:00.000-05:00

We hear that GPS might not direct you correctly to the new barn. Please use the map on

our website or your favorite mapping software.
Just for simple orientation;
140 St. is an E-W gravel road.
140th St. can be access from a blacktop - R-77 (or 600th St). R-77 runs N-S.
R-77 is accessed by either E-29 (exit off I-35) or E-18 (exit off I-35)
By using E-29, you will travel east from I-35 until you come to R-77 with T's in from the north. Turn L, or north.   You will come to 140th St.

To mark the intersection of 140th St. and R-77 I have put a tall stick with a blue triangle flag at the top in the corner post where you turn. The setup is like one of the flags that is on the back of a dune buggy or an ATV, or go-cart. Here are photos of the intersection as you come from the north down R-77 and driving up from the South on R-77.

We need a crew Saturday and Sunday. I will be there Thursday beginning at 3:30 pm. See you there!

Is it a bird? Is it a Plane, No - It's a One Heart Volunteer

2011-04-03T18:54:00.000-05:00

Faster than a speeding bullet.....

Volunteer training is coming up on Thursday, April 14 from 6-8 pm at the new location - 59149 140th St. Roland. Please check the website for a map, directions, my cell, whatever you need for directions. Also, This is HUGE - if you need a ride, we are letting everyone set that up through our Facebook page. It is under the discussions tab. It is all up to you. Let's see how you can work that social network, kiddos!!

All this week we plan to be at the barn cleaning and organizing. What fun to see all the fun stuff and find it a place. We have two tack rooms, an office, and a giant activity center to set up.

Stronger than a locomotive

Kelly plans on setting up the lift and settling the ramp next Sat. We start RIDING on Sat. April 16th so we need our merry band of volunteers to start checking in. Please send me an email. I will try to get the shifts listed on our calender on the website. We will have days on Monday, Evenings on Tues AND Thurs, and days on Sat. Plenty for EVERYONE :)

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.......

For a Good Time -come to One Heart! Thanks, Kris

First load of horses to the new location

2011-03-31T21:12:00.001-05:00

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!

We Did It!

2011-03-27T21:14:00.021-05:00

Here is my post for the move. I put in lots of pictures but I can only
find the captions. Katie may have to fix this if it doesn't work.... Kris.

Step 1 - Disassemble

Well, it didn't rain and it didn't really shine and it was plenty chilly for 9am - but what a wonderful day! Thanks, Sherry L. for getting us off to a good start with donuts, juice and milk. The wonderful One Heart Vols came to help. Everything had to be disassembled, taken out, loaded into some form of conveince, driven to the new barn, and unloaded. Following a grab n' go lunch of pizza, the crew was dispatched to the Lager house for more One Heart stuff; essentials such as harness, saddles, surcingles, etc.

Eileen took one look at the inside of the hoop barn and decided she needed to bring a bigger trailer. Good thing! All tolled, we had 21 people, 5 trucks, and 3 big trailers (and some trunks) packed for the trip from Stagecoach. Super duper thanks to Eileen and Mark, Laura, Carla and David, Jen's mom and dad, Khrystal (a brand new volunteer!), Jordan, Katie, of course, Kelly, Gaila, Peggy, Benn Anna, Ania, Tess and Hannah. There was also mystery vol #1 and mystery vol #2 - young ladies so bundled up and so busy I didn't get a chance to figure out who they were (please let us know!!)

Disassembling the Lift

Dani and her crew from last week had the activity center spic and span......we kinda tracked it up...

Jen even had some of her scouters come. The One Heart crew was like a well-oiled machine; lifting, carrying, carting, pushing, pulling, unbolting, shoving, loading and organizing. It is all at the new barn ready to be cleaned and put away. That is going to be the real fun! Just let me know any evening or daytime you would like to "play tackroom" and we will set something up. Here are some of the pics.

Step 2: Move it all out of the hoop

Step 3: Find a place for it to get packed up. Jordan, on the right, "I was here when we put up the hoop, now the day we are moving".

Giddy- Up

Arrived in the new arena. Time to unload.

Arranging the ramp

I think it would work better over here....

I've heard of rearranging the furniture but.....really!

2011-03-25T08:36:00.000-05:00

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

Follow by Email feature

2011-03-23T15:54:00.002-05:00

Hi All,
I just added the Follow by Email feature to the blog. I think I have it set up correctly but if you don't get emails when new entries are posted PLEASE let me know.

How it works:
1) You sign up and get a confirmation email (Follow the directions)
2) A post is created on the blog (We'll say on Wednesday for example)
3) You get an email of the blog post on late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning.

Thanks!
Katie

Ready for the BIG MOVE

2011-03-22T08:52:00.001-05:00

Hi Eager Volunteers!

Can you help us Pack?

The day is nearing - Saturday, March 26th - the BIG DAY, rain or shine. We will meet at the hoop barn at Stagecoach at 9:00 AM. We will load gates, ramp, carts, lift, tables, stuff, misc. and etc. Once loaded, off we go to the new barn. If you can't meet up at 9, join us when you can. Call me to find out where we are. After we move Stagecoach, we will move the things that spent the winter at Lager's. This will be saddles, harness, and other stuff.

there is more.......

Early reports from the volunteer crew who helped clean last Saturday indicate that they are amazed and excited about the new facilities.

For this Saturday's move, please bring your gloves, friends, trucks, buddies, clean out your trunk. We are going to try to do this with as many hands and as few trips as possible.

Many hands, make light work! Won't it be fun just to get together after the long break!!!!
See you soon, Kris

Let's Pack up for the New Location

2011-03-17T14:17:00.001-05:00

WE ARE ON THE MOVE !

Are you all ready to set up the new barn?

What fun! Dani is starting the cleaning crew on Sat., March 19th from noon to 3pm. Starting at Stagecoach and moving to Roland.

Saturday, March 26th is the BIG ONE.

This is so excitiing. Please join us.
Thanks, Kris

Wanna help set up the NEW Barn?!?!?!?!

2011-03-17T14:08:00.002-05:00

Hey gang.

It's time! This Saturday, March 19th join Dani in the "madness" of starting the relocation of One Heart from Stagecoach to Roland. Meet at Stagecoach at noon. Dani will instruct loading out of some small, preliminary stuff, whatever you trunks and backseats will hold. Then, off to Roland you will all go. The new facility will need some light cleaning before we start putting stuff away. It would help if you would bring brooms, rags, sponges, and cleaning supplies like kitchen and bath cleaner, windex, 409, stuff like that. This entire event will be from noon till 3 pm. Email me for Dani's phone number or if you have more questions.

The BIG move will be Sat. March 26th. I will post the times later. We plan to move the ramp, lift, saddles, tack, carriages, carts, tables, toy cabinets, gates, harness, ETC. on that day. If you can round up friends, trucks, vans, trailers it will make this project pretty simple. Thanks, everbody! Kris

Our New Facility

2011-03-03T18:03:00.006-06:00

If you haven't heard yet we're expanding to a new barn about 15 minutes north of Ames! Classes will be held at 59149 140th St. Roland, Iowa 50236.

Our mailing address will stay the same. Please check your email, our blog and our Facebook group for more information about the move.

Really BIG, EXCITING news from One Heart Equestrian Therapy

2011-02-23T15:05:00.002-06:00

Hi All -

And I do mean all! Chances are you will be getting this message more than once.

It's that BIG!

One Heart is EXPANDING to a new facility! We will no longer be riding at Stagecoach in Ames. They are expanding their program as well.

Our NEW facility is in Roland - Honestly, it is ONLY 15 minutes north of Stagecoach.

With our move we will be able to expand to more times and have some day classes. The facilities are lovely; stable, office, tack room, indoor arena, rec room - did I mention HEATED?? Did I mention we won't be pushing the helmet hauler through the sand?

The main gathering room is heated, has a kitchen and bath.

Please support this move - you will LOVE it.

Here is how to support One Heart -

1. plan to come volunteer during our sessions

2. PLEASE help us MOVE all the tack - this day will be announced

3. Tell all your friends about our move

4. come to volunteer training for a complete orientation

5. frequently visit our webpage www.onehearthorses.org for updates

6. We will need help with an initial dust and fuss prior to the move

7. get ready for fun, fun, fun!

8. please be patient with my spam alerts to everyone I can think of......probably more than once.

9. Help with the celebration - planning and prep of our 10th year anniversary

10. Here's the biggie - It is not that further - participate in a carpool - it will be familiar once you get there, offer people rides. If our volunteers can't be re-routed to Roland, we are sunk. Here is how we plan to help - what if you could find a ride through Facebook??? We can get that to happen with the One Heart Friends, through our Facebook page. Hey, if Egypt can organize a revolution, you would think One Heart could move a few folks to Roland once a week. RIGHT!!!!

Thanks everyone. Please share this excitement with us. You can respond to this with questions or ideas.

As you know it takes all of us for One Heart to happen. Share this news with classes, neighbors, friends, relatives.....everyone - I wouldn't want to leave anyone out.

We will start riding SOON!!!!!

Thanks,

Kris

Merry Christmas and a Spirited New Year!

2010-12-22T11:32:00.001-06:00

Hi All;
Hope this finds you nestled inside. If you are in the airport...I hope your layover is not weather related and your WI-FI is free :)

This picture is of Buddy (in the lead) and Alex playing this morning. A brief break from hugging the big bale. They are feeling great for a couple of 20 year olds.

Thanks for your support of the Angel Tree at Theisen's in Ames. Our bucket is filled and the table is starting to hold goodies. I forgot to put salt blocks on our wish list....some Santa added a mineral block which is good. We also received a check from GoodSearch! Thanks to Katie, One Heart receives a donation each time you use this search engine. Look through the blog and on the website for more info on GoodSearch and GoodShop.

We have received several humbling donations from all around the community at year's end. As we approach our 10th year, this support is not only generous but is a stong endorsement for the work you do. YOU, especially, the volunteers, Dani and Jennifer, donors, and horse donors make this all possible.

Buddy and Alex are at "the home place" along with Peanut, Dandy and Miracle. At the "Jungle" are Bri, Shane, Rosie, and Missy (with friend Kyle). Misty and Rocky are on a little "vacation". We had to take T.J. and Coffee to the Vet school where they were euthanized. T.J.'s arthritic stifles were getting the best of him - and even though we were used to his "cranky" face, it was impossible for us to watch his expression change to pain. We had alot of respect for T.J. We wanted to hug away his cranky face but never really convinced him we were the good guys. He had some tremendous high points in his career with One Heart. He will be missed. Many of you didn't get to meet Coffee. She visited the arena early in the Spring but did not get a chance to work. Coffee started loosing weight when the rains and mosquitos hit this summer. We brought her to the home place for more hands-on care but we could not get her weight loss reversed. She was patient and cooperative with a hint of cranky little ol' lady syndrome (after all she was 29!). Contributing to the decision for euthanasia was a sudden onset of lameness in her left from leg. She seemed as confused as we were about the painful condition of her leg/hoof. She had been perfectly sound her whole life.

Kris

Angel Tree

2010-12-10T11:33:00.002-06:00

Theisen's in Ames is sponsoring an Angel Tree again this year. Stop in and leave your present for the horses. They left a list on the table or say gift cards work too. (Y'all know how they love to shop. :D) They reminded me to Thank you all in advance!

Shop online and help One Heart at no added cost to you

2010-12-02T11:44:00.002-06:00

Did you know shopping online can help One Heart? And it doesn't cost you anything.

1) Go to http://www.goodshop.com
2) Enter your cause (If you don't choose One Heart Equestrian Therapy your shopping will go to the charity of the day)
3) Go shopping. Click over to your favorite store from GoodShop and go shopping as usual.
4) GoodShop donates--Up to 30% of your purchase will go to your favorite cause! Find products, coupons and deals for more than 1,500 stores

It really is that EASY!

You can shop at more than 900 top retailers. For example Amazon, Nike, PetSmart, Staples, Microsoft, Kohls, iTunes, J.Crew, etc.

From the FAQ page at goodsearch.com:

Where does the money come from?

When you shop through GoodShop at one of our retail partners, GoodSearch is paid a commission. At GoodSearch, we've developed a way to track these shopping-generated proceeds and direct them to charities.

Am I paying more to shop through GoodShop? Is this any different than buying directly from the retailer?

Absolutely not! The experience of shopping through GoodShop is exactly the same as going to the retailer directly – you receive the same prices and level of service. The retailers are responsible for collecting payment, shipping and returns.

Do all purchases qualify for a donation?

While the majority of all purchases will generate a donation for your organization, each retailer has its own rules and some purchases may not qualify. For example, many merchants do not contribute donations for gift cards or gift certificates. You can read about restrictions by clicking on the percentage generated link under each retailer's logo on the GoodShop shopping homepage.

You can also help out by searching the internet.
Start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they'll donate about a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search! http://www.goodsearch.com

So far this year we've earned about $15.50 just by searching! Use goodsearch for school and work and kill two birds with one stone. :-)

WEG photos ( just a few)

2010-11-16T11:29:00.005-06:00

Kris and Helen Racing
Helen & Jen Churchill paddock

vaulting arena--tv film crew/horse

Helen & Dani--how high jump

Marathon water crossing

Eventing jump, makes our cross rails look pathetic

Funnycide bath time

Jen's What's happened since Ride and Tie

2010-11-16T10:31:00.004-06:00

We just finished the last lesson of the year, now it’s time to winterize and move the horses back to Colo. I hate the thought, but let’s face it, it really is that time of year.

Here’s a little of what has happened since the Ride & Tie: unpacking from Special Olympics, moving horses, meeting the new crew at Stagecoach, a new Morgan gelding (Alex), new litter of seven kittens, Kris, Helen, Dani and I went to the World Equestrian Games, Linda covering classes for us while we were at WEG, the best group of volunteers that we’ve had, several new riders, and an arena that has now been treated with a dust control product (thanks Stagecoach!!!).

Kris just returned tonight from a trip to Brazil, where she was able to visit friends and also gave a presentation (including a lesson demo) on therapeutic riding—hopefully we’ll hear more about that later! What she didn’t realize was that she was going to be on TV. It sounds like she’s now inspired to tackle the Jungle fence now that she has seen the real jungle. So if anyone wants to learn the fine art of fence building/repair, let us know! Once we have a good hard frost (tonight?) we should be able to see how much the pasture fence was damaged by flooding this summer. Wear hiking boots and blaze orange!

I was able to spend a few days doing chores (yeah!) while she was gone. Coffee, Kyle, Dandy, Miracle, and Peanut were glad to see me. Maybe because I feed them twice as much as normal? Or else because I make a pretty good scratching post? Hagrid and Bindi the Jungle Kitty and her daughter were glad to see me, too. Last time I brought them some treats and they remembered. They were disappointed this time, though. I just refilled their bowls and gave them one treat.

Dani will be going to NARHA’s national convention in Denver in November. We’re looking forward to her report back.

We really want to give everyone a huge thank you for helping out during session 3, especially while we were at WEG! It was the first time that we were all on vacation, and we couldn’t have done it without such an awesome group of volunteers! And a huge thank you for Linda, too—we can’t ride without our NARHA instructors! This was my first non-family, non-Scout vacation, and the first time I’ve been on vacation with horsey friends. It was great!!! Well, the horse part, the sleeping part didn’t go as well as planned. We were wondering where the bluegrass was—apparently they’ve had a drought this summer, so it was more green at home in the fall than in Kentucky.

I survived the city driving after performing a few “cutting horse maneuvers.” We had a behind the scenes tour, played around in the museum, and did a little bit of shopping. I was able to beat Helen and Kris with the video game horse race, retired a winner, and took Helen and Kris’ picture when they were racing each other. Once they got the hang of the controls there was some serious competition between the two of them. Kris was pretty bummed when her camera ran out of batteries during the tour, but I think we got enough pictures for now anyway. I even took a picture of the graffiti on a table in Millionaire Row (where the celebs get to eat and play). Helen was pretty bummed that she didn’t get to see Rachel, one of her favorite racehorses. Turns out she arrived at Churchill as we were sleeping less than a mile away.

And then there was WEG itself. We’ll be talking about it for a long time! Just be cautious if we start showing pictures. I took over 370, Dani has over 1,400. I’m not sure yet of how many Kris and Helen took. We were able to be within 5 feet (or less) of the driving teams—close enough to feel the ground shake or get sprayed by water as they went by. When we were finding the perfect spot to sit at the first obstacle a lady we had just met was bragging about almost being hit by one of the eventing horses the week before. She wasn’t kidding about being close to the action! At the final individual jumping competition we were in the 5^th row right in front of two fences. We learned that “Ho, ho, ho” is a universally understood word in the horse world. We were also able to translate a few words (like “jump” and “hold on”) from several unknown languages. We were a little farther away during the team finals, and it was incredibly dusty with a hint of bus exhaust. We were wondering if we were all going to have to share my inhaler when they started jumping. Who cared about breathing after that.

Vaulting was really cool, their surcingles are a little more massive than our vaulting surcingles. I’ve actually done one or two of their vaulting movements, unfortunately not on purpose and nowhere close to being as graceful…and more often than not they were performed shortly before I’ve “inspected the arena footing, counted the earthworms, parted company with my mount,” etc. Hence my Girl Scout camp nickname of Dusty… At the barn for retired champions we watched Funnycide get his bath, nibble on roses, get lightly scolded, and then decide to play with the sweat scraper and hose instead. Cigar posed for pictures as he totally ignored his caretaker calling him into the barn for breakfast. He finally turned around with an expression that Dani and I know all too well—that here I am, you can come and get me but I’m not going to lower myself to coming to you look. It was great to know that these guys can still be a horse.

We’ll probably tell more later (after all, we have over 1,800 pictures to show…) but for now I’d better wrap up since it’s a work night. We should blog more during the winter, after all, we tend to have a little less to do when we’re knee deep in snow. There. I finally said the “s” word. If anyone gets bored during the winter, let us know. We do have a ton of indoor and fair weather activities that can be done. And if nothing else we can always get together and talk a few hours. Like I said, we have a few pictures…

Special Olympics 2010

2010-11-11T15:21:00.002-06:00

One Heart riders have participated in Special Olympics since 2003. The state offers one competition each year which is held near Des Moines. Kris has been a Special Olympics Equestrain coach since '03 and Dani and Jennifer are coaches as of 2010. To qualify for the One Heart Team, riders must participate in either session 1 or 2 of the year of the event. Special Olympics specifies that athletes should be coached 10 times prior to the competition. The One Heart rider must also meet the qualifications of Special Olympics. The One Heart coaches restrict the roster to those riders we can safely mount in an arena that is unfamiliar to us and may not have the facilities to support our riders. Even with those restrictions, more and more riders find they LOVE being in Special Olympics! When our team roster hit 20, the coaches faced a delimma; how can we possibly mount 20 riders in 2 classes each? We frequently have 3 to 4 or more riders in each class. From experience we knew that it was impossible to mount and dismount riders, get them through the class, watch the awards ceremony and keep tack changed and volunteers in place. The least of our worries was volunteers. One Heart volunteers eagerly sign up to accompany the team. We know they play a huge part in our success. First and foremost, One Heart volunteers know our horses and riders. This gives the horses, athletes, coaches, parents and staff more confidence and keeps us relaxed.

Following a meeting of riders, families and coaches it was decided that all qualifying riders could participate if they would only enter in one class each. That still is 20 mounts for the day. We were all happy that everyone could participate and we didn't have to have a qualifying show. One Heart also proudly supplies horses for two athletes from Iowa City and has coached two riders from Wildwood Hills Ranch.

This year the United Way of Story County arranged a "Make a Difference Day" for which One Heart applied for volunteers to help pack for Special Olympics. We had a couple from the ISU student center and several hard workers from ISU Vet Med. Boy, did they tear into the job and in short order had everything clean, organized, and packed. It was a great help!

Later that day 4 horses were loaded for the trip to Jester Park. The horses are stalled overnight and volunteers show up early on the big day to get set up. One of our sponsors, Brekke's Town and Country, our local Purina dealer, provides bedding each year in support of the team. Thanks, Brekke's!

When the dust cleared, One Heart had entered the arena 33 times. If you have been doing the math, let me fill you in on part of the missing equation. The riders have discovered that Coach Kris has a soft spot for riders wanting to really test their skills in horsemanship. If they select horsemanship, I "let them" also enter a game, or timed event, like barrel racing. Barrel Racing and Ball Drop have been two of the most popular events for the One Heart Team. The athletes also get to ride in two classes if they select to be on the relay team. So, it's sliding scale :) All of our riders aren't coached for horsemanship due to the extra challenges of riding and the subjective nature of the judging. Everyone loves the races. Even the horses. Most new volunteers are astounded that Bri (the Norwegian Fjord; slow and steady) even goes to the Special Olympics. Once there, they are astounded that she really gets into it! She's turned into quite the barrel racer!
I wanted to put in more pictures but I am not abel to insert pics at this time for some unknown cyber-reason. I will include more later. Blog soon, Kris

I'm Baaaa-ck :)

2010-11-10T12:55:00.000-06:00

Hi Gang!

Special shout-out to Jerry - hope you are well, Gaila, great to see you, Dani and Jen, thanks for finishing session 3, and Katie - prodding me back to the blog. Thanks to all of you who offer comments. It really encourages me to keep this up. If you know me I chat, alot. Chatting is not blogging. I am a "reciter" not necessarily a writer, .
I want to start chiseling away at all the news. We have to cover Special Olympics, what's going on with the PBS film, Session 3, our trip to WEG, and my trip to Brazil. Also, we have had several requests to have One Heart "get togethers" through the long winter. Some suggestions are for social and educational opportunities. Sounds good to me! We should also think about a giant 10 year celebration! One Heart was incorporated as a non-profit on sept. 24, 2001. Our first riders went up June 4, 2002.

On Sat. Oct. 30 we had several respond to our plea to help load out from Stagecoach for the Winter and get the horses to Colo. Thanks to those who came....and brought a truck and muscle!
There's more to come tomorrow. I also have to remember the World Percheron Congress and some horse updates. Chat soon, I mean Blog soon, Kris

Work Day Saturday October 30

2010-10-29T09:01:00.002-05:00

There will be a work day this Sat. from 10-12 for anyone who can help winterize/pack up. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Stagecoach Stables, 1568 Stagecoach Road, Ames, IA

Wow where does the time go? Special Olympics, Ride and Tie

2010-10-04T14:00:00.005-05:00

Hi all,
I don't know about you but I can't believe it's October already!

First of all a BIG THANK YOU!!!!!! to all the volunteers, sponsors and participants of the 1st annual Benefit Ride and Tie for One Heart over Labor Day weekend. It was a great success! The weather was great. Nine teams participated at our 3 lengths (4.5, 12 and 20 miles) and the best part EVERYONE finished! :P

There are a bunch of photos at www.oneheartrideandtie.org or on their Facebook Page.

If you couldn't make it this year plan on next year over Labor Day weekend!

I volunteered and was sent to Maxwell to direct traffic. WOW were some of those 20 milers FAST! There were 4 teams of brave souls who did 20 miles and 2 at 12 miles. We watched the start at Collins and then car pooled over to Maxwell. I was stationed in the park and I wasn't there long before teams started showing up.

Second- Session III is in full swing on Saturday mornings. The session is full so it's all hands on deck! Please come out and help if you can.

Third- 23 riders went to the Special Olympics state equestrian competition at Jester Park Equestrian Center on Sat. September 11. They were in 33 classes and came home with 20 gold, 9 silver, and 4 bronze medals. All thanks to the hard work and terrific support of the One Heart volunteers! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Benefit Ride and Tie update. Come join us for the fun!

2010-08-24T21:33:00.003-05:00

Ride and Tie Association President Melanie Weir is coming to our Ride and Tie! She's flying in from California to help out and possibly participate.

Saturday September 4th 6pm Hoe Down at the Story Co. Fairgrounds in Nevada, IA. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.

Sunday September 5th 5K Road Apple Fun Run/Walk at the Heart of Iowa Trail head in Collins, IA.

www.oneheartrideandtie.org

Shop online and help One Heart

2010-08-15T15:39:00.004-05:00

From the FAQ page at goodsearch.com:

Where does the money come from?

Am I paying more to shop through GoodShop? Is this any different than buying directly from the retailer?

Do all purchases qualify for a donation?

You can also help out by searching the internet.
Start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they'll donate about a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search! http://www.goodsearch.com
So far this year we've earned about $9.50 just by searching! Use goodsearch for school and work and kill two birds with one stone. :-)

Updates from One Heart

2010-07-14T11:38:00.000-05:00

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.

They were comfortably stabled for the night at the fairgrounds.

Bright and early the next morning during a monsoon-style torrent, our three clean, bright, shining minis tiptoed through the mirey, mucky fairground to the showring. Once under roof, we were able to set up shop at one end of the arena with the other exhibitors.

The motto of the day was WET - right down to the tacky, sticky damp, spray painted costume that Jennifer was putting together over lunch for the last class of the day.

We focused on getting Tesia into the arena. She looked super in her shiny blue cowboy shirt - the blue matching the beads on Peanut' halter, her boots, gloves, and helmet. Her first trip into the arena was with Dandy in showmanship. Dandy took great care of her, setting up and helping her through the process. She had many opportunities to show Dandy and Miracle through the day in games and class of all sort.

We got the showring jitters all taken care of in time for the BIG ONE.
Since early September, 2009 Tesia and Jen had worked with Peanut on an obstacle course. This was not the typical show horse prep, however. This training regime was once a week for six weeks and whenever Jen got a minute. They picked it up again for once a week for six weeks in the spring. Our Peanut was cooperative, game, and smart. Tesia was patient, firm, and consistent. Jennifer was creative, organized and a teacher. A great combination and we got to see the results at this show!

We were all so proud of Peanut and Tesia in their obstacle class. They cruised the bridge, tarp crossing, and ground poles. They had two brand new obstacles - unpracticed - and had to use what they had learned. These were the three cones to surpentine - backwards, and the ground pole to straddle and sidepass. Yikes! Tesia took her time and used her skills to get Peanut through the surpentine. It took some time - mostly for conferences; when Peanut was most confused Tesia would set the brim of her helmet to his forehead and reassure him, "You can do this Peanut!". They did it! Next came the sidepass down the ground pole (the longest pole we had ever seen). They started out and went a few hesitant, difficult steps when Tesia wisely decided that Peanut had done his best and they should end winners. And indeed, they did!

Jennifer, Dani and I had our fun too. Every chance we got, a One Heart mini got to strut their stuff. We all participated in different combinations of halter classes, barrel racing, games, and even jumping. I think One Heart showed our friends with Iowa Minis that we could really have FUN. Dandy, shown by Dani, was even reserve champion gelding - complete with belly shag and whiskers.

The last class of the day was the costume class. With an all white pony, our Camper, Jennifer, could only envision one thing......a s'more. So, indeed, packaged between foam boards painted or covered, fashioned into graham cracker and chocolate, Peanut strutted into the arena as a S'more. Jen donned her "happy camper" shirt and hat, Tesia distributed mini Hershey bars while Peanut wore an extra long branch complete with "marshmallows" on the tip.

We had a great time. Stay tuned for more highlights from Session 1 and 2. For Vol, Carla - she like quotes - "What we dream alone remains a dream, but what we dream with others can become a reality" (Edward Schillenbeekx). Thanks for making a dream a reality, Carla and all volunteers. Until later, Kris

Session One

2010-06-01T11:17:00.002-05:00

Time flies when you’re having fun…session 1 finished this weekend, and we haven’t added to the blog since April! So here’s an update from Jen:

Staff: Not putting us first because we’re the most important, but because it will help explain why we’ve been busy. Kris spent two weeks in Russia, but we still haven’t heard many stories from the trip since she’s been doing a ton of long-distance commuting between Colo and Kansas City for family emergencies. Dani and I didn’t realize how much we rely on her to do the phone calls/emails during the day. We couldn’t keep up, so now Kris is set up with a mobile office. On the plus side, we’re getting more experience in running the office-side of things. I can find most of the forms needed in the office, my fingers are getting stronger and my typing is getting faster. I can still talk faster than I can type though. And Dani and I are even more convinced that a time warp exists at the stables, starting at the driveway. It seems like we try to do quick chores after work, and two or three hours later we’re wondering where all the time went. Hannah is now an instructor-in-training, so we can teach her all this stuff, too. Wonder how she is at typing….

Horses are on pasture now! The horses and instructors celebrated on May 1 when we were able to move from the “dry” lots to the pasture. Dani and I got stuck more than a few times in the mud, horses were going crazy because they could see, hear, and smell the lovely spring grass, and Peanut discovered that when it was super wet and muddy he could go to the deepest corner to escape. He just let himself sink down till the mud was over his knees and waded under the fence. I should have been suspicious when he had more mud than any other horse. He can be such a mischievous little guy. The herd spent their first hour of pasture time galloping laps and eating. We had planned on keeping them in a small portion so they wouldn’t overeat, but they slipped past me and there was no catching them for the next 24 hours. Luckily they already had their grazing muzzles on. The advantage of the time in the dry lot was that they all lost some weight, which they badly needed. The downside of the

dry lot was that even more time was spent doing chores, checking fence, and the horses just weren’t happy. Just ask the volunteers for the first three weeks!!

Volunteers: Great job, we hardly had to use the parents as sidewalkers, and things went smoothly thanks to all of you! I think this was the best session ever, and Dani and I needed all that help. You have no idea how much we appreciated having everything put away, having help catching the horses, and tacking up. We have had a great barn crew keeping the arena scooped, watered, and toys in place whenever we needed. While we’ll really miss Cassidy when she moves we’ve got some great 12 year olds in training as barn managers. We have volunteer training this Thurs.6-8, and session 2 starts up again on Sat. and the Tue. Sat. classes are booked solid; we’ll need all hands on deck from 8:30-11:30. We have a record number of Motion classes (four) with most of the riders needing at least 3 volunteers, some possibly 5 volunteers each. We plan on having two instructors mount riders, the therapist in the arena, and one instructor dismounting. It’s going to look similar to a racecar pit crew, and hopefully we’ll be just as efficient. So if you have any friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc., bring or send them out!

Horses: Shane would like everyone to know that he cantered on cue (and on the correct leads) the first time he was asked. Not bad for a green-broke 13year old being ridden in a halter! He is being used heavily this year, since we were limited in the number of horses we could bring out until May and the fact that our herd is now pretty young. The average age of a One Heart horse was something like 16 last year, and this year (until last Thurs. anyway) it was down to 8.

Rosie has stepped into Rosa’s hooves as the lead mare; she and Bri were not ready to let a six-year old be the lead mare.

Bri is next in line in seniority, she can be protective to the youngsters, but they also better know when to behave, or she’ll pin her ears and snake her head at them. Fjord mares can look pretty intimidating, kind of like being next to a tank.

Kyle was going to possibly make a comeback, but came down with a mild case of laminitis, so he’s at the Lagers’ and on a diet while he recovers.

Sofie worked one class the first session, but isn’t sure she wants to be a therapy horse, so she’s at the Lagers’ keeping Kyle company until we have the time and staff available for further testing.

TJ has been semi-retired this session, and is letting us know that he’s thinking it would be nice to have a stall, treats, and fewer horses to compete with. He impaled himself on a stick in December, and spent the rest of winter receiving antibiotics and recovering. He went from being the top guy in the herd to the lowest horse for a long time. While he’s back to his normal self physically, he still tends to keep himself on the edge of the herd if things are getting too rough during playtime. Speaking of playtime, I can’t forget our adolescent trio. Rocky had his first rider (volunteer) last week and did well. With a few more rides under his cinch he should be ready for work. He also knows how to cool off in hot weather. I was filling the water tank when he came up with Misty to grab a drink. He stood there for a few seconds dripping water all over Misty when-PLUNK! He dipped his entire head up to his ears into the tank. He did this several more times, and then discovered another fun thing—he could blow bubbles underwater! At the end he startled himself when he plunged his head in and slashed water all down his front legs. What a goof!!

Misty is Rocky’s buddy when she’s in a playful mood, Boomer’s buddy when she’s in a flirty mood, Bri’s buddy when she’s uneasy, and Rosie’s buddy when she just wants some down time. She has been down to the arena several times and should get a volunteer rider next session. Some of our friends in BITS (a driving club) recommended going very slowly with Haflingers, and to treat them like they were half their actual age. That seems to be working, and we’d rather take plenty of time now and have a good horse working for years than to rush things and spend those years wishing we had gone slower.

Boomer has been down to the arena several times, and has really calmed down since his mother, Sofie, went back to the Lagers’. Sofie just wouldn’t let him play with the other horses, so now he’s having a blast and learning how the herd structure works. He’s had a volunteer across his back, but again, we’re not going to rush things. Misty and Rocky are his buddies, and they can be real pests when we’re out working in the pasture. Everything is edible, and they like the attention they get when they grab the tools as soon as we put them down. Life is just one big game right now. Eat, sleep, play, and maybe have a few min. of work every week.

We have two new horses that arrived on trial last Friday, Missy and Buddy. They are both aged Quarter Horses (in their 20’s) and former 4H horses used by one of our volunteers. Buddy, a sorrel gelding, has already worked a Motion class with a four year old on board. His rider was way more comfortable on him as he is narrower than our other horses. Two of our advanced riders walked right up to Buddy and wanted to know everything about him and if they could ride him next session. So while we’re still getting to know him he’s already got a fan club. Missy was tested by our volunteers acting as sidewalkers, leader, and rider. She’s doing great, and we plan on assigning a rider to her next session.

Finally, our mighty minis: Peanut is still our Nutty buddy. He came down with laminitis two weeks ago after he removed his grazing muzzle overnight. Nothing looks as miserable as a sick mini. We caught him before any serious damage was done, but he and the other minis now are in a diet pasture. The weather just hasn’t done us any favors in the laminitis prevention department this year. All of our horses (with the exception of Missy and Buddy) are what are known as easy keepers. They don’t need grain, but give them too much rich sugary grass and they can be in trouble. We have to keep a close eye on them when we switch pastures or if there is a sudden cool, wet period that promotes fast growth of grass.

Anyway, Peanut and Dandy are rather disgusted with the new arrangement. Peanut has always been kept with the big guys because he knows that he is a big horse, and Dandy had just learned that he could boss around some of the big horses, too. And now they’re stuck together. Dandy and Peanut have had a few shoving matches, and I think Peanut was in shock the first time when he was rump to rump with someone his own size instead of rump to knee. For the most part they get along well, just have to figure out who is boss.

Miracle is our wonder pony for stopping helmet meltdowns. He will patiently stand next to a screaming, kicking, crying kid without batting an eyelash and let us put a helmet on his head. All three minis were used in session 1 since we were short on riding horses and long on riders. Many of our goals can be achieved using minis, and some things are easier to teach with a mini. And besides, they’re just so cute!

Misc. Stuff: Look for the minis at the Miniature Horse Fun show on Sun. June 13 at the Marshall County fairgrounds. Since Special Olympics doesn’t have a class for non-riders, we are attempting the Fun Show. We aren’t going to be in the show business, but thought this might be another activity our non-riders could try. It’s kind of an experiment, so we don’t expect to come home with ribbons and trophies, but we do expect to have a ton of fun. Peanut will be in the obstacle class and at this point we’re thinking of having Dandy in Showmanship. He has more time and experience in the show ring than me and my student put together, so having an old pro should help steady my nerves. But then again, I’m the Designated Worrywart for One Heart, so maybe we’ll throw Peanut in. Stay tuned…

And finally, we brought a class down to Wildwood Hills Ranch in St. Charles for a real trail ride (no leaders or sidewalkers) or hayrack ride with Mr. Lynn (aka The Cowboy Guy) and his team of black Percherons. We didn’t get many pictures, but we’ll have to blog about that later. It was a great, awesome, and hated to leave experience. But when Lynn says that we’ll have to ride in the pasture because the trails are too wet, I’ll think twice before I say that we’ll ride in the pasture even if it’s drizzling. Forgot the flat area that I was calling a pasture is a hayfield, and the pasture is a hill that is classified as a mountain in Story County!!! Dani and I were in ouch mode the next day while teaching class. And the food!!! Like I said, more to blog about later. Many thanks go out to the Wildwood Hills Ranch staff who worked hard during a crazy hectic time to make this possible. The riders loved it, and the One Heart staff so needed it!

So that’s a little about the last 8 weeks. I don’t know if anyone missed reading the blog, but I figure I’d better get things going. If nothing else it’s one more thing off of Kris’ To Do list. Besides, it’s more fun to type about horses than it is to clean my house!

--Jen

Update, Nearly Mid-April

2010-04-09T10:31:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends;

So much is happening and yet it seems like the calm before the storm. Speaking of storms, the horses have had their share of rain over the last week. Something to realize with short-legged minis.......their little tummies really get wet and muddy when it rains. I just think of them as pasture squeegies! Kinda a Sham Wow Mini :) Even Rocky "lost" his spots under a coat of mud for a couple of days.

Last night we had volunteer training at Stagecoach. What a mob! We had some familiar faces show up: Dean, Pat and Bethany. Bethany started <16 when we were still at the fairgrounds. Here she was ready to apply to vet school. We also met at least 25 new, eager folks who listened to the schpeel and had good ol' Rosie demonstrate leading, sidewalking and the other horsey stuff. Rosie was shuttled to Stagecoach from the Jungle just for the occassion. She did pretty well considering she didn't have her herd with her. She wondered where they could be....kept looking toward the pasture and pawing at the gate.

In the Spring our friends' hearts turn to One Heart. I have had a dozen vols email in their choice of shift! Such a wonderful response. We still have our ear to the ground waiting for some more familiar faces. Watch the website calender - but to clarify: We will ride on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. We have two shifts for vols on Tues- 4-6 & 6-8 pm. On Sat. we have three shifts: 7:30-9:30 / 9:30 - 11:30 / 11:30 - 1:30. We START classes Tuesday, April 20 and Saturday April 24. We really have some fun classes put together. If you ol' pro volunteers recall your first shift......please consider signing up to help guide our new folks.

Even if you are a "seasoned" volunteer you will see 5 new horses coming to the arena. All 5 need to be fully evaluated. Then there is Rocky. Rocky is ready to have a real job (we think:) He has practiced being a therapy horse all of his life, essentially. It is time he gets a real try.

Beginning today and going through Sunday, the Iowa Horse Fair will be in Des Moines. We are all planning on wandering through to meet and greet old friends and make new ones. The State meeting of NARHA will be from noon-2 pm on Sunday in a meeting room of the Varied Industries Building. You can hear about what the other members and centers around Iowa are working on.

Friday, April 16 is the pre-conference workshop of the Region 7 NARHA meeting. Dani, Jennifer and I will all attend this meeting. The pre-conference is on the subject of the Autism Spectrum. Over the rest of the weekend we will attend short-courses for centers, instructors, and other informative sharing. It is also the time when the States forming Region 7 come together to address issues presented by NARHA. We are planning on having a really good time. After all, equine-assisted therapy and activitiy topics are one of our favorite subjects!

We plan to arrive back fully jazzed and ready for Session 1.

Wed., April 14 we will host the Gilbert Middle School Horse Club. They are having their service day and will be grooming the One Heart herd. George, our farrier will also be coming at that time so 1- he will have lots of help and 2 - they will get to see a farrier in action. If you are a volunteer with One Heart already and would like to help Jennifer direct this bunch please email in and I will let Jen know.

A core group of the herd will move to Stagecoach on Sunday, April 11. They are going to be in a paddock until the pasture is ready - May 1. Thanks to Gary and Sandy for helping with these arrangements.

We are soooo ready to go! Walk on, Kris

Pasture Rotation Has Begun

2010-03-29T14:26:00.000-05:00

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.

The herd was across the first creek at the jungle. They let us walk all the way out to the bank. They paced along the opposite bank. Misty tossed her head and came to the creek, got a drink, and retreated. Kyle approached the steep, rutted, and slick crossing and blocked it. Shane stared and Rosie gave her best begging eyes trying to entice us to the other side. The creek is cold. Maybe not mountain cold, but certainly melting ice cold. It's also deep (at least knee) and fast. No way. Boomer and Sofie approached the bank and waited for a cue from the herd. TJ ignored the activites and kept grazing. Bri wandered through those gathered but did not approach the blocked crossing. Misty tossed her head by looping her nose in a circle. She really wanted to take the plunge but knew she was not the leader.

Jen and I decided not to carry a bucket with us to catch them. A bucket in an open field of grain-craving horses can cause more problems than it's worth. We did have a bag of licorice treats. We rattled the little bag and got about the same response as before. So there we were, facing a herd spread along the opposite creek toeing the bank, looking longingly at a little bag of goodies.

Peanut and Rocky communicated briefly with each other in their language of biting. This seemed to cause a plan to develop. Here came Rocky with Peanut on his tail. Rocky calmly negotiated the muddy trail down and across the creek. He pleasantly munched treats waiting for Peanut to grit his teeth and belly through. Literally, Peanut is small enough, he really makes a committment when it comes to crossing creeks. He was delighted that a treat paid him back for his efforts.

We haltered our two and wandered back towards the trailer. Finally, the rest of the herd decided they were being denied and charged across the creek and trotted up. Yes, they got treats. What a special bunch. This was the first time I had been close to Sofie and Boomer. They were both polite and respectful.

Rocky and Peanut loaded onto the trailer just like pro travelers. Next stop; Wild Rose. Helen's House for Happy Horses! Dandy and Miracle were in their stall for us. The thoroughbreds greeted us across the gate. It was a little sad for Wild Rose to say good-bye to Miracle and Dandy, but they will still be in the neighborhood. Miracle and Dandy hopped into the back compartment of the trailer and Rocky got his first sight of them over the partician. No way Peanut could see.

We had three cameras and all hands on deck to unload the horses and aquaint them with the new pasture. What a let down. No squealing, no running, no kicking. Calmness, order, peacefulness and a perfect transition. The Lager dog, Hagrid, is learning how to live with horses in "his" yard. The fact that he is about the size of Dandy and Miracle is somewhat confusing. Bindi, the Jungle Cat, still hasn't figured it out.

There was a testing of the electric fence which made Dandy a believer. A final strand was added - since the snow drifts were so deep when the fence went up, the wire couldn't reach everywhere.

Jennifer got to do chores. They were all still here this morning. Yippe!

(L-R)
Miracle, Rocky, Dandy, Peanut
Enjoy your day; Kris

How we've spent our winter break

2010-03-27T16:22:00.004-05:00

Here's an update from Jen, Dani and Katie since Kris has been swamped with trips to Kansas City and back. She'll blog later, once she has a chance to catch up. But we just had to show off the new Fjords, fresh from Minnesota!!!

Sofie (age 6, darker face) and her son Boomer (age 3, in the front of picture) are both trained to ride and drive. Many thanks to Silver Leaf Farms and all the friends of One Heart who made this possible!

Sofie and Boomer are a tad bit lighter, shorter, and narrower than our previous Fjords, which the therapists will love. Sofie and Boomer both have relatives that were bred at the same farm that imported Rosa. They are young, have lovely hooves, and are friendly. They arrived Tuesday morning and quickly settled in. It was kind of sad when they were turned out. Bri came galloping up with a look of complete joy. We usually don't try to attach human thoughts/experiences to the horses, but we think that Bri thought that Alma and Dagmar were back. A quick sniff during the meet and greet proved that they were new Fjords. After a few minutes of running around everyone settled in. While the new pecking order is being finalized things are back to being peaceful. As far as Sofie is concerned, she's ready when the herd is ready to follow her. It's so nice to have an alpha mare again!

Eleven 4-Hers joined us in cleaning tack today- the earliest we've ever been able to cross that off the list
of Things To Do. While we still have more cleaning, the worst is over. Beth and her family took all the toys home for a good scrubbing.

Winter coats are being shed and the grass is greening up! Unfortunately, horses are eating faster than the grass is growing in the pasture, so it still looks dead and icky. The horses have also been picking the fresh grass out from under the burrs, so get ready to be busy with the Mane and Tail and baby oil.!

Dandy and Miracle will soon be moving from Helen's farm to the Lager's where they will meet Rocky and Peanut. It will be the first time since Peanut was a weanling that he'll be around someone his own size. Get ready for lots of cute mini pictures!

January 2010 Newsletter and Web Site updates

2010-03-22T22:56:00.003-05:00

Hi All!
For those of you that haven't read the January 2010 edition of The Heartbeat (our newsletter) it's available on the web site. http://www.onehearthorses.org/newsletter

Web site updates: http://www.onehearthorses.org/
-The newsletter section is new. You'll find it under About with the Staff and Community sections.
-Staff section: Instructor Dani (finally) made the page. :-)
-The Herd is back online! I think I got all the horses sorted out and the right pictures with the right horse... although I traded Fjord confusion for Mini confusion. Dandy and Miracle look a lot a like if you can't keep the spots with the right horse!
-Giving/Support: There are links on the homepage for GoodShop and GoodSearch. You can support One Heart with what you do already searching and shopping online.
Please check out our sponsor page. We appreciate them greatly!

You can also find One Heart on Facebook. There is a link from the homepage or just search One Heart Equestrian Therapy.

I think that's all the updates
I have for now. I'm sure Kris will have more homework for me :-p.

Oh! Don't forget about the Benefit Ride and Tie for One Heart in September. http://www.oneheartrideandtie.org/

If there is something you'd like to see on the web site please let us know at oneheart@netins.net.

--Katie, webmaster

Things are Heating Up at One Heart

2010-02-25T10:20:00.001-06:00

Hi Friends - with a particular shout out to Jerry!

Did I say heating up - HA, this morning we set another weather record. -8 degrees. Here's a note from the One Heart Almanac - we only have 5 more weeks until Spring. How do I know? We have 5 big bales left! My bet is that we will have robins hopping around amid the snowdrifts.

What I mean to say is that things are really heating up with the program. Registration was sent out to around 60 individuals and they are starting to roll in. We have set the annual schedule - now in real calender form on the website, thanks to more of Katie's training. Katie is also working on a driving page and the horse profiles to add to the website.

The newsletter has gone out and people have responded with horses that will be potential donations. Jen, Dani and I will have our work cut out seeing if they will work out for us.

Meanwhile, a group of One Heart friends has come together to create a "kitty" so we can replace our Fjords. This pool of friends will be the donor. At this point we have identified two in Litchfield, MN. We are trying to get them for a mid-March delivery. Both are broke to drive and the younger gelding is started under saddle. Both seem to fill the bill. We are quite eager to add more Fjords to the pasture. It will be a welcome sight! If they come be ready to greet them by name....Sophie and Boomer. I will keep you posted.

The Board of Directors just met and has a pretty good outline of a strategic plan. The Board has worked diligently to put together this vital document.

Another group of friends, that you know, the Ride and Tie Committee has also been meeting regularly and have quite a line-up of plans, prizes, and goals for the big Ride and Tie race event over Labor Day Weekend, 2010. We have our first inquiry from a group coming from Kansas. How exciting! I tell you, when this group gets rolling, Katie bar the door! The excitement of this group is contagious! The website is jam packed with information, registration forms, and sponsorship information. Find it at http://www.oneheartrideandtie.org/ You would also be welcome to join in the action with this ground-breaking committee - only if you are interested in having FUN. It's not just a request - it's a requirement!

IJen, Dani and I are working on a special Ride and Tie event for One Heart riders. We don't know exactly what we are going to do but we would like to have our own version of Ride and Tie at the fairgrounds the evening before the big event. You will have to stay tuned.

Volunteers - time to sign up for those choice slots! Looks like we will have times available on Tuesday evenings (4-6 & 6-8 pm), Thursday mornings (9-11am and 11am - 1pm) and Saturdays, (7:39 - 9:30, 9:30-11:30 and 11:30 - 1:30) We are going to have new horses, young horses and tons of riders. Bring your friends and neighbors, roomies, aquaintences, club members, partners, congregation, relatives and classmates. It will be a good time!

Upcoming events for staff are both the state NARHA meeting and the Region 7 NARHA meeting. We will come back super-charged so be ready! You are all welcome to come to the meetings. The state meeting will be Sunday, April 11 at the Varied Industries Building on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. This is during the Iowa Horse Fair so our noon meeting won't be the only show in town. There is a ton of stuff to do and see at the Iowa Horse Fair. It is put on by the Iowa Horse Council. For all you vols and riders who simply can't wait for that good horse smell and interacting with everything horsey, plan a trip. Visit the Iowa Horse Council website, they usually have a $1 discount coupon for you to print.

I will wrap up for now. As things pick up, I will be blogging more. You are always free to check-in by email or comment. I am eager to catch up with you all too.

If you are ready for Spring - kick up your heels!

For now, Kris

GoodSearch & GoodShop totals

2010-02-03T14:02:00.000-06:00

Hey all!

Thanks to everyone who has been using GoodSearch and GoodShop. We raised $13.39 for 2009!
So far in 2010 we've raised about $0.84.

Use GoodSearch (http://www.goodsearch.com/) as your search engine and everytime you search you'll raise money for One Heart. Each search is about $0.01. GoodSearch is a Yahoo powered search engine.

Shop online with GoodShop (http://www.goodshop.com/) and a portion of your purchase will go to One Heart. It doesn't cost you anything! There are thousands of name brand stores to choose from including Wal-mart, Amazon, ebay, Staples, Best Buy, etc.

These are great and easy ways to support One Heart! Pass the word, the more people that search and shop the more we raise for One Heart.

Past totals:
2006: $0.60
2007: $7.48
2008: $3.05

Keep up the good work!

Katie
-webmaster and general techy for Kris :0)

Let's Get Busy with a Ride and Tie!

2010-01-13T11:48:00.007-06:00

Hi Friends!

Vol Eileen and I met last night and submitted our application to host a sanctioned Ride and Tie Race!

Our application lists the date as Sept. 4th. That is the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. We have listed the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail (HINT)as our location.

We are so excited about the HINT for our ride! It is absolutely wonderful for beginners...it's essentially, flat. It is a beautiful route through the Iowa countryside mostly utilizing the retired railroad bed. The trail provides a crushed limestone path for runners, bikers, etc. and a nice wide grass strip for equestrian use. They also don't close the trail to horses when it rains.
To qualify as a sanctioned race, we had to outline a minimum of a 20 mile trail. This calculates on the HINT as start in Collins, end in Slater. Nice ride!

Keep going to the Ride and Tie Association website to get educated about Ride and Ties.

Our first official meeting of this planning committee will be held on Jan. 26th in Ames. Please email me at oneheart@netins.net for time and place.

We have a web developer creating a unique site for our Ride and Tie.

Keep in mind....this is the FIRST EVER Ride and Tie to be held in the Midwest, certainly in Iowa. It is something that Eileen and I have known about since the Levi company started them in the early '70s. Who'd-a-thunk that we would have one some day. Eileen is planning on competing, by the way and has started her training.

I started my training also. The first day I actually fell off my treadmill. What's up with that? I don't even really know how, must have caught on something. Anyway, I am still recovering from those massive bruises. HA! Even Lucy cracked up when she heard. I'll be in the bleachers! Think of it this way....I always end up getting hurt when I feel good. Good enough to take on the treadmill, or the lawn, or other typical stuff. The point is...I feel good!

We are working on the promotional aspects of the ride. We have named the race, The One Heart Equestrian Therapy Benefit Ride and Tie. We are bombing through lots of barriers with this ride. Don't you want to be a part of the history of this event?!

First Iowa Ride and Tie
First "rural/urban" setting for a Ride and Tie (if the Assoc. accepts the site)
One of the RARE benefit Ride and Tie races.

One Heart frequently finds itself being a pioneer in many of our efforts. So, what's new? It only makes it more fun and exciting.
From Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Do not go where the path may lead - Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." We can do that!
Story County Conservation - in charge of HINT - has responded with enthusiasm to our idea. While I am not usually surprised by the support One Heart gets, I am ALWAYS humbled by the way our community responds. It's something.
With '10 riding session rapidly approaching, I am going to need help. Lots of help. Vol Eileen has a "real job" as well. So, many hands make light work. Bonnie (One Heart Board) is involved with the committee and others have come forward, as well. What we need help with is soliciting sponsorships for prizes, meals, water, t-shirts.....you know, all the goodies needed for a really nice ride/run. We need people to help with the logistic along the trail. We need ideas. We need to share the excitement.
Other thoughts on the Ride and Tie: We have shorter routes lined out to meet the needs of a variety of participants. Extension put us in touch with the 4-H group that has GPS as a project.....might be a good way to keep track of everything!
Enjoy the above freezing weather today. And, send me an email to get the details of our next One Heart Equestrian Therapy Benefit Ride and Tie meeting.
Here is a picture of One Heart participants "Trail Riding" at Stagecoach during on '08 session. The One Heart Equestian Therapy Benefit Ride and Tie will raise funds for our entire program.
Looking forward to mud; Kris

What's up at One Heart

2010-01-11T08:18:00.003-06:00

Hi Friends:

Quick, show of hands, who's tired of snow?? Linda (instructor) sent this cartoon that espresses this for us all.

Jen and Dani will come this week to set the annual calender. When we get that set, we will send it to Webmaster, Katie to post.

For a warm thought..... One Heart is a qualifying organization for Disney's new promotion "Give a Day, Get a Day". This is for a ticket to Disney for a day of volunteering. We have a family using some volunteer hours with us since they are planning a trip to DisneyWorld this spring.

The horses are up to their bellies in snow. They have paths beat through to the hay, the barn, and the creek. Bless that creek! It is still open. Can't argue with 365 day water supply. Considering that we have been under 0 for most of 2 weeks. And I mean REALLY under 0, like -10 to -20 several times; no, not windchill. One night was so threatening, that Helen chopped and dug and chisled the gate open so she could bring the minis, Dandy and Miracle, into the stable. She couldn't even stand to have them out in their cozy little shed. They loved being in with the thoroughbreds.

T.J. started coming up slowly for his grain treat several days. Kelly reported this and watched him. Finally, an abcess, buried under the fur, somewhere between his left "arm pit" and his pectoral muscle opened and started massive drainage. There is no way to know how this happened but he tolerated his penicillin regime - especially since he got to come into the barn for a big dose of sweet feed! He seems to be healing well. He trotted up to the grain bucket a couple of days ago.

Planning still is going on for the Ride and Tie event. Turns out - we will be able to have a sanctioned race. It may very well be the first in Iowa! I have heard from a few folks who would like to participate. It would be great if all of you would come forth who have an interest in this activity. It is getting really exciting.

Volunteers are already starting to contact me for 2010 sessions. It is super - and makes me more impatient with the snow.....not that I am looking forward to the mud that this will create:)

Registration for riders will be distributed in February.

For fun we are planning 2010. To keep our mind off the weather we are paying bills, finishing the finacial year end stuff, writing thank you notes for several nice donations around Christmas, and all sorts of other paperwork. The Board of Directors is tackling a stategic plan, sort of "the Master Plan".

I am not nearly as impatient as Dani. Dani just got her FIRST ever, new, all-her-own saddle. It is a beautiful Wintec - sitting inside dressed in its stretchy, custom cover. I bet Shane gets to try it on as soon as the weather is not miserable.

Dashing through the snow..... Kris

Benefit for One Heart

2009-12-14T11:08:00.009-06:00

Hi Friends;

We are having another snow day here in Iowa. Time to think about a HOT, summer activity. Maybe swimming, boating, lemonade? How about a Ride and Tie Race?

This photo is by Thom Vollenweider of the Santa Ysabel, CA R&T.

What is Ride and Tie, you ask? When a youngster, most of my allowance went to The Western Horseman magazine. From this, I learned, in the early '70s about Ride and Tie. Fashioned around a Native method for transporting warriors and their horses ( due to raiding and warring, warriors sometimes outnumbered horses) across vast distances, Ride and Tie became popular. I want to refer you early on to the Ride and Tie Association's website; they cover this topic better than I can. I will give you the simple version. Two people and one horse cover a predetermined distance. The first team to arrive at the finish is the winner. The stategy is to have one person riding while the other person is running. Periodically, they switch. The team of three all start together. Of course, the rider outpaces the runner. Once the rider gets to a tie spot the team has selected, the rider dismounts and starts running along the trail to the finish. When the original runner arrives where the horse is tied, they mount and head up the trail towards the finish. The plan is that the rider will than catch and pass the runner until they arrive at the next predesignated tie spot. That rider dismounts and takes off running. The horse waits until the teamate comes upon it, mounts and rides. In this way the team of two runners relays the horse between them. They alternate riding and running (or walking) until they all three cross the finish line.

This is a sport more common on the west coast, but One Heart wants to bring it to IOWA!

A committee is being formed now to organize and promote a ride and tie benefit for One Heart in the summer of 2010.

So far, we pretty much have a location and a whole lot of enthusiasm!

Our mission statement says we will make equine-assisted activities available in a safe, compassionate and professional manner. Did we mention it was FUN? If you have been with us over the last eight years, I hope you have caught our attitude of FUN. We think that a Ride and Tie will be a FUN way to raise money for One Heart.

A ride and tie appeals to runners/walkers and trail riders. People mix and match on teams and develop the stategy that works best for them. Of course, there is all the measures of safety for the teams, similar to those of a local "run". These include water stations, vet checks for the horse, preliminary trail etiquete meetings. (photo at right is by Corey Rich of the Libby, MT R&T)

Since this will probably be Iowa's first Ride and Tie, we would like to have entrants use it to prepare for other Ride and Tie races. There are not many in the midwest at all.

We missed the deadline to have our race sanctioned by the Ride and Tie association - but think positively......that means it DOES NOT have to be a 20 mile minimum! Of course, we can have one that length.

The initial steering committee is thinking of having several different lengths of rides, suitable to almost all abilities. And of course, prizes! The entry fee for each team will go to One Heart to help continue our program. It has been several years since we have had any type of fundraiser so we hope people will really jump on with their support. Photo by Corey Rich, Libby MT R&T.

We need support in these areas:

Sponsorship - sponsor prizes in a division, provide start-up sponsorship for advertising and promotion (grants don't go this route), sponsorship for water and perhaps a hoe-down following the evening of the race.

Committee Members: organizers and doers to help the planning committee implement this project. People to go out and get donations we can use as prizes.

Input: How would you like to help One Heart with this fundraiser? Participation; Ride & Tie, just run, just ride? Committee work, sponsorship, volunteer?

Remember, this is in the very first stages. Jump on board now. We have alot to do and alot of FUN to look forward to. I am suprised by the number of people who have gotten the hint of what we are thinking about and have kept inquiring as to how planning is going.

The pictures I've included here, I downloaded from the Ride and Tie Association. Their website is http://www.rideandtie.org/

2009 Ride and Tie Association Winners.

By the way......jump on the treadmill today and start planning on conditioning your horse when the windchill lets up! The champs for 2009 went 34 miles in 3:57 hrs. 2nd place was 4:00 hrs. The winners of the "short race", 19 miles, finished in 2:33 hrs. No biggie, the 34 mile race went as long as 7:45 hrs and the 19 mile race went 5:30 hrs. I did say you could walk!

Please leave comments here or better....email me at oneheart@netins.net with you plans to participate.

Yee Haw!

Kris

A Great Day Not to Worry About Sonny

2009-12-09T11:49:00.018-06:00

Hi Friends;

This is the perfect day to write the memorial for Sonny. Our dear Sonny accompanied Rosa and Patch on that fateful day when the trailer made its way to the Vet school.

Before I attempt to explain what Sonny meant to the people and program of One Heart, I ask you to keep in mind that Sonny was probably the very first mount of almost every child rider we started. Sonny was an endeared and treasured pony. I want to extend my sympathy to each of our riders and the families impacted by the news of Sonny's death. Prior to this notice, some of Sonny's current riders were notified of our decision. Especially, the mothers of our 2 - 5 year olds were advised. Typically, moms remind their kids how fun it will be to ride Sonny again next year. This winter they will make their statement more impersonal. They will eagerly await the spring rides on "the horse/the pony" - not including the name. Sonny will become a fond memory.

What makes this a good day not to worry about Sonny is the fact that the entire state is under a blizzard warning. The wind is a sustained 25 miles per hour. The snowplows have been pulled from the roads. Kids are rejoicing in a snowday. The drifts are higher than the big bales. This is the kind of day that would make my grey hair fall out in clumps with worry over Sonny. Even with supportive shelter, supplemental grain, and his donkey companion, Sonny didn't have the physical reserves to withstand this climate. Tonight they predict a -25 degree windchill. The photo at the right is looking out of my office window this morning.

The horses were visited in the Jungle last evening as the snow was steadily acheiving it's first 8 inch depth. This was before the wind velocity reached its peaks. Of course, Bri, the Fjord, was unconcerned by conditions most like her "motherland" - Norway. The POAs decided their Arab ancestry was most effected by the cold. Misty, of Austrian-origin, as a Haflinger was well suited. The Tulsa-reared Morgans crowded around insisting that they deserved blankets, straw, cable, and room service. Peanut pinched his little blue eyes and scowled as if saying, "You can't find a white mini in a blizzard, let alone these drifts!"

But, for the first time in years, I have not had to worry about Sonny. Worry is its own emotional state. It is bittersweet not to worry.

Sonny came to One Heart from Eldon and Marilyn. Eldon raised his hand following my presentation at the local Rotary International meeting to ask where One Heart got its horses. I proudly announced that the horses were all donated. This led Eldon to suggest he had a small horse he would consider donating.

Maureen and I (with our kids and toys) visited Eldon's farm where Sonny had resided with the cattle herd for ten years. It took a little explaining to convince Eldon and Sonny that the hula-hoops, swim noodles, loud clapping, and shrieking voices were all necessary to conduct an adaquate introduction. Eldon shared that Sonny had been intensively treated for an undiagnosed digestive disorder that manifested in raging diarrhea. Watery, explosive, barn-coating, run downhill diarrhea. Sonny tolerated the loud and abrupt pre-trial introduction to One Heart so we accepted him on trial. Eldon refered us to the Veterinarian who had been conducting the treatment.

Sonny joined One Heart in June of 2002. The same month that the program started. Sonny was actually the 10th horse to be accepted on trial. Five horses prior to his arrival had already failed the tests. We ended our first year with four of the original 12 horses donated our first season. Those four were (in order of donation) Rosie, Babe, Soldier, and Sonny. The picture at the right is Sat. week 6, 2002. From left to right; Soldier, Kris, Rosi, Sonny, Maureen, and Babe. The horses have their ears cocked to the lifeflight helicopter that is taking off across the street to their right.

We searched for ways to describe Sonny. He color was strawberry roan, flecked, speckled, kinda brownish. His mane and tail were flaxen and brown frosted. His head was as long as his neck. His hips supported bulbus, bilateral fat pads that extended over his hips and past his tailhead. His hooves were striped, but sound. We had come into a business where you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Even so, there was some controversy determining or even projecting Sonny's age. Eldon had owned him for 10 years and thought he was in his early 20s. The vet school rolled their eyes at the estimate and indicated it could be several years older. We decided to call him 25.

Even though the vet school supplied the dietetic supplement meant to curtail and treat his diarrhea it was still out of control. I washed the green off of his hind legs and out of his tail at the fairgrounds wash rack. I put his tail up to conserve the remaining wisps from the green liquid output. Within 30 days, the wisps gave up and simply fell out. This was not a contagious condition so Sonny was moved right in at the Jungle.

I will never forget Sonny's first introduction to the herd. For 10 years he had been isolated from equines and lived with cattle. He was overjoyed at the sight of horses! His hooves brushed the grass as he floated to meet the companions he so craved. It was not a red carpet welcome. The typical snorting, pawing and fussiness finally resolved to find Sonny at the bottom of the pecking order. He still seemed excilarated to be in a horse herd.

We started to find out who Sonny was. We decided he must be at least a POA cross bred due to his size and coloring. POA stands for Pony of the Americas (right, MK?) Let me put the imphasis on PONY. Sonny soon exhibited all those pony traits that are maddening. He didn't want to get caught. What's more maddening, he had perfected the bait and switch technique. He would bait the handler into thinking that with some grain they could lure him only to have him switch gears and move away just as fingers brushed past his neck. He didn't run away but he knew how to not get cornered. (Jennifer calls this attitude "pony-tude") This was something that had to change.

Back in the day, we were trailering the horses from the Jungle to the county fairgrounds for our classes. This meant that the herd had to be easy to catch and love trailering for this logistic to work. I finally set up a plan to mess with Sonny's pony brain. I brought the other horses into the barn lot. With Sonny's last place status in the herd besides his hesitance to get caught he was naturally the last to approach the barn lot. When the herd passed me, I simply shut the gate leaving Sonny in the big pasture and barring his way to the rest of the herd. This worked well into my plan because it created isolation for Sonny with the added benefit that the herd was out of his sight. I hoped Sonny had flashbacks to his former life with the cows when I started mooing. I wanted Sonny to play nice......be a good team member. For this he had to be readily caught.

I trailered the first load to the fairgrounds. When I returned to the barn lot for load 2, Sonny was pacing and frantic. I went to his gate and found an eager and willing pony. He shoved his head in the halter and his attitude begged me not to put him in time-out again. I never did. I never had too. If his pony-tude naturally kicked in, I would start mooing! He put on his grouchy, defeated face, but stood for me to catch him. It was a relationship I always had with Sonny. I treasured him for all he brought to the program, I even acknowledged the pony-tude. He, in return, respected the need to put up with getting caught and exchanged some pony-tude for living with the herd. It worked out very well.

Over the course of a couple of years Sonny's diarrhea went away. We celebrated the day we noted we could have stood a birthday candle up in his manure. After the long recovery, I speculated that his digestive system had tried to change into a ruminate system - that of a cow. His fat patches in odd places resulted from the definate change in metabolism. His body was remodeled and stayed that way. It didn't effect his ability to work but it did draw attention. That and his flatulence, which never quite went away. It only added to his character.

We frequently called Sonny our secret weapon for the therapy arena and especially for Special Olympics competition. Nobody seemed thrilled to be assigned to Sonny when the more glamorous and nicely conformed horses were nearby. However, when they found Sonny could walk faster than most horses trotted and the gold medals started rolling in, their minds were changed. In fact, contrary to most ponies, Sonny's walk was more dynamic than his trot. His walk could get anyone's attention and fed dynamic input into many tiny bodies. His trot was smooth enough that it didn't jolt the head carriage of his littlest riders. My image of Sonny will be forever linked to a beaming child's face. They are synonomous in my mind.

Sonny was actually "unofficially" retired for 2008. By second session of '08 our therapist called for Sonny to come back to the arena. There was a particular youngster in need of Sonny's special abilities. By this time every joint was creaking, the peculiar bumps stood out from the shrinking frame. His neck was thinner, his face was grey and his eyes a little more watery. His energy was high and his attitude was great. He was a little tender on his front left foot. Every volunteer groomed with concern past the lipomas (fatty tumors) along his ribs. A little horse "asprin" served as his linament to carry his 2-year-old rider. Because he had staged a comeback, Sonny was a featured horse in the documentary filmed for viewing in the Fall of 2010 on PBS. I hope his impact will be immortalized if they select this part of the feature.

The decision to euthanize Sonny was complied from his physical condition, his age - somewhere in the 30s, and the fact the the Jungle is inaccesible. If Sonny could not reach shelter or feed we would be unable to assist him. And today's conditions are not creating an ulcer for me worrying about either.

Sonny served one final three year old. He worked through week 6 of Session 3, 2009.

Sonny was everything he could be to One Heart. He was the right size, the right gait. He had pony-tude and gentleness. He was both pretty and funny looking and had gas. He brought pleasure and accomplishment to every rider. He was a champion. He was the donkey's only friend.

We will miss you, our dear, Sonny.

In Loving Memory

Sonny

197x? - 2009

Sonny's last ride.

Until next time;

Kris

In Loving Memory

2009-12-08T15:42:00.010-06:00

Hi Friends;

It has been a few days since I have checked in. Last time I told you about the loss of Patch. Today will be an update of the memorial list.

Not many folks at One Heart realize that the very first Norwegian Fjord horse donated to One Heart was Rosa. Rosa was the result of me internet surfing and finding a Fjord affectionato and "broker". This was the summer that we were working so diligently with the Sons of Norway to locate the more infamous Alma and Dagmar. Through the internet contact we were referred to the McCollum family in northern Minnesota. They had an older mare who was no longer having foals. Her primary function was as a producer of fine, Norwegian Fjord foals. When those days appeared to be finished, they considered donating her.

Again, as no example to anyone with basic sense.....I accepted this old mare sight unseen over the phone/internet. Shock of shocks, I also found her a free ride from close to the Canadian-US border all the way to Iowa. Our friend Meg was taking her trailer to the Minnesota Horse fair and the McCollums always made a point to come to the same fair. The transfer was made in the late spring and Rosa arrived at the Jungle in 2004 - Several months prior to Alma and Dagmar.

Being the first Norwegian Fjord horse for One Heart met with such honor that the true royal nature of Rosa was hidden for years. Our interest was if she was ready to go to work in the therapy arena. She passed immediately and went to work immediately. She was well suited to the task although when we asked if she was trained to ride or drive, the donors didn't know. There is a good chance that she had never been trained for either.

Rosa's registration papers did not indicate her suitability for the therapy arena so were simply filed away.

As we came to know Rosa we wanted to know more ABOUT Rosa. The registration papers led us on a little detective trail that revealed impressive facts about our simple, hard working mare. We started with her name, Anvil's Fjellrosa, registration #C-172 N-V-492-M.

The "C" in Rosa's registration # stands for Canada and there is a Fjord farm in BC called Anvil's Acres. Owners, Anita and Orville Unrau bought their first Norwegian Fjord horse from a local auction from the meat buyer. They fell in love with the horse and the breed helping to start the Canadian Norwegian Fjord registry when there were only about 75 Norwegian Fjord horses in Canada.

In 1981, the couple traveled to Norway, "the motherland" and located a stallion. After days of determined negotiation they finally convinced the owner that "Rudaren" should go to a new home in Canada. To find mares suitable for the breeding program destined to produce "Fjords today are balanced in their conformation and lead long, healthy, happy lives, with few soundness problems" The following is from Anvil Acres website - "During the winter and spring of 1981/1982 seventeen mares made the long trip from Norway to Alberta. For the first time Canada now had a good selection of bloodlines to choose from for the breeding of Fjord Horses. A number of these in-utero foals' bloodlines are still active in the Fjord world today."

One of those in-utero foals was our dear Rosa. The "N" in her registraion # stands for Norway.

From the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry site we were to learn that Rosa produced a total of 10 foals in 12 years. She began propagating at age 6. Perhaps she was trained to ride and drive prior to that time? She had a long time to forget everything she knew by the time we got her! She arrived at One Heart in 2004 at the age of 22.

Rosa carried rider after rider and we always depended on her almost to the point of taking her for granted. Anyone could lead Rosa. Anyone could ride Rosa. Rosa could be mounted from the ramp or the mounting block. Almost as important was Rosa as lead mare of the herd. Rosa kept the peace and order for the One Heart herd until her last day.

Beginning this year every effort was made to not overload Rosa's back which showed a distinct dip, most probably from the many foals she had produced. Most people identified Rosa as the fjord who "looked pregnant". During the Special Olympics this year it was noted that Rosa was holding her tail slightly angled while tacked up. Dani examined more closely and reported a vertebrae that was a little "bumpier" than the others. Rosa showed no lameness, pain, or other indications of anything being wrong. She continued to work through Session 3.

Rosa, Dagmar, and Alma have all taught me a thing or two about Fjord horses. Most of you have heard me say that our Fjords would work until the day they simply dropped out from under their rider. This makes it even more important to keenly be tuned to a Fjord's behavior. Rosa had "mentioned" that she was cranky when riders shifted their weight or while being mounted. To accommodate her, the leader was taught to present Rosa a section of lead rope during these times. When irritated, Rosa would bite the rope. It is not unusual to have a horse object to mounting and weight shifting of the rider since that is when the girth draws tighter and the tack wiggles and wrinkles. All of our horses are allowed "issues". After all who among is is perfect? We reduced the rider numbers Rosa was assigned. Her tail only kinked when she was tacked. She didn't stumble any more than she had over the years.

On week 6 Rosa was carrying a small rider when she indicated that she needed to lay down. We loosened the girth. In another lap, we removed the rider and then the girth and pad. She was not wearing a saddle. Rosa gratefully sunk into the sandy arena. She was in pain. We had a veterinarian on the phone and a veterinarian in the arena. I raced home for the injectable pain reliever. We had just moved it out of the tack room since it was starting to freeze at night. Within a short time she had Banamine flooded into her body. Twenty minutes later she was up and grazing. The riders left Stagecoach with Rosa munching away on the lawn.

She was closely observed over the next week. Colic, a devastating intestinal condition, was ruled out. Bottom-line. Rosa's back was out. Her working days were over. Our consideration was now for her pain condition and her survivability through winter conditions.

With heavy hearts, the decision was made to have Rosa euthanized. Our friends at the Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine supported this decision. On Nov. 4, 2009, Rosa accompanied Patch to the Vet School and we said our goodbyes. At the time of her death, there were 6 generations of "Rosa" - she leaves 12 foals, 20 grand-foals, 23 great-grand folas, 9 gt-gt-grand foals, 1 gt-gt-gt-grand foal, and 1 gt-gt-gt-gt-grand foal. All, I am sure, are beautiful, balanced in their confirmation, sound, happy, hard working, loving, and steady. Carrying on, proudly, the name Anvil. Like the ol' gal, herself.

In Loving Memory:

Anvil's Fjellrosa

Rosa

1981-2009

Until next time,

Kris

Back to Business

2009-12-01T13:46:00.009-06:00

Hi Friends;

I need a break so decided I should have my conversation with you. My head is swimming with facts and figures as I prepare for our Board meeting. We are putting together a business plan. I am surrounded by charts and graphs and facts and figures. Saturated.

It's a good time to let you know what's up with One Heart. The first item of business when I got back from Thanksgiving break was to put the final touches on the Angel Tree. I went Monday to Theisen's in Ames to set up our display. I hope when you stop by you shop for One Heart. As an example of what the Angel Tree does for us...... we haven't had to purchase any fly spray (a staple!) for two years in a row because of our generous "Santas".
The Angel Tree is covered with ornaments of the horses in the One Heart herd. Also on the table is a list of the active horses, the recently retired horses, and the horses who have gone to greener pastures this year. For most of you, this is the first you will hear about those who have gone to greener pastures. You know about Dagmar which was quite a loss. Over the next couple of days I will write the obituaries of the others.

The first is Patch. Most of you didn't know Patch. He was a beautiful black and white pinto who had lived with One Heart for over a year. Patch came to the arena when he was first delivered to Stagecoach but was moved to the jungle for his remaining time.

Patch was lovingly donated by his family from New Virginia, Iowa. Jennifer and I went to see Patch. Crystal first called to donate Patch because he was getting tired on the more lengthy trail rides she was going on. Her young family was also getting ready to add another baby to the family and move. There was no additional time or room for a horse.
Patch walked and trotted (and bucked) on the longe line when Jen and I evaluated his gait. He stumbled a little. Overall, he was a good personality and age and shape. Worth giving a try. As we got to know him, he started stumbling more and eventually showed a distinct lameness in his front legs. We made no effort to have him work. Even with his casual life in pasture his lameness seemed to increase. It was very vague other than his front legs didn't cooperate too well. We had him seen by a massage therapist. Our farrier checked him out. Our vet said he was lame. It was a mystery. We put the word out that he could be adopted if someone wanted to try to diagnose and treat the lameness. People came to look but there were too many unknowns. I contacted Crystal to tell her of our efforts and that we had decided to have him euthanized. Mostly, the decision rested on the fact that Patch seemed to be in chronic pain. He started appearing concerned that he might be compromised if he got too close to a bossy horse. He hung around the edge of the herd to avoid conflict. He didn't have a close friend. Patch went to the vet school and our friends there escorted him to a lovely lighted stall until he was gently handled for euthanasia. Our sympathy goes to Crystal on the final outcome of her first horse and long-time trail buddy. One Heart welcomed Patch to our program and served him the best we could even though we did not require him to work.

In Loving Memory

Patch

1989 - 2009

Until next time,

Kris

Recent Retirements

2009-11-24T09:18:00.009-06:00

Hi Friends;

Following Session 3 we always assess our year. Part of this assessment is horse contribution. It is a very simple formula. If the horse is assigned a rider, they are contributing. Every now and then the instructors stop assigning a horse. Horses are assigned to a particular rider following evaluation by our therapist and instructor staff. We offer services to a very wide variety of riders and keep a wide variety of horses available. Variables include size, shape, gait, age, length, soundness, and level of training. The common factor of the entire herd regardless of the previously named variables is temperament. Although each horse's personality is different, their temperament needs to be stable. Frequently, nothing changes year after year, session after session. For a few of our horses, soundness will change with season (some get a little tenderfooted in the Spring), size changes when they fatten up on summer pasture, and level of training changes when they gain experience in the therapy arena. Through all the seasonal and experiential changes we rely on temperament to remain the same.

There are some obvious signs that a horse can use to show us a change in temperament or attitude. The easiest is their ears. When the horse is angry, objectionable, frustrated or resentful their ears will go back, their eyes narrow, and their nostrils will start pinching closed. The more dramatic the sign shows how serious the horse is. During every class every horse shows their emotion. We encourage this. The leaders and instructors are aware of each horse's attitude throughout the entire class time and even while waiting their turn for class. Very often, a horse's attitude can be brightened, or softened, or encouraged simply with a kind word, a pat, or even an adjustment of the tack. Our horses are willing to show us their emotions and we willingly make adjustments to maintain the horse's level temperament.

On occassion, a horse will continually show us that they are having an issue. Progressively, the signs, which start with ear pinning, move on to showing teeth, nipping, switching their tail, swaying their hips, balking during simple maneuvers, or simply stopping in place. This causes a chain reaction from a frustrated horse, to a frustrated rider, to a frustrated leader, to a frustrated instructor.

When the issue progresses to a certain point the instructors stop assigning the horse since they know it will be disruptive to the class as a whole. The instructors must have confidence in every horse. It effects a class when an instructor always has a certain horse in the back of their mind. It nags at the instructor that at any given moment the horse may choose to express their issue.

At One Heart, our philosophy is; No horse has to do this job; we cannot and will not force a horse to work. We also make it a habit to not work a horse in pain. We do not medicate with "horse asprin" so the horse is sound. In my experience, I have found that therapeutic riding is the most difficult job a horse can do. For the most part - and from the outside looking in -, it is pretty cushy.....no performance demands stretching tendons and ligaments, no training routines requiring lengthy workouts, and for our herd, no isolation from the herd, and no dry lots. Real grass and a real herd setting. With that said, the difficulty of this job is the mental aspect. This shows up for us in the very highly trained horses that are donated to One Heart. Consider that a horse with a high level of training has been conditioned to respond to the rider through voice command, pressure on their bit, or nose, and a variety of body postitions called "aids and cues". Aides and cues are those methods used by the rider to convey to the horse a command through the positioning and repositioning of the rider's ankles, heels, calves, knees, hips, seat, back, shoulders, head, wrist, fingers, elbows, and shoulders. Yes, every detail of the rider's body effects how a horse responds. Imagine now, the variety of riders our One Heart horses carry. Some balanced, some not. Some verbal, some not. Some with reins, some not. Some fairly unpredictable with weight shifts, leg and arm movements, and verbalizations. Then imagine all the different positions the instructors ask the riders to assume; over, under, sideways, backwards. Each different positions presents a unique set of weight movements to the horse. Regardless, the One Heart horse is expected to use a steady temperament to filter through the miriad of rider motion to determine which they are called to respond to and which they are called to ignore. It's a tough job. Several times, a horse mistakes a weight shift of a rider for a cue and are corrected by the leader. This is pretty frustrating. Without a highly tolerant temperament a horse is not going to easily blow off this constant reinterpretation. Put yourself in the horse's place. Imagine that you are driving a car. The sign you get tells you to turn right. You dutifully turn right. The driving assistant sitting

next to you gives you a sharp tug across your nose. The backseat driver kicks the back of your chair. If you don't learn how to judge all the signs it could get pretty maddening.

Usually, it takes several months for a full evaluation to become clear. What starts with casual ear pinning can progress slowly. The One Heart staff accomodates the issue a horse may have by limiting the type of rider a horse carries. Usually, this means the horse is used in classes with riders who are learning to use proper aids and cues that the horse is already familiar with. This severely limits their use in the One Heart roster.

Following the lengthy process of evaluation and adaptation, the horse usually makes it pretty clear they are ready to retire. It makes perfect sense to us. The difficult part is the attachment we have with the horse. An easy solution doesn't make it easy to implement.

Out of respect for two of our horses, Angel and DeeDee, we have found them homes to which they can retire. DeeDee will now be the first horse for a young girl and Angel went to be DeeDee's buddy. Our fondness for each of these mare continues and we can never thank them or their donors enough for the contributions they made to One Heart.

Speaking of thanking - Going into the Thanksgiving Holiday gives me another chance to thank all of you for your contributions and support of One Heart. Without YOU, One Heart doesn't happen.

Next post I will give you more of Angel and DeeDee's stories. It could be several days.....it's time to cook and travel and join in the holiday fun times.

Until then, Walk-On! Kris

Misty's Adjustment

2009-11-23T07:51:00.008-06:00

Hi Friends;

I missed joining you for several days while I was in KC. We were preparing for the big Thanksgiving holiday.

While in KC I was lucky enough to go to the American Royal horse show. I watched the USEF saddle seat equitation finals. Spectacular. There was also a full docket of saddlehorse and pony classes. The old show bug bit pretty bad!
Technology has hit the show ring. I rented a receiver with an earbud that I kept while watching the show. There was a live feed into my ear from very knowledgeable people as the class was being shown. For a horse show junkie who has been way out of the industry for a long time, it was like being part of the old action. I could hear all the ins and outs of the show horse, the rider, the owner, and other pertinent facts about the class. For novices, the monitors discussed what the judges were looking for. Apparently, a person could subscribe to a webfeed of the American Royal horse show and log on to watch every class over the Internet. Subscribers could also text and email comments to the people announcing the play-by-play live action to my earbud. It was very interactive and made me feel like I belonged back in the old groom days.......the good old days! Very fun and nostalgic.
I barely got my suitcase into the house when I zipped over to the jungle to visit the herd. They are sooooo happy to see people during the winter. Since we stopped trailering twice a week to the fairgrounds for classes, the horses are quite willing to come see you at the jungle. Of course, we only have a few remaining from the old fairground days. That's another story.....

The horses all got a little grain treat. I was particularly interested in how Misty was doing. When you last heard, Misty was struggling to fit into the herd. She has been with us three full weeks.

We first met Misty at her home. She lived in a barn lot joined to a small pasture. Every now and then she and her herd went to a wooded pasture. I can recall seeing three other large horses and one pony in her herd. One of the horses she shared home with was her mother. Apparently, Misty had lived with her mother for her full five years. Misty maneuvered within her herd without concern. She did not yield or dodge the movement of any other horse. She pushed her way through or led all the other horses to their destination. Her main concern was getting to the front gate to greet the three new people who had come to see her. Misty didn't seem to concern herself with the fact we had come to see her. What was important was that she was determined to see us. She did not threaten the horses in her herd while she negotiated her way to the front gate where we were. She popped her classic Haflinger face over the gate and her big eyes both implored and demanded that we come see her. She welcomed our pats on her face and neck. She didn't show any jealousy to the the older gelding getting his share of the pets. She didn't try to drive him away from us.

Following her evaluations we returned Misty to her herd. The following day she embarked on a new adventure when she was delivered to the jungle. Our herd is very balanced. We have no individual that is a chaser. We wouldn't keep one. A chaser seems to have some vindictive need to run and run and chase a new horse and give them no welcome and no rest. The chaser usually doesn't even offer the normal courtesy of a nose sniff prior to being hostile. Chasers can go for days, giving the new horse no rest. Knowing that none of our guys would chase Misty, we turned her out to the usual meet and greet. Handshakes and introductions are nose sniffs and nervous trotting. Occassionally, a hoof will strike and a snort is herd. The One Heart herd didn't even snort or strike. There was alot of looking and neck arching and trotting. Every ear was pivoting rapidly, sorting through all the non-verbal imput of horse social introductions. Within minutes the herd settled and went about their business of eating. Of course, attention was still directed to Misty but everyone was settled down. One horse waited. The horse that didn't trot, didn't snort, and had not yet greeted Misty. This was Rosa, the herd matriarch. Rosa, at age 27, was the boss. She never looked at another horse, shifted her weight, pinned an ear. She was the boss. It was never challenged, never contested, and no other horse seemed resentful. Rosa led the herd from location to location. She decided when it was time to graze and time to rest in the shade. Young and old, geldings, mares, big and little defered to her decisions.

One horse waited for Misty. When all the trotting and sniffing was over. When the rest of the herd was settled and grazing, Rosa found Misty. Rosa stood still and quiet with her ears forward. She didn't sniff or nod. She didn't look at the grass or at us. She waited like a gentle, relaxed statue for Misty to come straight to her face. Misty bowed her neck and aligned her nostrils to Rosa. Misty was nervous but did not paw or squeal. Misty turned away first with her ears twitching back and forth. Rosa did not reach toward her and did not move away. Her ears did not twitch. When Misty moved a step away, Rosa turned with a calm manner and walked back to her knoll to oversee the herd. Misty had been welcomed.

We continued to watch Misty closely, but from afar. We trusted the herd to teach and socialize Misty into the herd like a real horse, without her mother, and without us sorting or selecting or sequestering horses for her to live with apart from the full herd.
It was worrisome at first. Misty was never with the herd. She was nearby but not in contact. Although it seemed that the other horses totally ignored her we knew that they were aware of her. They neither chased her away nor made efforts to include her. The herd expected her to keep up without special consideration. During the first two weeks there was always a geographic barrier separating her from the herd. The creeks run deep and cold through the jungle so we figured that Misty was unfamiliar with crossing a creek. For a pony who had lived on solid ground the shifting, sandy bank leading to the water crossing is worrisome enough. Once in the creek, the rushing water over her knees could be alarming.

For the first ten days, Misty would sometimes be in visual contact with the herd, but very often would not. The old donkey found her and seemd to keep with her. The donkey is 29, slow, steady, and has no social status with the herd. The donkey will attach to the horse on the lowest social rung. It gives each of them a friend. Sometimes the horse seems to resent the donkey's attention. There is no close interaction, just a steady presence of the donkey. So, Misty would be seen with the donkey, sometimes within sight of the herd, sometimes not.

We waited. Finally we could see Misty just opposite the herd only divided by the creek. Later in the day, Misty would have crossed the creek and was on the far outskirts of the herd. When the herd shifted across another creek, Misty would be left for several hours until she negotiated the creek on her own terms.

This went on for days. At last, yesterday, Misty was with the herd and seems to be following with the herd in a timely fashion. When they cross the creek she goes with them. When they duck their necks to follow the "goat trail" under the low hanging tree branches, she keeps up. When they cross the bridge, she stays with them. She is now part of the herd.

It was fun to interact with the herd and the grain bucket. Rocky and TJ follow on the heels of the bucket carrier with the attitude of "it's nice you finally got around to bringing out a bucket, now deliver the goods and get going". Shane and Kyle waited to avoid the heels of TJ and Shane even allowed Peanut to sneak his teeny muzzle into the side of the feed tub. Meanwhile, Rosie trots around the perimeter tossing her head trying to convince the herd that she is the favorite and should get first choice at the tubs. The herd ignores her. Bri waits patiently, inwardly glowing at the prospect of the sweet treat. She is not challenged but stands at "her" tub and waits delivery. Donkey follows the bucket at a distance relying on the person to provide for her and not depending on the herd to allow her an eating space.

Misty was in a terrible delimma. It was the first time she had "competed" over the treat bucket. She was torn between diving for the nearest tub the herd would allow and finding the bucket carrier to be petted. She did not demand the grain for the sake of a treat. She really wanted to have the person pet her. I respect a horse that shares a love of grain with the need to be petted. It's a pleasure to know that you hold [nearly] as much pleasure for the horse as the treat. Misty is still low on the social scale but she is above the donkey! That is how the world is supposed to be. It was important to also see that Misty didn't show power over the donkey out of frustration for not being able to attack anyone socially higher than she. She showed fairness to the donkey. Good adjustment.

For those of you who know the herd and follow this blog you will realize that several horses were not mentioned during the treat fray. I will get to this in later blogs.

It's nice to be back for awhile, but I will be gone again during Thanksgiving.
Walk on!
Kris

MK, Are you reading?

2009-11-17T13:34:00.003-06:00

Hi Friends;
Are you with us today, MK?
When I talked to you about my trip to KC for the Human-Animal Bond meeting I mentioned seeing the mule team, Terry and Tim, representatives of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. This is the third generation of mule team mascots for Mizzou Vet Med. To the right is a picture of the original mascot team, Hilda and Louise. I'm up in the box! I was one of the first muleskinners, mule club members, teamsters at Mizzou.
The story of Hilda and Louise begins with the arrival of the new Vet Med Dean of that era (1980's....a former life :) Dean Kahrs. Dean Kahrs had just visited the Vet school in Pennsylvania where he was given a campus tour in a buggy pulled by a standardbred. Dean Kahrs felt that would be an appropriate way to promote Mizzou Vet Med so actively sought the support to make that happen. Missouri is noted for mule production, especially noted for exporting more mules to Europe to support war efforts during WW1 than anywhere else. This reputation for producing good mules still lingers. Dean Kahrs solicited input from local mule experts and located a young team in Fayette, Mo. An 80-something year old man had broken them to drive. The were broke well. I know, because when Dr. Kahrs put out the word for pre-vet and vet students to come be the crew, I showed up. I was an active member of the pre-vet club even though I was not enrolled at Mizzou at the time. Rather, I was the "scholarship committee" supporting my husband while he became eligible to apply to Vet school and later be accepted. Since I knew nobody in our new town, I paid my dues to the pre-vet club to get to know the gang.

I drove Hilda and Louise places I wouldn't take my pet dog. They were that broke. I learned alot about driving a team during those years. I learned that one mule would be steady anytime we went out. The trick was learning which one it was going to be! They took turns. That didn't mean that the other was goofy or slacking that day. It meant that the driver depended on the steady one, knowing the other would go along.
Our first parade was in Rolla during a party weekend for the "Miners" at that college. That trip taught us to be prepared with people accompanying the mules through the entire parade route. Some kid staggered out into the parade route and slugged Louise on the neck pronouncing that she was a mule. It shook Louise but she held steady. It shook me and from that point we always had walkers should the mules need protection from their admirers. I don't remember other horses in the parade but I recall that the Budweiser company sent a flatbed trailer with a fiberglass Clydesdale being pulled as a float. My memories are vivid since Hilda took one look at the statue and fell in love with it. She pulled and yearned each time she caught a glance of it around her blinkers. She gave her enthusiastic and distinct mule-call trying to catch its attention. Louise and I maneuvered all through the hilly neighborhoods preparing for the parade route while trying to avoid the object of Hilda's affections.
Nothing will make you more proud of you team than giving alumni rides in the wagon. Many times, while up on the box, (the drivers seat on a farm wagon) I would overhear a granny voice pipe up explaining to the mule club member assisting her into the wagon that she hadn't had that much exercise since her hip was replaced. WHOA, mules!
The mule club teamsters became quite skilled while traveling with our mascot mule team. We never really knew what we would find or what the team would have to face. Hilda and Louise stood under an umbrella with Willard Scott broadcasting the weather on a national tv morning show. The Governor was handed the lines to drive them up to the front gate of the State Fair. We were well prepared and had several helping hands. We were told that the Governor would open the fair officially with the purchase of the first ticket and a symbolic trip through the turnstyle. Of course, we were advised, that's when the cannons would be fired. Cannon fire to signal the official opening. Our mules, as far as we knew, hadn't really been exposed to cannon fire. Neither had we. The mule club huddled and came up with a plan. We would allow the Governor to dismount the wagon and then discreetly unhook the trace chains and drop the yoke clip - the combination of adjustments would effectively release the mule team from the wagon. We kept our positions and the team appeared hooked up. Our plan was to allow the mules to romp through the fairgrounds if they took off, but without dragging the wagon - painted on both sides- advertising that we were from Mizzou Vet Med. The mules stood steady, not an ear moved.
The mule club members who came to KC with Tim and Terry rolled their eyes and tolerated the tales from a former muleskinner. They were well turned out with new harness, greatly improved wagon designed to carry people, not corn, and a fancy truck and trailer. They told me Hilda and Louise were still alive and retired at Mizzou, still cared for by Vet Med.
I can just imagine them dozing in their paddock thinking back to the days of homecoming parades, dashing into the football field following the Missouri Tiger football team...with a marching band too, trips all over the state for parades and appearances. I bet Hilda still recognizes the sudden pop of a balloon. It came as quite a suprise that hot afternoon clomping around the State Fair. The tarmac was hot, the sun was hot, even the breeze was hot. We were rounding the livestock pavillion once more at a very slow pace. Never mind the stock cars zooming around the grandstand to our left or the stoller complete with bobbing balloon attached to its handle directly in front of the team. The tractor-drawn shuttle was delivering a tandom wagon train packed with people from the parking lot. As it approached, the crowd parted for the tractor and pressed all sides of the mule route. At the most crowded, noisy, and breathless moment a balloon suddenly popped at the vendor's stand to Hilda's right. She arched her head to the right, ears at full mast and her eyes popping trying to peek around the blinkers. As Hilda lurched away from the alarming sound her left shoulder crashed into Louise. There was really no area to accomodate any adjustment by Louise. Not even hoof-sized. Louise stayed steady. Hilda flinched at the same corner the next four times around. After that she smoothed out.
Those are the thoughts shared by a retired mule team and their retired muleskinner.
I will be in and out during the next week preparing for Thanksgiving. Until next time, Walk-on!
Kris

Behind the Scenes

2009-11-16T14:33:00.003-06:00

Hi Friends;

Last Wed. Jennifer and Dani went on a trail ride. It was one of those rare occasions when the weather was good and they had the day off from work. It was also one of those rare times when the horses go for a ride and relax. There was nothing to correct, nothing to introduce, nothing to work on. It was in the Jungle with the herd, at ease. These are cherished rides that both the people and horses benefit from.

We have been working like crazy on getting water lines run to our home barn and get an automatic waterer set up. Helen was worried about Stormy starting to pester Dandy and Miracle. He is still playing but they are out matched by the big guy. He is bred to run, whereas D & M's little legs can outmaneuver but can't outdistance him. We wanted to have a back-up plan in case they have to move. We'll see.

It's just about time to put out the first bale. The surrounding crops have been harvested from the jungle property. This allows the horses to see past their fence. If the grass looks greener, well, you know where that leads them. Every time I see Helen's number pop up on the One Heart cell phone I instantly conclude that she is calling because she has "company" - the One Heart herd visiting through the water gap.

There are some thing in the works. Vol Eileen has picked up on my mention of having a Ride and Tie to benefit One Heart. I am going to direct readers to the Ride and Tie Association website to learn more about this adventure. There are no R&T events in the Midwest and we know lots of runners/riders who would love to participate in this activity.

I am also working on getting the Angel Tree up at our local supporters; Theisen's and Brekke's. These are our farm supply and Purina dealer, respectively. Each year they have hosted an Angel Tree. The One Heart horses' photographs are mounted on ornaments and decorate a small Christmas tree. Each horse has a wish list of items available in the store. For two years we haven't had to buy fly spray and other necessities due to the generosity of our "Santa's". This is a giant contribution to our needs. We very much appreciate the sponsors of these trees. Watch for them around Thanksgiving, if you get by. One of our good friends has essentially become "Father Christmas" for us with much needed donations (through the Angel Tree) of a set of clippers and a saddle stand. We are overwhelmed with the generosity each year.

I am also preparing for an upcoming presentation to the Kiwanis. I think the ol' powerpoint may need to be updated....

The list is long and the days are short. Until later. Kris

Why I Missed Week 6

2009-11-14T09:28:00.003-06:00

Hi Friends;

I missed you yesterday. I am taking a drizzly Saturday morning to join you. I enjoyed sharing our week 6 tradition with you last time. Now I will explain why I missed out. Thanks, Vol Peggy for sharing wonderful pictures taken in the arena during Session 3. It was like being there.

About mid-summer I got an email from who knows where and who knows why.....just one of those cyber-things. The email described an international meeting being held in conjunction with a research center from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Good ol' Mizzou, my Alma mater (MS '89) Of most interest was the subject of the meeting; the Human-Animal Bond. The meeting was in Kansas City (old stompin' grounds) and was the International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ) with the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction. The title of the meeting was Human-Animal Interaction: Impacting Multiple Species. The cost for the meeting was around $500.00 for all the members, more for non-members. However, they also offered people who worked in animal shelters, rescue groups, volunteer-based animal support groups a reduced rate of $100.00. I emailed to confirm that this included NARHA centers. Yippee was the answer!

The scientific program was complete with keynote speakers, students of animal behavior, sociologists, nurses, educators, psychologists, veterinarians, ethologists and a variety of presenters from around the world. One young Japanese researcher introduced herself and her talk as the first time she had presented her work speaking English. She did well.

The social program was no less impressive. The committee had set up dinners at several impressive KC venues. We had a catered dinner in the massive, renovated Union Station and an authentic southern-style BBQ at the KC Jazz Museum. The three best KC sauces were featured: Jack's Stack, Gates and Sons, and Arthur Bryant's. I also looked forward to seeing Terry and Tim, the mascot mule team from Mizzou's College of Veterinary Medicine. Staying at Crown Center was also something to look forward to. Since a teen, this "country mouse" had ventured to the big city to see the sights and Crown Center was a landmark where we shopped and peaked into the hotel lobby imagining of some day when we might actually stay there.

This was quite a meeting. I was as excited to go and just excited when I returned. I was seeking research-based methods to describe the human-animal bond that I witnessed in our arena. Of course, I had experienced this human-animal interaction since being a toddler. It was still difficult for me to describe. Grandma just called me "an animal nut" and I was soon labeled as "horse crazy". Since the '80s an organized effort was formed to help describe this human-animal bond in more sympathetic terms. The earliest conclusions of this effort showed that having an animal present with people would help lower people's blood pressure and heart rate which was felt to indicate lowered stress. Many studies followed especially in the area of the positive effect companion animals had with residents of long-term care facilities.

The field of Anthrozoology has greatly expanded. The range of topics covered in the six day meeting included the relationship between animal cruelty cases and child abuse, the moral lives of animals, the care of service animals, starting a visiting animal group, animal-assisted therapies from physical, mental and emotional including adults, youth, and children, effect of pets on people with terminal illness, loneliness, and those away from home at college. Additional topics included increasing reading scores in children reading aloud to a dog, grief associated with pet loss, assessing shelter animal behavior and placement, and the effect of dog walking on obesity in people.

Whewww...it was alot to cover and alot to absorb.

Very often I substituted "horse" for dog/cat as it was presented in the paper. One has yet to find out if a child's reading score increases more if it reads aloud to a dog vs. a cat vs. a pony. That will eventually be researched, I bet.

The world of human-animal bond and interaction is one that is both intimately familiar and rarely defined. Some things seem intuitive, yet our society demands that they be discovered, applied, repeatable, measured, timed, or weighed to be legitimate. And yet our arena is full of people who believe in what they do and surrounded by people who believe in what we are doing.

I was somewhat surprised that the research methods had not advanced much since the heart rate and blood pressure measurement days. I know research moves slowly and it is not a field for the impatient. What I learned was that the measurement tools mostly used at this time were surveys. Either the subject was interviewed or filled out a survey. I asked one researcher if they ever repeated the survey to the same person on a different day in order to determining if the person's feelings or perceptions changed enough to impact the original opinion. The answer was no. Do you let sleeping dogs lie? I am an adamant proponent of observation. I think if people keep their mouths shut and don't interfere and wait a good deal of time, a clear perspective will emerge. Describing that perspective is the difficult part. If it was easy everyone would do it! The newest measurement to surface is the oxytocin levels. Oxytocin is believed to indicate contentment. This is the nutshell version but I bet you don't stumble through this blog for a science lesson.

The meeting was attended by lots of people AND animals. There were service dogs working, service dogs in training, visiting ferrets, and one miniature horse. No cats. The dogs were trained for unsighted people, trained to pre-detect anxiety attack, assist people in wheelchairs. I met exciting, fun people from very diffent backgrounds. I became friends with Jill, a nurse practicioner from New York City who was on the pediatric liver transplant team. Her work supporting liver transplant patients and their families led her to taking her dog, Merlot, on visits to the adolescent group sessons in residential psychiatric treatment. Jill was joined by her husband, Larry, for the presentation of Jill's poster showing that her dog's visit evoked both positive and negative behaviors. The supervising psychiatrist concluded that any demonstration from the individuals in this group was good, in that it was something to work with.

Jill and Larry lived in Manhattan several floors above the street and walk Merlot in Central Park. I couldn't imagine that. They seemed to handle it fine :)

After our ride in the Mizzou mule wagon, Jill and Larry and I had the opportunity to go to the American Royal rodeo. I saw rodeo, an event that had been part of my life since birth, with new eyes. Jill and Larry had not seen a live rodeo performance before. All in all it was a pretty dandy display, the cowboys got busted up, the bull-fighters showed their stuff, and the rough stock was plenty rough. Jill rooted for the calves - but not for the bulls!

My niece, Claire (she's what Grandma would call an animal nut) joined me for part of Saturday's meeting. With all the service dogs in attendance and a scientific lilt to the presentation, I wanted to help Claire begin to describe her human-animal bond. She didn't know it would be like sitting in class. Nothing like giving up your Saturday, huh! Afterwards we went back to the American Royal rodeo finals.

Let's return to One Heart. I always say my final vision for One Heart is that we contribute somehow to the industry of equine-assisted activities and therapies (EAAT) using research. An ISU student of kineaseology has volunteered with us and is working toward a research project he hopes to start in the Spring. I hope that I learned enough about the research methods to help him toward this project.

So, I missed week six but returned filled with ideas and energy.

Little Tidbits from Today

2009-11-12T10:25:00.014-06:00

Hi Friends - and a shout out to MK.

I was pondering the next tale and searched my memories of Session 3 which ended Oct. 24th for some insights. What stands out for me at this time is the fact that I missed week 6, the final ride of the session and the final ride of the year. I had a dad ask me if it was the first time I had missed week 6. That really made me think. I remember moving week 6 to week 5 once, so I wouldn't miss it. The significance of week six is that it is "show day". Each participant at One Heart earns a ribbon on week six. All of the ribbons are donated to One Heart. Most have already been won and donated by the original owner so that we can lovingly recycle the ribbon to our equestrians. Some ribbons come to us from show secretaries or associations who have an inventory remaining from a past show or event. These are crisp and still in the box! Our recycled ribbons get overhauled with a dusting and an ironing from living under the bed or at the back of the closet- thanks, Vol Chealsea who learned to iron.... :)

These ribbons are dandies and represent lots of hard work by the original recipient and no less effort by our riders. We had the President of the Iowa Dressage and Cross-training association recycle some of her collection of ribbons to our riders while she served as "guest judge" one week six. She presented a lovely red (typically red denotes a second place....but not for us) ribbon to a two year old equestrian. I got a real kick out of the judge's comment, "I worked really hard for this ribbon!" While the judge may have meant....ironically, "all that work and I got second", I literally heard it as if spoken by the 2 year old, "I worked really hard for this ribbon!" It was the same hard work in my estimation.

It was an impressive ribbon, nonetheless, and the two year old proudly wore it hooked over the crew neck of her tee-shirt. She, in fact, would not allow it to be removed. As the busy young family hurried toward their car, Mom fretted and encouraged the child to keep focused on getting to the car. The youngster finally had shown her ribbon to all of us and struggled to push her walker across the lawn at the pace requested by Mom. The streamers on the ribbon continually interfered with her efforts. Mom mistakenly thought it would help to remove the dangling ribbon. This stopped all forward progess and we got to see an instant two-year old tantrum. Mom returned the ribbon and the child propelled her walker forward again.

The ribbons certainly mean so much to the donor and the equestrian (and their supporters) of One Heart. The ribbons we present have come from Minnesota, Arizona, Iowa, and back east from some schooling shows. We have trophies as well; solid pewter, tall ones, palm-sized ones, multi-colored, silver and gold. The trophies come from local saddle clubs and world shows. A treasured prize representing investment of planning, time, skill, work, financial investment, practice, training, and a good dose of luck.

And this is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Session 3 '09 - I missed Week 6! There were certainly many other fun and exciting events during Session 3. I will think of some for another time.

Tomorrow I will tell you why I missed week 6. It turned out to be pretty great.

Until next time, Walk on! Kris

Peanut to the Rescue

2009-11-11T08:45:00.010-06:00

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.

Of course we accepted him. Then, as it happens at One Heart, Vol Jeannie was going to a horse show near the mini's farm. On her way home from the show, she stopped by and loaded the teeny, little, gangly, shaggy, shy boy in with a her beautiful, coiffed, manicured, blanketed, show mare.

Our first introduction to the little guy was to get him out of the back of Jeannie's trailer. Her trailer was designed for big, grown-up, quality horses deserving strong suspension under their delicate show hooves and refined legs. This put the floor of the trailer off the ground almost as high as the mini was tall. Somehow he had gotten in there. Somehow he was going to have to get out. He looked and looked toward the ground. He nodded his nose up and down so his eyes could focus on his target. Finally, he launched into midair, crouched into a little tuck, like an Olympic diver, aiming for the ground. He landed gracefully at our feet, proud to figure out that obstacle, cooperative with his handler and interested in the people and the new geography. All of a sudden he wasn't so unattractive anymore! There was nothing "mini" about his horse sense.

Our little "find" was taken directly to Stagecoach and immediately worked himself into the herd. As a stallion and a youngster, he didn't take any guff and soon established himself in the social structure. He didn't know anything. He didn't know how to come, get caught, wear his halter or walk with manners with a person. He did know how to slip through the gate while the big horses were led through. He started getting a stinker reputation. Another dilemma was a name for this little character.

We decided to invite the volunteers and families to suggest names. The very first name suggested by our youngest volunteer was "Cloud". Made sense; fluffy, white, perhaps like the PBS-featured wild horse named "Cloud". Perhaps a bit noble? The next suggestion was made by a volunteer/mom who thought he looked rather like a packing peanut.....round on each end, thinner through the middle, and white, and foamy-looking. Not as flattering, perhaps. Cute enough. The next mom wanted to recognize the wishes of his former owner, being involved with medieval times and suggested that whatever name needed to bear the title, "Sir".

And so the little ugly duckling mini character was thus dubbed, "Sir Peanut Cloud". Regal, stately, and silly. So much like the little dynamo; wanting to be taken seriously, but so little, so pesky.

Peanut was sent to Vol Mindy's house for the winter. We thought we would lose him in the "jungle", besides he was growing into a 2 year old stallion and needed some capable hands to manage him if he hoped to fit into the program anytime in the future. At Mindy's he learned about people, and halters, and leading, and eating. He also graduated into being a gelding.

Spring reunited Peanut with the One Heart herd when they all returned to Stagecoach Stables. He had matured and was ready for a real introduction to the One Heart arena. He learned standing tied and interacting with all the people; volunteers, riders, staff, families. His personality blossomed and he became a favorite - much like that favorite beany baby.

Vol Tiffany began working with Peanut to give him a useful education. She handled him like a real horse, not a beany baby, and brought him into harness with longing and lining. She got him ready to hook to the mini cart.

That brings us to this summer. A summer which changed the world of one of our accomplished equestrians; a Special Olympics medalist, a skilled rider. Following a routine exam it was found that a change in medical condition suddenly made it contraindicated for this equestrian to ride or drive. Let me explain. One Heart rides under NARHA standards. NARHA sets the industry standards, rules, guidelines, suggestions and best practices. The standards are continually reviewed, monitored and even field-tested before being changed by vote of the entire membership. If you would like to remove a tree from the world you simply print the precautions and contraindications presented by NARHA. Precautions mean extra consideration and perhaps modified technique would be needed to safely offer service to a rider or driver. Contraindication means, no way. It is simply not safe or effective to offer therapeutic riding or driving to the person due to their condition. It could also be harmful.

It was a sad day. It was a day that makes me sit and think and fret. A day that I talk to parents or staff and think about what to do. I was at a loss. The sadness was too much. I shared the news with Dani and Jennifer. They were sad. All sad. Then Jennifer mentioned Peanut. Jennifer, being "into" minis knew the world of the miniature horse and their people. Jennifer said our client could work with Peanut in a meaningful way without riding or driving. The family met Jennifer at a miniature show the next weekend to see what she had in mind. The competitors at the show welcomed the people from One Heart and encouraged the activities Jennifer had described.

Peanut came to the rescue. Since that very sad day, our equestrian has worked with Peanut learning how to negotiate an obstacle course. Horsemanship skills continue to be developed and a relationship with a horse is being formed. They are preparing for next Spring and hope to meet up with the people who welcomed them to the watch their show. This time they will be ready to face the challenge and take on the other mini's through the obstacle course.

Could you tell me? Was that a calculated outcome, a miracle, or a dream come true? Usually, we don't ask. We accept whatever it is and look for the next day to bring us more adventures.

Until we meet again, Kris. [Hi, MK ]

The Legacy of Alma and Dagmar

2009-11-10T09:01:00.014-06:00

Today is the day I tell you about Dagmar. The story can't be told without including Alma. It also can't be told without starting at the beginning.

In 1991, within a month of each other, two sisters gave birth to daughters of the same father on the spring grass of Nebraska. These leggy beauties were born with baby doll faces, fuzzy golden hair and a noble heritage tracing its linage to the times of the Vikings. Soon a white mane and tail with a distinctive black stripe running from their ears, through the mane down the length of the back ending at the dock of their tail would give the fillies their color designation; brown dun.

Thus began the adventures of Alma and Dagmar, the Norwegian Fjord Horses of One Heart.

By six months of age they had been sold to a gentleman in Iowa and about the time of their first birthday they were again sold to another Iowa family. By the age of six the sisters had arrived in Green Bay, Wisconsin where they worked in a program offering relief, support and therapy to people recovering from cancer.

When Alma and Dagmar were 10 years old we can report that they had been trained to ride and drive. When they turned 10 One Heart was being formed.

One balmy summer evening [the very first riding year of One Heart (in 2002)], damp with humidity, with mosquitoes beginning to fall into formation for attack, a simple question was asked. What does One Heart need? Diana was asking the question of Maureen, the head instructor and co-founder of One Heart, where Diana’s grandchildren enjoyed One Heart’s classes. Diana further suggested that an organization she represented, the Sons of Norway, frequently reached into the community to aid folks and organizations in need of assistance. After all, the Sons were established in 19th century America to do just that – aid newcomers, new immigrants, become established in the community and obtain insurance coverage. The response was instant and forthright. Maureen knew that Norway and therapeutic riding created an equation that could only lead to one logical conclusion – the Norwegian Fjord Horse. Just a year earlier a Norwegian Fjord horse from Washington State had been featured on the cover of Strides Magazine when the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) announced its therapy horse of the year. One Heart Equestrian Therapy needed a Norwegian Fjord horse!

One Heart had been seeking the donation of a short, sturdy, and dependable horse to fill a gap in the herd. What One Heart was missing was a horse of appropriate temperament to carry adult riders, child riders, and heavier riders. One Heart had already researched the cost of obtaining such a horse and found that a very young, inexperienced Norwegian Fjord horse could be found for $3,000 to $3500. This amount seemed insurmountable for a young program totally dependant on donations.

When the first year’s riding concluded the Fall of ’02, One Heart was invited to present a program and demonstration to a local lodge of the Sons of Norway. A&A Horse Sales generously donated the use of their facilities for the demonstration. A regional leader of the Sons of Norway was also in attendance. From the demonstration and education about the qualities of the Norwegian Fjord Horse, the membership of the Kong Sverre Lodge committed to spearheading the project of obtaining a Norwegian Fjord horse for One Heart.

By the fall of 2003 planning was underway to fund the Fjord Horse Project. A unique and exciting fundraising effort was created using the Story City carousel. Story City graciously granted the use of the carousel and volunteers from the lodge came to run it. Entries came in from across the US to purchase a race horse --- on the carousel! The first ever carousel race was held the first Saturday of May (also Derby Day) of 2004. This trailblazing event featured rides by the Vice President of the International Sons of Norway who came with his wife from Minneapolis and a winning ride by the major of Story City in the “Old Grey Mare” handicap for the mayors of Story County. Races were also held in 2005 and 2006 and the goals of The Fjord Horse Project were reached.

The procurement of the specific animal (s) was left to the discretion of the One Heart. With the help of lodge members who forwarded contacts from around the country, Kris began her search on August 1, 2004. Fourteen emails were sent to all the contacts. A single response came within minutes and seemed to fill the bill. Two registered Norwegian Fjord mares, sisters in fact, broke to ride and drive were available in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The asking price was $6,000 for the team. A bargain for this quality AND the exact amount raised in the first fundraiser. Contrary to advise she would give anyone else, Kris jumped at the chance to purchase this team; sight unseen - over the internet. Alma and Dagmar were soon on their way to One Heart!

Oak Point’s Alma and Oak Point’s Dag the 1991 daughters of Grabbson and the full sisters, Anna and Ester were presented to One Heart Equestrian Therapy by Kong Sverre Lodge members in August 2004.

Alma and Dagmar went right to work. They carried rider after rider both large, small, young and old. They offered therapy to elderly folks wanting to ride down memory lane, youngsters dealing with brain and body disorders, adults living with onset disease such as MS, and people overcoming anxiety disorders. The staff, volunteers, riders and families, in fact, the whole One Heart community came to know and love Daggy and Alma. Both became icons of the therapy community and the Norwegian community. Alma and Dagmar were stars at the 2005 Scandinavian-themed Festival of Lights held by Reiman Gardens.

With the purchase of two wheelchair-adapted vehicles and custom fitted harness after two more years of carousel races, the Norwegian Horse Project was complete. You might notice that we didn’t want to get our carts before the horse (s).

We went on high alert when Alma started having health changes the winter of 2007. Alma was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease and was placed on daily meds. She also had to wear a muzzle to prevent overeating which compounded the disease and her laminitis, a painful, crippling lameness. With supportive care, Alma was able to join us in the arena until May 2008. Her disease worsened suddenly. Following intense treatment and care at home, Alma was euthanized under the compassionate care of our friends [clinicians and students] at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Friends of Alma were still grieving when Dagmar began exhibiting signs of Cushing’s Disease. Dagmar began daily medication and monitoring in the fall of 2008 in an attempt to control this disease. She had already been wearing a muzzle to limit her intake of calories. Daggy was sent to Helen’s rehab stable for intensive hoof care, controlled feeding and medicating in February this year. Dagmar stabilized and worked for Session 1. Despite further efforts to control her disease, Dagmar was euthanized July 2, 2009. I can explain the care and treatment quite simply. I fail to describe the grief and sense of loss that is still felt without Dagmar with us. Our friends at ISU Vet Med again supported us through this decision and with our funeral experience. Dagmar is the only horse I have not been able to accompany to the vet school. I am sure there will be more in the future. There was a personality about both mares, but somehow Daggy became more than a worker, more than a willing partner. She and Alma were both iconic in their presence, heroic in their efforts, and irreplaceable in the roster. There was rarely a client presented that could not be served by Alma or Dagmar in either the riding or driving program.
The Kong Sverre Lodge certainly felt the loss of these two representatives. The loss to One Heart and the personal friends of Dagmar and Alma is heartbreaking. For many of our friends, this is the first time they are learning of Dagmar’s loss.

We of One Heart continue to share the loss of Alma and the recent loss of Dagmar. However, in our optimism we view Dagmar and Alma as a beginning rather than an end. While lives can be short-lived, legacies carry on. The legacy of Alma and Dagmar are not just a testament to the Sons commitment to their Norwegian ancestry but a continuation of the Norwegian Fjord horse with One Heart. Rosa and Bri, registered Norwegian Fjord mares have also placed their stamp on One Heart. We have influenced many people within the

industry by our appreciation of the Norwegian Fjord Horse. The mission of the Sons was met! A heritage honored, a legacy established.

Rosa

.. .. ... ... . ... . Bri

The Special Olympics Equestrian Event

2009-11-09T12:31:00.005-06:00

Hi Friends;
It's nice to be back with you. What a Breeder's Cup! Did you all ride Zenyatta down the stretch with me? I was able to get some fence posts up in the nice weather and Dani and Jen started sorting and winterizing the tack.
We are going to catch up now with the "big day". We work all year towards the State Special Olympics (SO)Equestrian Event. The skill we work on in the arena easily translate to the classes and games offered by SO.
We took six horses, thanks to Vol Eileen for supplying her truck and trailer to add to the One Heart rig. Dani loaded her PT Cruiser - I bet you didn't know that PT stood for portable tack - cruiser :)
The staff started the weekend tired and wired from the PBS crew that was still following us around. Dani and Jen had organized and organized so that we could put 20 riders up in 31 classes.
The horses held up beautifully and our former show horse, TJ seemed to relish in the surroundings. It was the first outing for Bri. It took her a bit to realize that the excitement was going to last all day and she shouldn't go too overboard with giddiness all at once. She settle in well. Rosie, Shane and Rosa are all old hands at SO. The just wait to hear for the applause and shouts encouraging the riders in the races and really get into the spirit of things. If you don't know, Rosa and Bri are "steady-eddy" Norwegian Fjord horses. Our volunteers always comment on the big change that occurs when they transform into their SO gear. Bri, in fact came in with the most medals (8), four of which were golds!
Here's the breakdown: ( Remember, the reason for this blog is so that volunteers, riders, and all the One Heart community can keep in touch. Several families and volunteers haven't had a synopsis of our SO day.)
horse total medals Gold Silver Bronze 4th
Rosa 4 2 2
Rosie 6 3 2 1
TJ 4 3 1 1
Shane 5 2 2 1
Bri 8 4 3 1
Angel 4 1 2 1

Class total Gold Silver Bronze 4th
Horsemanship 6 2 3 1
Barrel Race 7 4 1 1 1
Egg & Spoon 4 1 2 1
Ball Drop 4 1 2 1
Key Hole 2 2
Pole Bending 2
Baton Relay 6 2 2 2

Every ride was spectacular. For the first time we had two riders show without leaders or sidewalkers. Rosie and TJ took good care of these exceptional riders. We held our breath - then there was the roar of the crowd when the class was finished and the finish line was crossed.

PBS had two film crews there for the day. They followed up with the riders they met during our warm-up earlier that week. Our horses had become accustomed to the hand-held boom with the fuzzy microphone on the end raised above their heads. To help the other competitors' horses we had a volunteer carry a big push broom amongst the horses in the warm-up arena. There were no problems.

Before I wrap up with SO and the PBS film crew, I would like to comment on some of the giggles we had during the week. They had me sit for an interview - assuring me that their job was for me to look good and sound good (good luck with that!). The interview setting was outside with the lovely white paddocks of Stagecoach Stable serving as a backdrop. Two light screens and light filters were positioned to catch the late afternoon sun. The producer sat with her questions ready. The cameraman adjusted his lens. There was a sound man complete with headsets and some sort of a mixer. The lighting guy was busy with the screens. Due to the outside setting, the sound man managed when we filmed and when we had to take a break. When the school bus went by or plane overhead we had to stop briefly. During the set up the sound man busily adjusted his sound checks and asked me if I was wearing a watch. He was getting a consistent clicking somewhere in the background sound. I removed my watch but that didn't solve the sound issue. After some thought, it was determined that my prosthetic aortic valve was producing the steady clicking! Instead of stopping my heart...ha ha.....the sound guy relocated the portable mic that was clipped under my chin.
The production crew was so professional and efficient we were put at ease. They allowed us to coach them on our horses and what to expect and how to move around the arena. We were able to convince the cameraman to mount Angel and ride along during the interview. At one point we had him turn around and ride backwards to film. This is a routine position for our riders and horses but not for the cameraman! With our usual team of leader and two sidewalker volunteers I bet he got some good shots. We have to wait until next fall to see if we provided what was needed for the documentary.

So that is the end of our summer "break, the PBS filming and the Special Olympics event. Tomorrow it is time to tell you about Dagmar. That will include telling you about Alma.
Hope you are with us MK!
Chat soon, Kris

2009-11-06T15:13:00.002-06:00

Hi Friends;

No big tales to spin today. I am hoping MK checks in! I spent the day having a super duper cardio check up in IA city. The major comment is that the freezing, rainy weather from the last two months has turned into nice and 60s. I will try to return to you on Monday. Meanwhile, there is going to be alot of horse time this weekend - part of which is the Breeder's Cup. Go Zanyata!!!
Walk On, Kris

That Suprising Call

2009-11-05T08:22:00.008-06:00

Good morning Friends; I hope we have one particular reader joining us today.....Ms. MK.

Yesterday, I left off with mention of a strange and suspicious call I received during our "summer break". A lady said she was calling from a production company in Chicago. Her company, Luminair Production, had been hired to research, direct, write, produce, film, edit, etc. a 6 hour documentary on the horse. Of the six, 1-hour episodes, one hour was to be devoted to the horse as a companion. The other parts were the history/breeds of horses, the horse as a worker, the horse as a warrier, the horse as an entertainer, and the horse as competitor. I gave her my 2 cents that I felt the therapy horse should be featured as a work horse, not just a companion, in that they were assigned a job and had to show up for work. Since our clients have individual goals and the horse is selected to best achieve those goals we couldn't easily substitute just any horse for any rider. Likewise, we had to have horses with a solid work ethic and showed up for their assigned time willing to do the job regardless of enviromental or personnel, or personal issues. When riding for pleasure, the rider can always assess the horse's willingness to give a good ride and make the decision to either ride then or wait for another time. A therapy horse usually doesn't have that luxury. So, now you got the 2 cents too!

The producer stuck to her original plan regardless of my opinion - but modified the title of the segment to The horse as healer and companion. That made perfect sense. The company found One Heart through their research department and approached us mainly due to our Special Olympics Team. They wanted to film and interview One Heart Special Olympics Athletes as they prepared for the State Special Olympics Equestrian Event. I thought that would be nice and left it at that.

Not long after, I was called again by Luminair. They wanted to come to One Heart and they wanted to follow the team to the State event. That would be nice.

I had encouraged this fun activity knowing our riders would be perfect to illustrate the relationship they had with "their" horse and demonstrate all they had accomplished. By the third call I decided I should discuss this with the Special Olympics state office. I took the whole thing seriously when the state office informed me that the production company had already called them to discuss logistics of filming at the competition.

I will spare you the alarm that went off when I realized that not only the regular prep for a show would happen but we had to get an entire farm, fields, tack room, walls, cobwebs, weed eating, and paddock cleaning effort underway. So much for our summer "break"!

An all-call went to the volunteers. The staff organized. I worked with the production company to also arrange "mock" classes of the different types of therapeutic riding we offered including interviews with therapists, moms, staff, and riders.

You must be included in the prep. It is a chance for me to show off the One Heart volunteers. Here they came. We cleaned and weeded and scrubbed and clipped and rebuilt and updated all those projects it seemd that we had been saving for just this occassion. We invested weeks and hours and $$ and elbow grease to ready ourselves for a film crew. Due to the delicate nature of the insulation lining the indoor arena a pressure washer wouldn't be appropriate.....thus, here comes Vol Jen with her cousins who could reach the lower levels. They hand dusted the walls using rags. Then Vols Jen and Hannah pulled out the ladders and up they went, brooms in hand. You can tell the difference! What dedication. This dedication went on throughout the couple of weeks we devoted to preparing. Each and every day, including Labor Day holiday, volunteers came.

Then we worked on the horses, clipping, trimming, grooming and finally came to our white minitature horse, Peanut. Peanut got his first bath. We really needed to get

scruffy Peanutput out to dryall ready!

all the sunblock and fly repelent off that had accumulated during the late summer.

After all the work and prep the week finally came for filming. It also coincided with our previously scheduled week for new client evaluations and volunteer training. It was busy and fun and tiring.

The filming went well. It was fun and seemed to accomplish what the production crew had in mind. The horses and riders and volunteers all did their best and it was wonderful. We hope to make the cut for the final documentary but we will see sometime in the fall of 2010. Stay tuned!

Next time, I will invite you to enjoy our day at the State Special Olympics Equestrian Event. And I haven't forgotten that I need to tell you about Dagmar.

Until later.......walk on! Kris.

Where to begin?

2009-11-04T14:55:00.003-06:00

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

New faces at One Heart

2009-11-03T14:46:00.006-06:00

Welcome to the One Heart Blog. Thanks to Katie for encouraging me to take this on and teaching me how. It only took her xxxx months!

Let me tell you about how I think this blog will work. I will post, when I can, and the voice will be as if I am talking to YOU. I intend for this to be a way that all the volunteers, staff, me, and the community to keep track of what is happening at One Heart. We just finished our last sessin for 2009 and we are looking at a very long winter until we can all get together again. We keep busy some fun, some not so fun, but the volunteers are usually eager to keep up with all the news. So, I will give it a try.....

Thanks to the networking of volunteers and our website we were recently contacted about some new horses to condider for donation.

Misty, a five year old Haflinger mare arrived Nov. 1. She is about the size of Rocky. So far, she is not following the herd. I think she was somewhat overwhelmed by the gang. It might take her some time, but I think she will find a friend. Dani, Jen, and I went to check her out and we think she will be suitable for therapy in the spring. She is very sweet and gentle. She is a very pretty mare with lots of Haflinger type.

Monday, two Mini's from Mankato, MN arrived! We are smitten with the boys. Dandy and Miracle are full brothers 8 & 6 years old. They are only 31 inches tall, broke to drive all sorts of ways. They are sweeties. To avoid the burrs - they went to live with Helen at Wildrose Farm.

They settled in with Stormy, Helen's three year old thoroughbred. here is a picture of them chasing Stormy. Perhaps Storm thought they were the barn cats, at first ? They soon were snorting and greeting each other in a true horse way. Dandy is on the left, Miracle is on the right. All of their 6 other full siblings have a name beginning with "D". Miracle's dam had difficulty at foaling and the vet pronounced, "If the foal makes it, it will be a miracle." And it was.

I think I have entered the blogging sphere with a bang....and with pictures. How's that Katie!?!

Check back frequently, I will try to keep up. Kris

One Heart Equestrian Team competes in Special Olympics

2009-09-23T19:35:00.003-05:00

Courtesy of Ames Tribune (www.amestrib.com)

The One Heart Equestrian Therapy Team traveled Sept. 12 from its host site, Stagecoach Stables in Ames, to Jester Park Equestrian Center near Saylorville Lake to compete in the State Special Olympics Equestrian Competition.

Twenty riders on six horses entered in 31 classes, resulting in 14 gold, 10 silver, and six bronze medals, and one fourth-place ribbon.

The competition featured a variety of classes designed to test the athletes’ skills as well as for having fun. Skill classes were evaluated by a judge in horsemanship walk-only and horsemanship walk/trot. Riders participated in English, Western and other tack adapted to the needs of the rider. A PBS film crew was on hand filming a documentary of the event.

For information about volunteer training or therapeutic riding services, contact Kris Lager, executive director, at (515) 460-5488, e-mail oneheart@netins.net or visit www.oneheart equestrian.org.

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http://www.amestrib.com/articles/2009/09/23/ames_tribune/news/about_people/doc4ab5c7f3473bb395672672.txt

Search or Shop and GIVE

2009-06-17T12:47:00.006-05:00

Do you shop on the internet? Or use a search engine? If so you could could help out One Heart Equestrian Therapy doing the things you do everyday.

Search the web with Yahoo-powered GoodSearch.com and they’ll donate about a penny to your cause each time you search!

Shop at more than 600 GoodShop.com merchants including Amazon, Best Buy, Toys R Us, and others, and a percentage of each purchase will go to your cause!

The Hoop is Up!

2009-02-09T19:06:00.001-06:00

Remember March, 2008? Snow, cold, and windchill faced a few hardy and intrepid volunteers who gathered to start assembling the hoop barn that was to become our tack room, toy room, carriage storage, ramp shelter, and "headquarters". After our first six hours working in a high of 18 (not counting windchill) the learned and knowledgeable crew deciphered the instruction booklet and finished the day with one end and one set of "ribs" standing. It was a big day.

Over the next 30 days we assembled, adjusted, fit tarp, filled flooring, adjusted, and moved equipment. With a glowing heart Kris, Jennifer and Dani played "tack room". We played "tack room" as other children play "house". For the first time in seven years we were able to have at hand and in sight, centrally located and adjacent to the arena all of the tack, toys, equipment, carts, hardware, paperwork, the ramp, helmets, horse health supplies, and the whole collection of "other stuff".