Volunteer Spotlight

What brought you to Unbridled Spirit? 

I was a city kid that loved horses with zero chance of every having my own or getting riding lessons.  A friend told me about opportunities to volunteer with horses and groups of students.  I could pet a horse any time I wanted?  Sign me up!

 

Favorite Memory 

Back Story: One afternoon my Dad arranged for us to visit a farm so that I could ride.  The rancher picked me up, plopped me on the horse and led the horse outside the barn.  They handed me the reins and joined their other guests. The horse ambled along the fence and we were doing just fine.  Suddenly the horse turned back to the barn and went from ambling to a trot.  I didn’t have a clue how to manage the horse and screamed for help . Instead the adults laughed.  I couldn’t handle this horse, it was running away with me! Why weren’t they helping me!  Turns out I wasn’t in any danger.  The horse had heard the evening horse feeding being put out and had simply run back to the barn to eat.  

 

Fast forward to Windy Acres and my favorite memory:  When I started volunteering, I had trouble connecting with the horses. One of the staff explained, ”Judy, you can’t lie to a horse.” It didn’t matter how much I loved them, they could sense my fear.  I was sending a mixed message. The horses didn’t know what was true, they couldn’t trust what they felt causing them to feel unsafe.

 

I worked hard to get over my fear.  One afternoon about a year later,  I was working with Rusty and a new student.  A couple of kids were playing with a big green ball (Rusty’s  nemesis) and inadvertently really scared Rusty. He had been tied up to the wrong place inside the pen so when he tried to get away, the rope wouldn’t release.  He reared up on his back legs and pawed the air.  I didn’t let go and was able to bring him down and calm him while one of the staff could cut the rope.  She said, ‘Good job, Judy.  Not even some horse owners can do that.’  The rope didn’t break, but my fear did.   What I have now is a healthy respect for horses but it is not fear.  

 

What inspires you to do this work: 

I had carried a fear that I thought had left with my childhood.  Instead, without knowing I was doing it, I was projecting something negative.  Working with horses can point those things out.  I’ve watched many participants at the farm discover and then face something within themselves that had been a barrier to living the life they wanted. The Unbridled Spirit staff and volunteers are trained to close each session asking participants to reflect on what they’d experienced that day with the horses. Might that same thing show up in their daily life?  How had they solved the challenge with the horse and would that transfer to their life?

 

 

If you had to choose one word to describe the farm: 

Safe