Horses are my favorite!

I grew up riding horse out in Draper on the mountains. My grandfather would take us quite often and pay for us to ride for an hour while he waited for us back at the corral. My favorite horse to ride was Old Red.

Horses became my favorite animal. As I got older, I was able to ride less because the person who owed the land where we rode sold it to a housing development. So I got to ride about once a year after I got married, but this didn't stop my love of horses.

Recently while I was in Georgia, my dad sent me a text with my mom horse back riding. I sent a text back asking about where they were. After many text back and forth, I finally called my mom and asked where she was riding. My dad had called a guy who conducts trail rides in Southern Utah. My dad wanted to take my mom riding, who loves horse as much as I do. The guy wasn't able to take my mom riding when my dad had planned to, so the guy suggested that my dad call the guy's wife, Terry. Terry lives in the Salt Lake Valley along the West bench of the mountains close to my parents. My dad was able to contact Terry and arrange for my mom to go riding.

During their ride, my mom found out that Terry runs a non-profit organization.

Terry's organization is called Hope Ranch Ministries and her mission is "Using Horses to Transform Lives. Imparting Hope, Love, and Purpose to the Hearts of Individuals Through a Personal Relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ." Terry trains volunteers how to work with horses through natural horsemanship of trust and respect instead of force and intimidation. After being trained, the volunteers help with different groups throughout the year that are looking for a different way to help heal those they are involved with helping from kids in foster care, to kids whose parents have neglected them, to ones who have been abuse, and everything in between.

After talking to my mom, I thought I found what I had been looking for as to do something more. I wanted to do something different and to help. So I arranged to go on a horse back riding adventure with Terry. My sister, Kali, and my mom also came along for the ride.

After meeting, Terry and discussing her organization with her. I signed up to take the horsemanship lessons with her to be able to become a volunteer. It is a win-win all around. I am working with horses, learning alot about them and alot about myself at the sames time, and preparing to be a volunteer in the spring. I can't wait for the spring to come.

In the mean time, I have learned to groom a horse, pick up its hooves, get a horse out of the corral, and ride bare back. This is not to mention that horses have personalities, get scared, match your energy in what you ask them to do, have minds of their own, and also want to please you.

In the past weeks that I have been learning about horses in a whole new light, it has helped me apply it to my life in ways that I didn't know where possible.

Here are pictures from my ride with my mom and sister. To bad, my other sisters weren't there!