As the kids mature and move on with their lives, I have been known to busy myself — or, “fill their spot” — with something else. Sometimes that something else is a plant, and sometimes it is an animal (God love my husband for putting up with my questionable life choices).
The most recent animal I added to the family is a thoroughbred horse. He came straight off the race track, and I just had to save (have) him. Not all of these majestic creatures are rewarded with a soft landing, despite the best efforts of their owners and handlers.
“What are you going to do with him?” my husband asked while shaking his head in disbelief.
I had a goal. I had a dream in my head. Neither of which came to fruition. Why? I am not a spring chicken anymore, full-time work (said job helps me pay for these poor life choices though), running our daughter around and supporting her equine adventures, and Oliver — also my maiden name — needed some down time and rehab. All good reasons to give up the pipe dream of spending more of my own time on horseback.
But what will become of him now? Our daughter has her own trusty steed and commitments, so her friend decided Oliver would be a fun 4-H project. I warned her, “He has never done this before. Don’t expect miracles from a horse that spent most of his life running in circles.”
She spent months prepping “Ollie” for his first county fair. And I’ll be danged if that horse did not make me out to be a liar. He placed in almost every class his rider entered. He was calm. He was quiet. He did what was asked of him. He was virtually unfazed by the action around him. Ollie was all of things people say OTTBs (off track thoroughbreds) are not. We were overjoyed at his progress.
“So, what’s next for him?” I wondered when the county fair ended.
By this point, Ollie had been through similar life experiences as a child: young and running wild and free (albeit in large circles) and schooled like a student through 4-H. Time for him to have a job.
While pondering what came next for Ollie, I came across a Facebook post from Autumn Trails Stable, and it hit me. ATS is an equine assisted service center, and the facility was in need of a new equine volunteer. While there is always a need for human volunteers at ATS, it isn’t often there is an opening for a horse.
I immediately reached out, “I have the horse you need.”
And within just a few days, Ollie was in the orientation phase of becoming an ATS volunteer.
“Oliver has done so well,” read a text message from ATS founder, Angela Stan. This came less than 24 hours after Oliver was settled in.
A few days later, Oliver had his “maiden voyage” (first ride) at the facility.
“He did perfect!,” said Stan. “We will add some props tomorrow and possibly try him in a lesson on Thursday.”
I felt like a proud mom! This big boy of ours is serving the community with a nonprofit located just a few miles away. If that is not a success story, then I don’t know what is. To be fair, he is still in a probationary period, but things are looking promising.
ATS was founded by Stan in 2016 as a nonprofit 501c3 organization offering equine-assisted services to individuals with special needs. ATS values inclusion, growth, safety, professionalism, collaboration and good stewardship with the goal of being a transformative center serving the community in a collaborative, professional and encouraging environment that brings together medical and recreational models with the healing power of the human-equine bond to make the impossible become possible for everyone.
For more information about ATS or to become a volunteer, visit https://www.autumntrailsstable.org/
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