When I was in highschool,  I had four very close friends.  All of us had horses and we would spend the entire day out on horse back, just being silly young girls and loving every minute of the day.  Those have always been the ones I remember the most.

Rose

This past year, I have had the opportunity to not only get to know the residents of Brenham State Supported Living Center, but have been given the additional blessing of being able to introduce one of my best friends to them, as well.

My friend is a 22-year old, majestic Tennessee Walking Horse named Houston.

Houston has become a celebrity to residents at the school, in addition to having had a long and successful career in the show ring.  He was born in Alabama and didn’t come to Texas until he was a 4-year old champion.  His official name is Mark of A Pro, although everyone has always called him Houston, and he is descended from some of the oldest and best bloodlines in the Walking Horse world.

The first time I saw Houston, he was 5 and featured on one of the local news shows (he was carrying the bride in a ranch wedding).  Little did I know that he’d end-up moving in with us by the time he was 10!

After joining our family, Houston and my daughter excelled at showing pleasure classes, pole bending and costume classes – in addition to being the official flag and dignitary horse for the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show for five years.  Houston’s photos are also featured in an exhibit entitled, “Everyone Counts”, created for the Children’s Museum of Houston, which now travels nationally, so at any given time, he’s helping teach children about numbers, math and counting.

But none of these achievements mean as much to me as what he does when he visits the residents at BSSLC.  Houston loves his job as a goodwill ambassador for the school and really enjoys all the attention he receives while he’s here!

Although it might look like we’re just standing around while he’s being petted, we’re actually doing so much more for those he’s with.   It’s hard to explain what happens to residents when they meet Houston – and even harder to describe what he does for them. 

Suffice it to say, it is nothing short of magic!

Faces normally immobile, light up.  Those who are unable to see, get to touch and feel the softness of his nose when he lays his head against their bodies.  Those who are unable to express their thoughts or feelings become animated and vocal when he walks up to them.  He stands perfectly still while being completely surrounded by people petting him and waits patiently for them while they discover his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. 

No matter how excited people around him become, he stands there peacefully while they pet, touch, and sometimes poke at him.  Once the residents are next to him, they seem to calm and are entranced by his size and softness.

It’s funny because under normal circumstances, Houston is the leader, the most dominant horse in the pasture.  He enjoys letting everyone know he’s the one in charge and that he’s the boss – but not here.  When he comes to the Wilderness Retreat, he becomes a 1,100 pound stuffed animal.

When visiting the school, I believe he understands the resident’s excitement taking place upon seeing him.   Houston feels the joy he brings to their lives.  Sharing him with the residents of BSSLC has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done; and we hope to be able to continue doing this more often for many years to come.

Houston is a very special horse and accepts the residents for who they are with unconditional love, patience and compassion – he’s never judgmental.  What a wonderful lesson he teaches each and every one of us… to love and accept completely.

one of my cousin's favorite stories about me is when I was about 8 and was visiting in Iowa for the first time.... I was in love with horses but my parents had never taken me someplace where I could ride so I was excited about visiting my cousins because I knew they had ponies!!!  when we arrived I didn't even bother to stop and say hello to the rest of the family, I ran down with BFF cuz Pam and right into the pony pen where I promptly jumped on, no saddle, no bridle, grabbed the mane and gave a little kick... I stayed on for maybe 30 seconds before I slid off but it was the best 30 seconds of my life up until then.... my cousins were laughing and my parents were mad at me but I had finally got the chance to ride and I was in seventh heaven... no matter how old I get I still remember that day and how I still feel the same way every time I get on to ride....

My son Casey was born with Down Syndrome.  When he was 3 years old I came across a wesite called Personal Ponies Ltd that donated miniature horses to children with special needs.  I contacted the organization and as a result we got Moe. Moe was a itty bitty but just a little bit to big for show stud horse.  From day one, there was an unbelievable bond between Casey and Moe.  When we first got Moe I had to board him at a friends place.  I have pictures of Casey standing on a bucket trying to pull himself up on the gate while Moe all you could see of Moe was his nose trying to reach Casey. I am positive that there for a time Moe got way more kisses from Casey than I did. :-)  They would stand there indefinitely communing in the way that only little boys and little horses can.  Casey's best friend Scotty also has Down Syndrome w/autistic tendencies. I would let Moe out into a grassy paddock and then let Casey and Scotty just roam around where they liked.  Envitably, both the boys would just go over and sit down by where Moe was grazing and just talk and giggle.  I eventually got Moe to our house where he had the roam of the back yard.  Casey, Moe and our little dog Bisquit were the guardians of the yard.  Casey in front, Moe following and Bisquit behind patrolled our yard, keeping us safe from marauding peacocks and pigeons.  When Casey would go over to the swingset, Moe would follow.  Casey was only 3 and couldn't swing by himself so he would lay on his tummy on the swing and just push himself back and forth.  Moe would stand there and just keep Casey company the entire time he woud be swinging.  Moe had never been ridden in his life but I could put Casey on his back (holding on to him of course) and just lead Moe around the yard and not once did that little horse try to act up.  Let a child without special needs try to sit on his back and he would have none of it.  A couple of years later, circumstances forced us to have to send Moe back to the organization but to this day, almost 12 years later Casey is sure to start a converstation about "his horse Moe" to almost anyone that will listen.

Cocoa was a shetland paint pony I had when we lived on a ranch outside of Athens, Tx, I was about 4 yrs old.  We took Cocoa to a local rodeo arena in Cayuga and i was "running" the barrel pattern on him.  Cocoa laid down at the first barrel, at which point I stepped off.  I then proudly told my daddy that Cocoa had laid down for me to get off.  Cocoa was not laying down for me to step off, his intention was to lay down and roll me off.  Cocoa got in trouble.  I want to say that it was within that week that I went to feed Cocoa in the morning and he was not there.  I asked my mother what happened to him and was terribly distraught until she told me that him and the neighbor mare had fell in love and that they must have run off in the middle of the night to get married.  It NEVER occurred to me to question that answer UNTIL I was about 14 and something reminded me what I had been told.  I then asked my mother what happened to Cocoa and she said "Oh, we sold that little *()(*#$!"  Apparently, I had blocked out the numerous times he had bucked me off and tried to bite me.  I guess the "laying down" was the final straw.

Day 2...Terri took off again for a second day of riding and I tied Storm to some food and he was again happy. Then I started cleaning camp, since today we'd have to move to the next camp after Terri got off the trail. After Oli left, I let Storm wander in the pen untied and he did fine. Goodie! Round 10, I went over to help with pulsing and taking names for the lunch check and then later took Storm for a walk and then finished packing camp. Just about when I was done, Terri finished and after giving Oli a 20 min or so rest, we tossed the boys into the trailer and made the hour drive to Ballarat to the next camp. We got there after dark and most the other riders were already there and we had to find a parking place pretty far in back. The upside was that the horses had nice soft sand to sleep and roll in, vs a gravel parking lot. Downside: our water containers were empty and we didn't have our roller cart with us either, so I shlepped a LOT of heavy buckets of water over the next day and a half. We set up camp in the dark in record time, went to the ride meeting, and hit the hay.
Day 3....This was going to be Storm's second ride day. Oliver again left at 7, and we LDs were set to leave at 8. Mary was also going to ride today, so Storm would have his buddy on the trail again. The trail seemed easy on the map...go out like the 50's, but cut across the dry lake bed and skip the big hill the 50's have to climb around. Then to the radar tower, out across the Hwy and up the foothills to the VC near an old Onyx mine. Then down the foothills, across the hwy again, and cut back over to the radar station and retrace the morning trail back to camp.
Seemed simple enough, but it was further than it looked on the map, and there was a TON of rock...we had to walk a lot, esp all the way up the foothills and back down, which was a good 3 hrs just there. That meant poor Storm really had to put the pedal to the metal when the footing was good. Not my original plan, which was to move out til he was tired, then walk, move out, walk, etc. Works really well to get you through most any ride. Oh well.
Oh, and he finally got over his little tizzy fits while being passed...the timing for the LDs was not great as all the 50's caught up with us on the lake bed heading out and then for the rest of the day we played hopscotch with them and the top tenners would go by at a good clip. So the first few gave Storm a good bout of race fever (another reason I like a NOT hot horse, because even the lazy ones perk up fast in a ride atmosphere, but are at least easier to control. A hot one will often go over the top with all that stimulus...) on the lake bed, but mellowed out after enough ppl passed us and it wasn't a novelty anymore and he figured out he was NOT in THAT race, LOL....
He did learn to gait up quite a storm in the Runwalk coming out of the vetcheck..it was slightly downhill, and I handwalked the first 40 mins due to horrid rock. Then I hopped on when it got a "little" better, but still insisted that he walk, but he was allowed to walk as fast as he wanted. Carl P. on his Walker mare Gypsy and Bobbie L. on Annakate passed us after the VC and Storm was VERY enamored with "his" girls (we camped across from each other the first two days and he loves his girls :P) and was wanting to catch them, but they were going faster than I wanted. This did motivate him to speed up though, so he really caught on to the runwalk for the next 45 mins when we finally hit the split where the 50's went one way and the LDs went back to the radar tower.
We had more excitement coming down out of the vet check, as the dry lake bed and that whole Panamaint valley is used by the Air (or Naval ?) base as a jet playground and it is way fun to watch these fighter planes go zipping around the mountain sides and then hit the deck on the lake bed. I think they also have fun buzzing the riders coming through the area too, LOL, and they would come fly right over our heads several times. The first time Storm scooted forward and his HR went up to 95+ from 65+, but after that he couldn't have cared less. It was neat, you could practically see inside the cockpit if they'd been flying slower! :) I always have fantasized having enough money to go for a ride in one of those planes...what fun!
By the time we got to the Radar tower, I had 52 minutes to get back to camp...and I knew we had a good ways to go yet...crap! I think the ride was a tad over 25miles and with the rock, it made the going slow. We ended up gaiting lots and not getting to walk much, so by the time we got to the lake bed again, he was getting pretty tired. But still doing well :) I was watching my HRM like a hawk to make sure he wasn't stressed too much. We had NO time to get across the lake and since he was tired, he started pacing a lot again. We were also booking it for real now...Mary's horse was doing a flying endurance trot and Storm alternated between cantering and pacing and step pacing. Beings that we had to make cutoff, I just gritted my teeth and let him pick whatever would keep his heart rate relatively low and still be fast enough to make it. He was being SUCH a good boy and really giving it a go for me, as I could tell he was starting to tire. We did this pretty much all the way across the finish line, and made it in by the hair of our chinny chin chin. I hopped off and loosened the girth and he went from the 135-145 he was going across the lake with, to the low 80's, then started to drop to the mid 70's...he hovered bewteen 60-65 for a little while (this is all whithout sponging or anything as water was fairly scarce and we were not allowed to use any extra) and the came down to under 60. WHEW! We MADE it!!!! Whoo Hoo! What an awesome boy!
And again, this is all with maybe 40 rides on him, NONE over 15 miles, most around 5-10 miles. So I can not WAIT to see what he does when he is in real shape :) I absolutely adore this horse :) So after we vetted though, he ate for a good hour but then sacked out for the next few hours. He really was pooped (but not overstressed or anything) and looked tired for those two hours, but then he perked right up and looked ready to go for another round.
Lucky for him, I was going to spare him that and he got to rest the next day, while Oliver went out for one last day. That night we also had a big, beautiful full moon rising over the Panamaint range behind camp (see pic..that is at dusk and that is not the sun you are seeing :) ) that took everyone's breath away. The next moring I got to once again clean and pack up camp and then move it back over the mountains to Trona and the golf course (ok, don't laugh, there IS a golf course out there...course it is all sand and no grass in sight, but what the heck..:P), where we would all celebrate New Year's. That was fun, as always, though only about 5 or so of us die hards made it to midnight, LOL..4 days of riding just killed everyone else :(
So there you have it, Storm's Death Valley Encounter. He is going to be a kick butt endurance horse once I get him in shape :) I am going to have WAY too much fun with this!

Oh! And by the end of the first camping day, studly already got himself a date with a nice, black Walker mare. We'll be meeting up at a ride in May, where the deed will be done. This boy will just sell himself, with no advertisement needed, with his good looks and WONDERFUL disposition :)

    Natalie

This may get long...hang in there or just skip if you get bored :)

Since deciding Storm was going to do a ride, I have been looking for one to take him to. I decided on the Death Valley Encounter over New Year's for several reasons. It was an XP (Dave Nicholson) ride so I knew it would be low stress and a great intro for him without a bunch of horses galloping off in a tizzy, riders worrying about "winning", etc. Management is fairly loose too, so they don't harass /you with a gazillion vet checks, spotters, etc. You just get a trail to follow and some mellow ppl to ride with...perfect for a horse's first ride :) We also have a 2 day drive to get there, so it would be a good chance to see how he'd travel (a BIG key that I think a lot of ppl forget about in endurance, though perhaps not everyone is as nutty as Terri and I...we often here ppl saying they won't travel more than 9 hrs to a ride....that's a close ride for us...most rides are 8+hrs away and the good ones are often 2-3 DAYS away, LOL). He did really well, but still is a bit impatient in the trailer (paws the wall if he is not wanting to stand, get out, needs food, whatever...so we worked a bunch on that...) and needs to learn to drink in the trailer (drinks great if we pull him out, but not as well if standing in the trailer). As with all Terri and my horses, we are lucky with him too it appears. No problems with unloading in rest stops, truck stops, etc. No matter how noisy/traffic, he was calm, ate, drank, hopped in and out of the trailer, etc. GOOD BOY! Hurdle number one passed :)
We  stayed the first night just south of San Jose at a friend's and then the next morning met our friend Laney in Gilroy, to hand off her new horse Brian to her. From there, we were going to stop in Tehachapi that evening, but when we got close it was only around 4ish and camp was only another 2-3 hrs away, so on we went to camp.
We arrived in camp and just tied Oliver and Storm to the trailer overnight, instead of trying to set up camp in the dark. Next day we figured out how we wanted to be parked and organized camp. Oli does great in an electric fence and during the day Storm was able to hang out in it as well. But just for safety I tied Storm to the trailer at night or if no one was around to watch him, since he still is a stud and you just never know. He camped great though! No screaming (just whinnied now and then while all the new rigs would pull in the first day, wondering who all these new horses were, LOL), no big fussing, nothing. Just hung out in camp and was a good boy. And we were often right in a group of trailers, not hidden away by ourselves on the edges of camp...Hurdle number 2 passed!
That day I took Storm for a quick stroll away from camp, and woah boy! We had a whole nother horse! He'd been eating alfa and grass alfa on the trip (much less mess than the rye grass we also brought and wait till camp to open) and with being cooped in the trailer or tied to it, he was a bit of a handful, LOL.  Especially cause he did NOT want to leave all those other horses in camp :) But we made it down the trail and back ok. Just had to have a few discussions about who was driving and what direction we were going in at what speed :P Then we had one more day before the ride. Terri and I like getting there early so the horses have a full day of rest before a ride, as we drive so far. That day Terri and I hand walked the horses a while and then I rode back to camp. I had only a halter on him and I was bareback, but since he had Oli with him this time he was pretty good. Lots of ppl were watching as I was riding this "wild stallion" in a halter and bareback. Was fun! I think that boy will just sell himself with his great looks and wonderful disposition :) He also got a clip on his neck and chest, as it was in the upper 50's to low 60's, which in the desert and with a full winter coat is fairly warm. He has never been clipped as far as I know, and he was really wary at first, but once he figured out the clippers were not going to eat him (and these were big, loud, body clippers too), he stood perfectly for his clip job. :)
Next morning was ride day! I was planning on riding days 1 and 3 and rest him days 2 and 4. He is not in great shape yet, but most horses can do an easy 25 if managed correctly. If he was done after one day, that would have been fine too, and the plan was to ride however he needed. If we went overtime, that was ok too, long as he went the miles and saw what it was all about, and he got the riding/camping experience. I hooked him up with a heart rate monitor so I could keep close track of how he was doing. First day 50 is a figure 8 looping that ends up in camp and has out vet checks. The 50's go through the VC twice and the LD's once and head home. The LD's only do the first loop, with the VC being about halfway. We leave camp, head up over a hilly area to the town of Johannesburg, ride across Hwy395 and skirt the outer edges of town past the old cemetery, and then up another good sized hill around an old mine, down to the town of Randsburg, and then down to the flats, where in a few miles we hit the lunch VC and then head back home, paralleling the train tracks, going back under 395, and then through sand washes back to camp.
Terri and Oli started at 7, I didn't have to start til 8. So I got Storm all ready and let him hang out for an hour (wanted him tacked up and ready, in case he pitched a fit when Oli left and I didn't want to tack and boot up a dancing horse). He was actually really fine with Oli leaving. He is SUCH a foody, I just hung some alfa and some mush in front of his nose when Oli left and it was a total non issue. whoo hoo! All our other horses are so bonded to each other, they pitch a total fit when left behind. This is great! A total and unexpected bonus :) He was like this all week too...a slight nicker when Oli leaves, then dives in the food and could care less, hanging out quietly the rest of the day. In fact, the HRM read 34...guess he was REAL excited :P
just before 8, I started hand walking him and met up with Mary, a friend from my area, who it turns out was riding her horse's first LD too and wanted to know if I was going to take it easy or not and if she could ride with me. So we hooked up together and it seemed a good match. She had a nice, Anglo-Arab gelding that was a real sweetie, and Storm and he became fast friends within the first few miles. We tried to get out of camp last, so we wouldn't have to deal with horses passing us just yet, but that didn't happen. So of course we had some..errrr...interesting times when the 4 ppl behind us came trotting by, as well as one lost soul who went the wrong way and had to get back on track again :). Storm was not too happy with being passed at a trot. He actually had a minor blowup at one pair of horses and we had to do some circling (course it was within the first 2 miles, so he was full of energy yet) to get his mind, and feet, back on the ground. No biggie though, most horses new to endurance have little meltdowns while getting passed at speed, til they get used to it. After everyone had finally passed, we moved down the trail fine and Storm settled right in behind my friend Mary's horse. Since he liked being in front, and Storm liked being behind, it worked great!
We went our merry way to Johannesburg, where we had a great time getting the horses through town. The big "scare" for both horses, was this huge billboard we had to ride under. It was next to the hwy, and there was a big green hwy sign next to it. The horses had to go between the hwy sign and under the billboard, but cause of the hwy sign they could not see the traffic. So it must have seemed to the horses, that the billboard was "making all that noise" (several semis and lots of cars were passing us, "behind" the sign) and they did NOT want to go under it, LOL. Storm finally was the bravest and scooted under the billboard followed by his buddy. After that, both horses were a tad hyped and we had a fun time skirting town, with barking dogs, rundown and trashy properties with weird spooky objects all over the place. Storm is usually pretty mellow, but even he was startling (can't really say spooking as he wasn't reacting that strongly) at stuff. Finally made it up to the cemetery and then around the mountain and down to Randsburg. Randsburg is this neat old town, basically one street and a bunch of older buildings from the old mining days. It is just this shy of being a ghost town and just has such a unique flavor. I LOVE riding through it, and we ride right down the middle of main street. Mary and I got some GREAT pics from the ride photographer there (will link to them when they are up on her site). After Randsburg and getting on the flats, we boogied into the VC. I got off about 1/2 mile out and walked Storm in. By the time we got there and he drank (which btw he did great all day..really takes care of himself well), he was down to 55 and we were in. He dug into the food and ate 3! bowls of mush and a bunch of hay...what a foody! none of our other horses eat like that, LOL...he'll have plenty of fuel on rides I think... after our hour hold, we vetted out (he did fine, but REALLY needs to work on the trot out...does fine at the pre-vet, but at the VC and finish when he thinks he is "done", he totally won't go and I have to drag him. So from now on, after every time I ride him, he has to do trot outs, LOL) ok, and took off for home.
Since we had to parallel the railroad grade for some miles (like it was RIGHT next to the jeep road we were on), Mary and I agreed we'd hop off the horses and get off in the bushes if a train came, as neither horse had ever seen one. Sure enough, after about 20 mins, we saw lights in the distance a train. As it got closer, we got off and moved about 50ft into the bushes and handwalked on. Storm did really good! He was a bit unsure about it, but not overly excited. Luckily these are all big, slow freight movers, so they don't go whizzing by. After a few minutes (this thing was LOOONNNNGGGGGGGGG and it prob took 7 or 8 minutes to pass us) he calmed enough I decided to move back onto the jeep road with him and really push it. He was fine, except when the wheels would squeal on the rails now and then. He'd jump at that and run a circle around me. But by the time the train finally got to the end, he was just plodding along like nothing was happening. What a good boy and a great training exercise! Mary and I hopped back on and took off for the highway crossing. We stopped at some water troughs and had a bunch of dirt bikes pass us, which after the train was no biggie at all. Then to the crossing, which was actually a low underpass (maybe 10ft at most?) tunnel. Again, Storm went through fine once convinced that that dark hole was indeed tall enough for him to fit through, LOL...
After the crossing we had a bunch of desert sand washes that wound between the hills, to ride through on the way back to camp. He was finally getting a good bit tired and in the deep sand really slowed down. Mary's horse knew we were headed home and was going a tad faster (he was in much better condition than Storm) and so he would get ahead while Storm would walk, then we'd catch back up when HE would walk, then he'd trot off again. Kinda leap frogged most the way to camp that way. Bout 3 miles from camp, the front running 50's caught us again and Storm went back into minor meltdown mode evertime one passed us, esp on one that cantered by. But by the 6 or 7th rider, he gave up and decided just plodding along while they flew by was just fine by him. What a good boy :) By this time we had about 1/2 hr to go and knew camp was "somewhere near", but not sure where exactly. So we were going along at a decent clip, when all of a sudden we saw the finish line up ahead. Oops...there went the idea of walking in, LOL.... I hopped off, loosened the girth, and walked in the last 100yrds. He came down ok and since there were only 8 of us, we were asked if we wanted to weigh in for BC. What the heck I figure, why not. Good practice if nothing else, LOL.
Had 1/2 hr to go vet in and the trailer was on the way to the vet, so I stopped there, pulled tack, and wandered to the vet. Didn't know til after, that I had an hour if I was going to BC (LDs often are done when they come in at the finish with their completion, vs waiting an hour or whatever like 50's do), so didn't really give him any time to relax. But it was all for fun and practice anyway, not that I was serious about showing for a BC. He actually seemed to do well......until we got to the trot (gait) out...oh BOY was that pathetic. He would NOT GO! I was dragging him and everyone was clucking and waving arms and I barely got him out of a walk, LOL...very embarrassing, but very funny too! Good thing I wasn't serious...then he got stuck on the pink ribbon that was supposed to section off the VC area and dragged it around and broke it. Gawds I wish we'd have had video of the whole thing, as it was the worse BC showing ever, LOL :) Ah well.
After that, I put him up, wrapped his legs, and gave him lots of goodies. He did such a great job and I was extremely pleased with his performance. :):) So that hurdle was passed as well. Later that day Terri and Oli came in and both ponies were happy to see each other.

Wow, everyone must have dropped off the face of the earth! I was hoping to read some stories! Well, I will get the creative jusices going and post my ride story from the endurance ride I went to over the holidays. It is a bit long, but bear with me as it was studly's first ride and that was a lot of excitement! :)

  Natalie