My first volunteering day at Cadence Therapeutic Riding went well. Three other volunteers were there to help, plus the regular people. We brushed the horses, and got them ready to ride. Our first rider was late, so luckily we got to practice before anyone arrived . . . which was good because none of us had done it before! Lisa got on the horse, I think the person teaching us led the horse, and me and another volunteer were the practice side walkers. Your arm gets tired after holding it up so long, so every once in awhile, the side walkers switch sides to they're using their other arm. It was interesting, and good practice.
My first real assisting experience was with an adult on the horse named Dolly. I was the horse leader, thankfully, and two other helpers were the side walkers. The horse leader's whole responsibility is taking care of the horse, and making sure it does the right thing. The side walkers responsibility is to the rider, making sure the rider stays on the horse. This person riding had a hard time staying on, and so the side walkers had to really push him back on again and again. I was glad I wasn't a side walker at that point . . . he was a big guy! Man, was he funny, though! He kept us in stitches the whole time he rode! What a great attitude, and a lesson for life! Dolly kept wanting to walk faster, and I had to keep slowing her down.
Next, was a young child on the pony, Peanut. I was a side walker this time, but since Peanut is small, my arm didn't have to reach up so high! But, soon, Ron, it's his ranch and he's the head of the Cadence, called me over to be side walker with someone else on Dolly. But, it was this older child's first time, so his session didn't last as long. Most sessions are about forty-five minutes, so it's a long time to have your arm in the air! I definitely prefer being the horse leader!
Wednesday
I drove to Mancos to Medicine Horse Therapeutic Riding. I talked to Lynne, who runs it, and I met Barb, another volunteer. I starting brushing the horses, and cleaning their hooves. Afterward, I'd give them a little Reiki. When I started giving Doc Reiki, he stepped back and picked up his head, like, "What is that!?" But, then he stepped forward into my hands, and after a couple minutes his eyes were closing with relaxation! It was cool. I worked on the horses that Barb wasn't working with. She lives halfway between Durango and Mancos, so we talked about carpooling. That would be cool.
Thursday
Just after I arrived, I went with Katy, Ron's wife, to catch some horses. We brushed them, and got them ready. I led Snowman around, and he was much easier to lead than Dolly from the other day. Dolly was a little pushy! Then I led around Peanut, the pony. She kept looking for Dolly, who is her pasture pal, and all of a sudden when I wasn't expecting it, she started trotting! I got her slowed down right away, but it was an eye opener! There weren't as many volunteers today, but not as many clients, either.
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