I Love my Horse.

It's a cold, overcast afternoon. I go outside all bundled up, yet somehow the cold still gets to me. I catch my horse and put on her bridle. After picking out her muddy feet, I climb on her back and ride off. Her fuzzy winter coat and long black mane are soft on my cold hands. A few times around and her warm belly warms me up. I can see the setting sun peek through the grey clouds. When I get off, my horse breathes her warm, sweet breath on my neck; so I give her a peppermint. Now the sun has set and the wind is picking up, but she is there, to offer a comforting hug against the winter cold.

Updates!!!

I have a new blog where I will be posting a song of the day, everyday. Check it out here!

And, if you haven't checked it out recently, I've updated my photography blog as well, see here.

-Hayley

Ps. Please be praying for Joe Tom, he isn't feeling well.

Inspiration.

One of my favorite musician inspirations is Aslyn. I came about her one day while listening to Zac Brown Band on Youtube. She was singing a duet with him. Once I heard her, I knew I had to hear more; so I started listening to her songs. This lady writes incredible songs, with so much emotion. She plays the piano like no other, and sings better than anyone I've ever heard. Here are a few songs that are my favorites:
This one is one of the first ones I heard. It's called 'Just Enough'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCqxe3-TXvc

This is an older song of hers, but I just love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py3Hl0qJPRU

This song is about her grandfather, but from her grandmother's perspective. Amaaaazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=390_79V8Dcw&feature=PlayList&p=C87842A2CF87998D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=13




This one again is about her grandfather.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8ddiRyNuuA&feature=channel


Here's another one, it's so pretty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0VNoenyoP4&feature=channel

This one is her with Zac Brown...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKaZx76eYuE&feature=channel

Another with Zac Brown...very strong, very. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erwXIRp3LD4

Two songs in one video..."If all of These Things" and "Making Her Right".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqZh4mOrY54&feature=PlayList&p=8FC53066AF222968&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

One of my favorites, for sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdsbYPoSt4Q

Ok, LAST one!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkzLdfpzK-A

Alright, so she's pretty darn good am I right?
Go listen to more of her songs--Trust me, there's more! She does a lot of covers too. Including "Stop Dragging My Heart Around" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" which, might I add, are amazing too. ;)

Ahhh. Texas...

It's been about 8 months since I last was in my homeland, Texas. :)
But I am here again.
I missed the smell of my aunt's van, the sounds of Belle walking on the hardwood, the smell of my aunt's house, sitting around the house laughing because four of us have the same computer....Tickling and playing with my crazy cousins, going shopping at a million different stores...seeing 'Children at Play' signs everywhere, all the patched up roads, hearing the trains go by and whistle their horn at late hours of the night...seeing everyone's big long hair and hearing their accents...(and getting one of my own), the classic Longhorns vs. Oklahoma rivalry, the humidity, green grass and green trees, stone and brick buildings, the infamous 'Buddy', sleeping in Hannah's room in her other little twin size bed and pink sheets, seeing Debbie's old beautiful upright piano, taking a million pictures, recording shows and watching them late when all the kids are asleep...and Debbie's unending supply of Coke... ;)

Hunkapi News

Summer is over, and Hunkapi is back in full swing again. This time, I volunteer on Tuesday mornings. All the volunteers arrive at around 9:15, and we go get all the horses we're using and bring them up. These horses are: Louie, Lily, Tuff, Junior, and Bandera. (Joe Tom will be added next week!:D)
Louie is a gray with brown specks, and he's around 18 years old. So far, I've been assigned to him each week. He used to be a search and rescue horse. And he is extremely soft. :)
Lily is an albino-- Which means she has pink skin and pure white fur, blue eyes, and she is deaf. From first glance you might think she's as sweet as could be...but no. She has an attitude sometimes! She gets parked in the direction of everyone so that she can see what's going on and not get scared.
Tuff is brown with four white socks. He is very smooth to ride. When he trots it feels like you're just floating on air! He has something wrong with one of his eyes, so he has to have medicine put on it everyday.
Junior is a very sweet sorrel Quarter Horse. I don't know much about him, but he is very calm and listens to voice commands.
And last but not least, Bandera is a bay Quarter horse(I think) mare. Of course, I have a soft spot for bays(Notice both of my horses are bay). She is quite tall and hairy. :) She broke her hip a time ago and now has a quirky gait. But, much to your surprise, that quirky gait can have huge benefits for certain kids!

After we get the horses out, we set out their grooming baskets and groom them from head to toe. :)
After that we clip the reins on their halters and put on their bareback pads.
Then we go over the lesson plan with Saundra and Chelsea and/or Terra. (They are the instructors.)
Soon after that the kids arrive in that long, yellow bus.
There is two groups that come. One group has kids with higher abilities and understanding. The second group has kids with lower abilities, and about 3 of them are wheel-chair bound.
They each come every-other week. First the 1st group, the next week the 2nd group, the week after that the 1st group...etc.
With each group, they split the kids up even more. A higher level group and a lower level group.
Then they receive name tags that have their name and the horse they're assigned to. And then they get their helmets.
The kids take turns finding the correct brushes and somewhat brushing with them.
Now the first group all mounts the horses, while the second group does another activity.
It's only been 3 weeks, but most of the higher level kids can now ride without a side walker, they can make their horse stop and go, and they can turn. Seriously, this is AMAZING progress for them! It's even more amazing because each week I'm with the same two kids and the same horse. So I get to see exactly how they're progressing, and they love to talk. :) Their personalities are so funny!

The lower level group that comes on the other weeks is even more amazing. They've only come once so far, but that one time was quite special. All the kids(except a special 2) were able to ride and pick up rings and drop them on a cone. Those two I mentioned...they are the wheel-chair bound ones. They are super cute. :) Now, just 'cause they are bound to a wheel-chair, doesn't mean they can't ride. We had two back riders who got on their horses, then the two kids were lifted on. It was so cool, because when they first got on they were extremely stiff and un-relaxed. But, by the time they got off, they were loose and and completely relaxed! They experienced freedom. They weren't stuck in a wheel-chair. They got to be up in the air with a strong horse underneath them. And you could tell they enjoyed it. :)

I look forward to every Tuesday now. Because it's so cool to see the smiles and watch these kids progress!

History

This was in my history book, and I just thought it was interesting.

"The Roman family was an authoritarian institution in which the father as the head of his house, ruled his wife, his sons with their wives and children, and his unmarried daughters. Any slaves in the household were considered part of the family and under the father's authority as well. The Roman father traditionally had the power of life and death over his family, and he used his authority to train his children carefully in the Roman ideals of pietas(sense of duty), gravitas(seriousness of purpose), and dignitas(sense of personal worth). Such qualities gave the Roman people the character to enjoy a limited form of representative government and to live under the rule of law for centuries. The disintegration of the Roman family and the loss of these character qualities were two of the chief causes for the fall of the republic(and later the empire.)"

And another thing....Most of you have probably seen the movie 'Juno', or know what it is about. Well, the Greek deity 'Juno' happens to be the goddess of marriage. ?!

Dreams and Answers....

Some of you might've heard from my Facebook...but I want to share the whole story. There is this horse named Dude at Hunkapi. And since he is unable to work, they were looking for a home for him by tomorrow(September 1st) or else he would be put down. I found out about this on Friday the 28th. As soon as I heard about it I immediately thought of my friend Paige. She has had her first horse Bella for about a year now and has been somewhat looking for another. I knew she would love Dude. So I txted her about him and she said she was interested. I then e-mail Amanda about it and she gave me more details on him. But she didn't reply back with those details until Sunday night. This morning I forwarded the message to Paige and gave her Amanda's number, and later today she went to look at Dude. And at about 5:40 she called me, completely estatic because they were going to get Dude at 6:30! Amazing! And the surprising thing is, her birthday is tomorrow. What a present!

This is what Amanda replied to me with when I asked for more info on Dude...
"Yes, we would gladly give Dude to anyone who would give him a good home. He is an ex-cattle horse that is a registered Quarter Horse by the name of Tamulena Classey Dude. He is about 13 years old. We are retiring him from the program because he has navicular in his legs and a deep flexer tear. With the right shoeing he could be a really nice riding horse, but right now he just needs a place where he can rest for a while and be loved on. He has made tremendous progress over the last year and I am sure that he can make lots more, given some time. Unfortunately, without him able to work five days a week, he is not an asset to our program, so we must find a good home for him. He is an amazing horse with lots of personality and one who will come up to you and follow you around.
I hope this answers your question. If your friend wants to come out and take a look at him that is fine. We just need to know A.S.A.P.
Thank you for passing this information along. I am attaching a picture of him."

!!!

I haven't ever talked about this before, but one of my dreams, besides becoming a Hippotherapist, is owning a horse sanctuary. Particularly one for senior horses. Here's why-
It will be a place where senior horses can come and live out the rest of their life in peace. They can get all the proper care that they need, have fun, and gain companionship. I love the satisfaction of knowing that I made a difference in a horse’s life, that they felt loved, and that their last few years or months or weeks, or even days, were great. God tells us to take care of his creation. The reason I want to have a senior horse sanctuary is because of the amount of uncared for and unloved senior horses. Senior horses need more special care and attention. Some people don’t know how to do that, or they just don’t give it. When horses don’t get the attention and care they deserve, they can become bratty, ornery, and/or mean. Sometimes people have horses that are like that, and they think that they are just being brats. They don’t think about the fact that maybe their horse is being like that because of their physical pain or discomfort. So, because of that, I would want to offer help to those with horses like that. I would inform them of the reason their horse is most likely acting the way it is, and inform them of the way to fix it. If they wouldn’t be willing to do what it takes to fix it, I would be willing to take in their horse. After that, I would evaluate it, and first try to find a good, satisfactory forever home for him/her. If that failed, I would keep the horse at the sanctuary. Every horse at the sanctuary would have his own list of special needs. Each horse would get the best care and love possible.
The horses that I would end up keeping that are in good enough condition and have the right attributes could be used for my Hippotherapy.
Of course, this probably won't happen for quite sometime, given that anything to do with horses costs money; and lots of it! Plus, there's legal stuff involved and all that stuff...bleh. Haha.

Another thing on my mind....
Up until about the beginning of the month, I had this mindset that like if I went somewhere and saw someone for the first and last time, it didn't matter. I would never see them again. But my mind was quickly changed...

Then the Lord stretched ou t His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ''Behold, I have put My words in your mouth." Jeremiah 1:19

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. Jon 13:34-35

But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not now where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:11

I realized that even though I may never see this person again, I want to have a positive influence on them. This is my one and only chance to show God's love to them. If it's opening the door for them, saying 'thanks'...anything.