A History of Me

Felecia West - Therapeutic Horseback Riding Instructor


At first, nobody really knew why my little brother acted differently. We weren’t sure why he would only eat scrambled eggs, ice cream, and tortilla chips. My family and I had no idea why sometimes he would scream bloody murder over a loud sound such as a train, or act like his brand-new clothes were made of the roughest sandpaper. At four years old, my brother was diagnosed with sensory integration dysfunction, now classified as being on the autism spectrum. Having only a twenty month age difference between the both of us meant that for the majority of my life, I’ve seen what it means to have more struggles than “normal” people. Having watched my brother overcome his extra challenges, seeing that transformation in how he handled life…that was powerful. This is why I’m passionate about helping people with disabilities. These are the success stories I want to make happen, regardless of the person’s challenges.

A few years later, just before I started middle school, my dad’s job took us to yet another new adventure. We had moved to Colorado. Having shown interest in horses at a young age, I was now able to take horseback riding lessons on a regular basis. Going to a new town at one of the more awkward stages in life was difficult. My horseback riding lessons helped with this. I was so enthusiastic about riding and the horse I rode never judged me based on not having the right words at just the right moment or not understanding some joke. I may not have known it yet, but this was my introduction to therapeutic horseback riding.

Being on schedule to graduate early from high school had many advantages for me, but more time to decide what I wanted to do was not one of them. Knowing I wasn’t sure what career to pursue, my current instructor suggested I look into therapeutic riding. So she re-introduced me to another student of hers that was already a PATH Intl. Certified Instructor working at a center thirty miles away from me. So for about three months, I took one day a week to volunteer, needing to be certain I was committed to such an important undertaking. Through volunteering, I saw my passion for horses and humans combined in a way I couldn’t have dreamed of.

After volunteering for those three months, I knew what I wanted to do. The only drawback was I needed to wait nearly a year before I met the age requirement of 18 to earn my PATH Intl. Certificate. Upon returning to a summer camp I had worked at the year before, I received my Life-guarding Certification which included the necessary CPR and First Aid training I needed to further my career.

When the time came, I was ready to begin my schooling at Equest. A center founded over 30 years ago and is one of only three in the country with a set program for teaching new instructors - to say I was honored and excited to be accepted is an understatement.  After seven weeks of instruction, the girl that had never taught a riding lesson had received her PATH Intl. Registered Level certification on her 18th birthday, as young as I could possibly receive it.

One month after this, I began working at the same facility I volunteered at. There, I gained more experience in teaching and became more relaxed and confident in my skills through working and interacting with my colleagues and my students that each challenged me as an instructor. These students made me better. They showed me what some hard work and horses can do for a person. I fell in love with my career even more at this place. I worked at this center for eight months.





During my employment at Shadow Ranch, I became the proud owner of two miniature horses of my own which I intend to use in a therapy program in the future. I chose this breed verses a standard horse for many reasons bullet-pointed below.
Miniature horses are easier to transport
Less intimidating to the average person. I learned this through seeing that the smallest horse was typically the first one approached by new individuals at Shadow Ranch. Building upon this concept with miniatures seemed natural.
Known to typically live longer than the average horse, an extended life means getting more out of the time and effort put into the animal.
Generally miniatures are very hardy and need little food to keep them at a healthy weight.
They don‘t need as much space. Often two can be housed in one stall.
Able to go where big horses cannot. Miniatures are able to reach patients in hospitals and  nursing homes. Visiting someone that is unable to travel can have immense benefits for the patient’s attitude as well as their physical ability by leading the horse around, brushing the fur, and braiding its mane.
Can help individuals who are feeling misjudged. Many see miniature ponies for their canine-like qualities and disregard their natural equine instincts. This misconception of miniatures could be beneficial to those with disabilities who feel they are also under common misconceptions. That even though they’re different, they are in fact extremely valuable and worthwhile.
While I’m aware that the size of miniature horses does exclude the animal from activities such as riding, this list summarizes the benefits of using this breed for other activities such as Driving.

Philosophies develop and change when you learn through either personal experience, or experiences shared by another person. Based on this statement, I have found that teaching a balanced seat is the most beneficial to the greatest amount of riders because it promotes the most relatable physical position as being on the ground.

I have seen certain games be beneficial when tailored to the students specific needs. One example is a student I taught who had speech challenges. Pronouncing and forming words was difficult, and anything more than one-syllable was beyond his capabilities. Because of this, he primarily used sign-language. One game we played was  the “letter game” where one side-walker presented him with a letter, he made the same sound as the letter, and passed it over using the same hand which required him to cross the mid-line, something not entirely easy for this individual. His speech improved over the course of two months to where instead of hearing “Buh” when saying good-bye, we would hear “Bye”. While games are valuable in motivating students to work harder and can improve the student‘s life, they must be done in moderation due to the fact that it can interfere with the student’s progress by the focus being shifted from learning to horseback ride to games you can play on horseback.

Independence is the end-all goal with every student I teach. It is the instructor’s job to know when to push and how much to push a student in order to receive the biggest benefit. Becoming stagnant in riding is not an option, as it shows a lack of development in the skills trying to be achieved.

Another important attribute I am working on improving is choosing my words in a way that allows me to communicate more effectively. This is achieved through being observant and speaking on the same level as those you are speaking to, even down to the individuals learning style. One example is how someone might try to explain a situation or new idea. You would speak differently to someone that says “I feel strongly about this” verses “Do you see why this is a good idea?”. These two statements show two different communication/learning styles and I am continuing  to improve my communication in this respect.

New!!

So the vet checked out the growth on Val's side and said to just keep an eye on it. We have and it's gone! Also things are going quite well with the two of them. We recently finished making the "round" pen and Sugar has already been free-lunged once.

Also, you may have noticed I've added workshops! Check out the page for the details, but I'd like to add that they're going to be great!

Getting Gelded

About a month ago, I made the decision to get Valentine castrated. While he wasn't acting particularly "studly", I wanted to prevent that behavior from taking place, and take advantage of the nearly fly-less summer we had been having. When I scheduled the surgery I also thought with more than a dose of hope that it might be cooler come September. I was wrong, it hasn't been cooling down until just recently.

So we loaded up Valentine and went to the vet. Leaving him there was a little hard anyway, but it was worse when he realized I was leaving him there and let out the really loud whinnies. I just told myself I didn't want any mini miniatures running around if by some strange reason we got a mare and then the more important reason that according to PATH standards, being "all male" was an issue. (He may someday be apart of a PATH Certified Center)

The surgery went well and the worst problem we've had recently has been getting him use to the trailer again. Takes him awhile to understand that I actually expect him to get in it.

Now, there is a small growth on his side, so we will be taking him to the vet next week and to make sure he's healed as well as I think he has. Both will be getting fecal tests just to make sure the parasite level is very low, and sugar will get his Coggins test updated. Hopefully both of them going at the same time will make things a little easier. Plus after Sugar passes his test, both can be exposed to positive destinations through the trailer so it's not always an evil transporter to them. (I'm thinking a nice trail walk somewhere since I can't drive them yet)

-Felecia

Gimme Some Sugar!

So a couple of months ago, my dad tried introducing Valentine into the herd of sheep thinking they were the same size, all herbivores, and so they'd be fine......not the case. After Val decided to chase the sheep around and then bite our sheep dubbed "granny", he was promptly removed from the pasture and the search for another pony began.

Just a couple of weeks later, we met a couple who just so happened to have a three year old miniature they had no use for. Sugar was kept in the pasture right next door to Val for about two weeks before being allowed together to buck, bite, love on, and then give each other mean looks all they wanted. Closely supervised for the first hour or so, of course. Pretty soon the brotherly arguing died down and we all figured out Val, the stud, was on the bottom of this little pecking order.

Sugar is a wonderful miniature and has such a sweet, gentle soul. When he first came to the farm we were unable to approach him from the side or make ANY sudden movements without him freezing up in fear, and he had major trust issues. Now, he's been worked with for a month and a half (ish) and trusts us far more, we can approach him from the side sometimes though if your new, his face is the best bet, and while sudden movements still scare him a little, some gentle talking is enough to get him to calm down.

Soon we will start free lunging him so we can get those verbal commands down pat, then proceed to start ground-driving (also called double-lunging), and then move on to driving!

He also loves "giving sugar" by putting his nose out for you to kiss.

-Felecia

The best Valentine I ever got

A couple of weeks ago, I got the best Valentine I've ever received. A miniature pony bearing that name.

It all started when my dad looked at a little local newspaper and saw miniature ponies at a good price. Let me give you some background, my mom and I both enjoy the tv show "Heartland". In this show there is an older woman that has a small pony and his name is "Sugarfoot" since seeing this show, my mom has been talking about how someday she wants her own Miniature, to the point where in our home the term isn't "Miniature horse" it's "Sugarfoot". So we went and looked at the ponies that same evening.

Once we got there, we saw Valentine. The owner told us that that's just what the kids called him, and that was only because he was born on Valentine's Day 2012. My mom says when he looked at me his eyes lit up, while I was busy checking over his confirmation, picking up his feet and seeing if he was at all head-shy. Apparently when we went to look at the other one for sale he got this "Nooooo!!" look on his face. The younger pony was still nursing, and wasn't a big fan of people yet. I liked Val a whole lot better and that evening, I decided to get him. Mom just said that he was my pony from the start and that she'd get a "Sugarfoot" later on. The next day I signed the paper and loaded Valentine into the trailer with no problems. His sort-of name fit him very well, so I decided to keep it. He's such a sweetie.

So why would I want a miniature horse? It's not like I could ever ride him, right? Well, those questions lead straight into my career as a Therapeutic Horseback Riding Instructor. What I hope Valentine will someday be able to do is become a therapeutic pony. One of the advantages of having a pony that's so small is that many kids are intimidated by a horse because of it's size. If that fear is so crippling that they can't ride, then maybe they'll be able to connect with a pony that's the size of a dog. Also, miniatures are more "portable" so to speak, so he would be able to be brought to the clients much easier than a full-sized horse. Visiting hospitals and nursing homes where those that can't leave their room would bring smiles and something to look forward to every time he visited. Now, he is an ungelded yearling, so little Val has a long way to go before he's ready for this, but if he maintains his incredible love for people and fairly calm attitude, he'll do wonderfully.

So stay tuned, as we work on how to lead (which sometimes turns into lunging) haltering (we're getting there) and how he reacts to no longer being "The studly young Valentine". It's sure to be interesting.