In the past two weeks we have also had some troubled youth come to the ranch. It was so nice to see them making connections with not only the horses, but the staff as well. A young man moved me with his story on Thursday. Last week the kids were able to paint a story on the horses. They were allowed to paint whatever they wished.
He painted the horse two colors yellow and blue. There were two stick figures. One was all yellow and the other was half yellow half blue. He proceeded to explain to us that the blue meant sadness and the yellow meant happy. Apparently there was a person in his life who made him feel like he could be happy again. So he painted himself at the very end with another yellow person. In the end they were both happy. It was so moving to hear his story and others as we continued our day.
On Friday we were able to take them riding. They were on a rotation. The first group would ride and the second would sit with myself and a few other volunteers and interns. We played horse bingo and also threw a ball that had random questions on it. It was meant to help them open up. I enjoyed this portion of classes as well because it gave them a chance to open up about things that may be bothering them.
Overall I have taken in a lot and hope to continue to do so. Classes will also be held this morning, but not with troubled youth. These classes are held for the children with disabilities in hopes that their joints may grow stronger and their fine motor skills.
