My Ella girl, with her quiet disposition and aptitude for animal whispering, has recently begun seeking opportunities to work with farm animals to gain as much experience as she possibly can before college/vet school. If you've been reading my blog for a while OR you know our family well, you know that Ella has a tendency to have even the most reticent of animals come to her, without uttering a word. They seem to sense her calm spirit and flock to my girl without hesitation. I am simply in awe of this quality and innate ability in her.
This is Dakota. He is paired in a paddock with a nurturing girl dubbed "Mama".
While we were at the farm, last week, my sister sent me a "Volunteers Needed" post for a horse sanctuary called Zorro's Crossing. My children have very little experience with horses and the only experience I have came in the form of being thrown from one as a small child. Therefore, I'm a bit uneasy around them. I marvel at their beauty, from afar, but nervous being close to them. Despite my anxiousness, I KNEW my girl would be thrilled about the opportunity to work with horses, so we e-mailed the sanctuary and she got a response fairly quickly. We were invited to visit the sanctuary and to meet the founder as well as the herd, which is what we did today. My farm lovin boy, Jacob, showed an interest in volunteering so he came along, as well. Upon entering the gates of the sanctuary, we were immediately impressed with its beauty. A narrow road winds itself around a vast pond and trees that are beginning to change colors. The deer are plentiful and at ease with traveling company ogling them, as they graze together, in between trees and in spurts of open fields along the narrow passageway. The road opens up to fenced paddocks on either side of the road. It was quite apparent that the horses were very well maintained, as were the paddocks they found sanctuary in, with their mates. Upon parking outside of the large horse barn, we were quickly met by a Great Pyrenees named Fran. My quiet girl smiled from ear to ear as Fran walked the length of her body across Ella's legs. As she reached down to pet the friendly girl, Fran instinctively seated herself atop Ella's booted feet. And, with that, an instant friendship developed.
Just look at Fran's precious smile!
That impressively large fella is Lad.
The founder of Zorro's Crossing greeted us warmly in the barn and quickly introduced us to Lad, whom she said reminds her of a majestic King. He was a big guy! I was a bit intimidated by him, but he was friendly and allowed Ella and Jacob to pet his muzzle. We got to meet Zorro and his "soulmate" Daisy, next. Daisy was used for youth therapy, earlier in the day, which included art. She is precious and gentle and perfect for children who get to draw pictures on her, with non-toxic paint, as they receive therapy. I love everything this sanctuary stands for. I only wish I'd have taken a photo of Daisy all gussied up like so!
After touring the barn, we walked from paddock to paddock. Meeting each horse, along the way, and learning about their past and how each were acquired/saved from euthanasia, finding themselves in their forever home at the sanctuary. The sanctuary's founder, Jennifer Astrop, was extremely attentive to the herd as she double checked their water troughs and feed supply and spoke gently to each. She reminded me of a proud mama, as she pulled her phone out to take videos and photos of the gorgeous horses she was introducing us to, with a smile on her face. I imagined her phone must contain thousands of photos of the herd as she seemed just as impressed by them, as I was, despite getting to see them often. At one point, we were talking about church and God when she suddenly raised her phone to capture a photo as she exclaimed, "Every time I talk about God, I discover a cross!" and took a photo of a cross made from two blades of hay that was situated in the dirt, just beside a gorgeous one-eyed horse, named Dakota. God moments, like that, make my world go round, y'all.
It was a pleasant first meeting and tour as I felt myself becoming more at ease with each horse we were being introduced to. Jennifer had an obvious spiritual connection with the animals that was palpable. I knew that she felt God in the presence of those animals...and that made that tour of the sanctuary even better than I could have anticipated. Ella was all smiles from start to finish, and Jacob's face showed his wheels were turning. I knew my farm boy was looking for ways that he could be a productive asset for this new-to-us place. "I'm ready to be put to work." is what he exclaimed as we got back into my car to leave. "When do we start?"
The beautiful Rose.
I'm looking forward to observing my children learning from the experiences that are inevitably to come from volunteering at the sanctuary, as well as becoming more at ease and learning from the horses myself. So many thanks to Jennifer, at Zorro's Crossing Horse Sanctuary, for the informative tour and warm welcome! We thoroughly enjoyed that time spent at the sanctuary and can only surmise that volunteering with you all will bless us well.
Relishing in His goodness...
Christy
IStndAmzd79@gmail.com
