Refuge Farms (www.refugefarms.org)

This summer has been a difficult one for tours. The rains of June kept many of the Vacation Bible School classes from enjoying our barns. And then the heat of July caused us to focus on maintaining the horses. Any tours in that heat were here to help clean barns and stock tanks! But this Fall, we've had some great weather and so the tour traffic has opened up again. And for that, I am grateful.

For to me, it is these tours that validate the second half of our Mission. We take in the horses that nobody wants. Yes. That, it seems, is almost a given. The Buddy's of the world. The Handsome's. The Gracie's. We take in the horses and we quietly care for them. No pictures taken. Just the time and energy and work to help them survive. The keeping of The Promises is usually done without witnesses. Most of the time, we feed, we clean, we treat, and we bury without others present.

But to have a tour here at THE FARM means we tell their stories! And we offer these horses to our guests! We invite them to fall in love with them as we have! And we share them all with those who walk down that gravel driveway to meet them. A tour can reaffirm for you that your hours of work and energy and loss of sleep is worthwhile, if you needed that affirmation. The smiles are priceless. The questions are endless. And the pictures tell of the lessons learned.

For it is our responsiblity to teach the lessons. The lessons of healing and the lessons of love. The lessons of abuse and neglect. The lessons of the will to survive. And the lesson that the body is not what we love - it is the heart that we love. Those lessons so easily taught by Liz-Beth and PONY! and Handsome and Gracie. All of our horses teach us these lessons every day. When a tour is in our barns, it is our turn to teach these guests their lessons. And we do so with pride.

October 1st saw a troop of Brownies here at THE FARM. Jen is the troop leader and she did an excellent job in preparing the girls for their visit. With long pants and boots and gloves these girls were completely ready for their up-close-and-personal-visit with the horses. On this day, it was The Helen Keller side that we opened up to them. And so now, I'll stop talking. And let Roger's pictures tell you of our time together. Let the pictures show you the lessons we are teaching . . .









































And tell me, why do we do this? Because Andy challenged us to use these horses to help humans? Well, yes. Of course. But today, for those who never knew Andy and never heard that challenge, I believe these people come out and give of their days because they believe in the power of a horse.

The smell of their hide. And the warmth of their breath. The touch of their velvet noses. And the feeling of trust as they rest their heads in your arms. Tracy and Bridget and Roger believe in the power of a horse to heal you. To comfort you. To make you laugh! To allow you to rest on them for a little while. These people knew what Andy was trying to teach me. And they continue to give so that, on days like October 1st, a girl can find a horse that understands.


Enjoy the journey of each and every day,
Sandy and This Herd of Healers