Being with horses changes people.

I was just three years old when my passion for horses began, and through the past 19 years I have learned innumerable lessons from my equine partners. Nothing, however, has affected my relationship with horses like volunteering at a therapeutic riding center.

Through high school, I volunteered once a week helping children with special needs learn to horseback ride. Year after year I went back to a relatively consistent group of riders, horses, and volunteers. During my four years volunteering, I got to know each student and horse and came to recognize the fine points of each student and their mount.

The large black gelding was forward, but only when his rider was ready. The small pony had unmatchable patience with his rider, but not so much with me. The understanding between horse and rider flourished at that facility in a way I’d never seen before, and it took mere seconds.

All the good-natured curiosity in the riders that manifested itself in wiggling, poking, pulling, and leaning was tolerated by these amazing horses without the slightest backward turn of the ear.

At first I was cautious in leading the horses and speaking to the children, unsure of what was too many corrections or too much forward movement. But soon, I saw the way a child’s expression went from disengaged to bliss when their horse trotted down the long side. I noticed how a posting trot that once contained only the slightest resemblance of rhythm could just one week later have the perfect rhythmic “up-down.” Each ounce of progress became one of the highlights of the week, not just for the children, but for me.

Throughout my prior years learning to ride and care for horses, I had never gotten to see such instant understanding and willingness from neither horse nor rider. As much as I bonded with my lesson horses, the raw connections made in that covered arena have gone unmatched.

After seeing those relationships grow for four years, and seeing children’s reactions to the gentle, caring nature of horses, I’ve developed a better understanding of the therapeutic nature horses have in my life as well.

Now as I drive to the barn, I take time to appreciate the calm sensation that comes over me. As I cool down after a ride, I’m now able to settle into the saddle and revel in my horse’s leisurely movements. I welcome the idea that even bad rides can be progress.

Like the therapy horses and their mounts, maybe all our horses know what you can handle, maybe they know what you need at the moment, and if you’re willing to accept it, they’ll give it to you willingly.


About the Author

Karina Pepe is a recent graduate with a double major in Journalism and Spanish. She’s loved horses ever since she could remember, but found her real passion in the eventing world.