May 16, 2022 • 53 mins
Janet Nittman, joins to discuss Windrush Farm, a therapeutic riding center in North Andover MA. Windrush Farm was one of the first therapeutic riding centers in the United States and is a PATH premier accredited facility. It was founded by Marj Kitteridge and her belief that we are capable of more than you think. Windrush serves children and adults with disabilities, disadvantaged youth, individuals in need of physical rehabilitation and those in addiction recovery programs.
We discuss the unique bond between humans and horses and important lessons we can learn from being around and riding horses.
You can get more info about lessons and programs, volunteering and to donate at:
Windrush Farm https://www.windrushfarm.org/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Unknown (00:01):
Hi, I'm Lila. And I'm Angel, Amy. So today we are
going to have a chat with Janetfrom Wind Rush farm. And she is
the CEO of therapeutic ridingcenter. And we are so excited to
have you here today, Janet,thank you.
(00:22):
Thank you so much for invitingme.
So Janet, tell us a little bitabout how you got into horses.
I wish I could tell youprecisely but I was so young. I
don't really remember. I dothink it sometimes just happens
that you see ponies on thetelevision or in a local farm. I
grew up in Devon in England,where there are a lot of ponies.
(00:44):
And all I do remember is beingsent to ballet lessons and after
the first or second saying to mymother, could I please have
riding lessons and after thatnever looked back?
So you've just kind of felt acalling in. I always say from
your soul. It just felt verynatural for you. Yes,
(01:05):
I think that is exactly the wayto say it.
So beautiful. So Lila actuallyhas a horse so you've been
around formy daughter's technically okay.
But she's very clear. Are weallowed to tell her name on air?
Let's she's bow.
Beautiful. How old is Belle nowis 16. Okay, Claire has had her
(01:25):
for two years. She was her justout of the pandemic horse, which
was very lucky right. Aseverything opened up. We raced
off and found her. Perfect.
She's the absolute perfecthorse.
(01:45):
Oh, so Janet, obviously is isvery versed in horses and Lila
has a love for horses. And I'm acity girl. I have moved to more
of a country setting. And I'mstarting to get into really like
(02:05):
looking at the horses. I'mgetting a little closer. I feel
I do feel a connection. But Ineed to come and visit you,
Janet.
You absolutely do. Especiallyfor the new clients who have
never seen a horse before. It'squite surprising. And for small
(02:26):
children, it can be a littlescary. But at Windrush farm, we
have very well trainedinstructors, and very well
trained horses to help youovercome any fear or anxiety
that you might have. And thensometimes it happens in a day.
Sometimes it takes a little bitlonger before you develop that
passion that so many horselovers have.
(02:48):
So Janet, tell us a little bitabout what you do at Windrush
farm, what these therapeuticwriting programs are about,
thank you. Windrush farm is theoldest therapeutic riding center
in New England. It was foundedin 1964 by Marge Kittredge, she
had the idea that we are allcapable of more than we think.
(03:10):
And she wanted to challengeyoung people. She started with a
group of teenagers who troubledor had many challenges in life.
She started the farm with herown horses, and quickly
discovered the benefits oftherapeutic riding. Since 1964.
(03:31):
As I said, we're the oldestCenter in New England, we've
grown to be one of the largestwith about 20 horses, and one of
the leading always coming upwith new ideas to meet the needs
of the market. Today, we havemany clients who are struggling
with anxiety, with stress, somefacing addiction, clients with
memory care, or memorychallenges. And the benefits of
(03:56):
spending time on a farm withwell trained horses is quite
extraordinary. There's manypieces of research that have
been done about the benefits,physical, mental, and for your
for your spirit of being withhorses, many studies all over
the world. But I think ourfounder March kitchen just knew
(04:19):
that this would be a conceptthat would take off the center's
are now all over the UnitedStates. But march started this
movement right here in NorthAndover at Windrush mom. Oh,
that's amazing.
It is.
So do you find that? So let mestart here. So I know that
(04:40):
horses have a sixth sense justas I do, and that they can sense
things about humans that maybeother humans aren't as, as aware
of. Do you find that some horsesact differently around certain
types of people? There arecertain people that may have a
(05:02):
thematic, something in theirlife, whether it's anxiety or
addiction orsuch a great question. I can't
tell you scientifically why thathappens, perhaps, you know, but
it's absolutely true. We had asweet pony for many years.
Sadly, he departed this wellbefore Christmas. But there is
(05:25):
an article about him in theBoston Globe because he was so
well known. And he is known forone day, when he just stopped in
class. And, of course, our ponyshouldn't stop in class until
they're asked to. And theinstructor went over to see what
was wrong. And the child washaving a seizure, and the pony
(05:45):
had always felt it before itstarted. Wow, ponies can feel
that there's a fly on their backwhen you think about that's
ridiculous, right? One fly is sosmall, but they are very
sensitive creatures. And therewas a group last week of
teenagers who came to help atthe farm. And afterwards, the
(06:06):
treat is always to say hello tothe horses. And we have one
horse that is the highestperforming horse in the arena.
He can do movements that theothers can't do. But he is known
for not being the most friendlyin the band, because he's, he I
think he sees himself as a star.
(06:27):
And this one teenager wanted tosay hello to him. And I said,
please be careful. And it was aperfect meeting, they the horse
just seemed to know that thisteenager was right for him. And
they wanted to to coordinate andconnect, I should say they
wanted to connect. And you'reabsolutely right. There are
definitely people who have moreof a sense for horses. And there
(06:50):
are certain horses that relateto certain people. We also have
many innovative programs, andwith our instructors always
coming up with new ideas, andone is people who come unmounted
they're standing in the arenawith five people in a circle
usually starts with some yogaand meditation, then we bring in
(07:12):
five horses who are in a circleoutside the the clients, if that
makes sense. And we ask theclient from goat to go from
horse to horse and pick the onethat's right for them. And often
my instructor says, Janet,that's not what's happening. The
horse is picking the person. No,no, no, they become a team for
the program.
Do you notice? Is there apattern that you've noticed as
(07:37):
Janet from Wind Rush bomb? Or isIs there no rhyme or reason?
Like? Did you notice like apattern as to why a horse would
pick a particular person?
I don't think I can. I don'tthink I'm good enough to do
that. It's sort of a magic thingthat like They're magically
explained, just seems to be aconnection. But I think most of
(08:00):
us if you've gone to look at apony that you might buy for
yourself or your child, or Iremember when I went to a
shelter to select a puppy withmy children. It was just obvious
likea knowing Yeah, yeah. So in my
world, when humans know, thingsjust know. It's called
clairsentience. And that'sactually the number one were my
(08:23):
number one ability. And then Isee clear clairvoyance is seeing
but clear sentience is justknowing. And so I have this cute
little story from a few yearsback where I was at camp with my
husband's side of the family.
(08:44):
And there's five children, andall the children were out
playing away from the camp, wewere on a lake. And all I was
with all the adults and all of asudden I say out loud, I feel an
injured child. I just and so Ijust got off the chair. Because
(09:04):
at the time mine may have beenseven ish. And so as I got up, I
look out the window. And there'sall five children and to have
little Henry who was aroundseven as well. And he had
tripped and fallen and and theother adults were like how did
(09:25):
you know that? Even though theyknow I'm psychic? Yeah, I
didn't. I was glad he didn'tbreak anything if To be honest,
because you so you didn't knowthe level of the injury, right?
You could just I feel unsafe,and unsafe can also feel
(09:50):
sadness, like if he was crying.
I could just feel it within achild element and knew that we
had five children. It must beone of ours. You're seeing the
horses consensus thatthey're very sensitive
creatures. Now, if you thinkabout the evolution of horses,
it's an animal of prey. And Ilove teaching the children that
(10:12):
and some of them know and one ofthe children taught me, I'll try
to remember what he said, eyeson the side born to hide as the
animal of prey, right, eyes infront born to hunt. And what's
so wonderful about Windrush iswe all learn about nature,
because on a beautiful farm, welearn about horses, we learn
(10:32):
about people. But we also we atWindrush also learn from our
clients. And that was a nicelittle thing I learned eyes on
the side, eyes in front born tohunt. Now, because the horse is
an animal of prey, he always hasto look out for himself. But at
the same time, very often, he'slooking out for the rider as
(10:53):
well. So if he hears something,their sense of hearing is
incredible. Their sense of smellis incredible. And I would
imagine, and you'd know betterthan me, me that all those
heightened senses develops theother sense. I think you called
it the sixth sense. Yeah.
Because sometimes you'll go outinto the woods, and the horse
(11:16):
might be a little bit anxious.
And it could be that theysmelled a bear, for example,
that you didn't smell. So youhave to respect the horse
because he's protecting himselfand protecting you.
Absolutely.
That's what when I was a kid,that was one of the big things
that I remember learning wasthat because they're prey
(11:38):
animals, your energy iseverything. So if you're afraid
of something not not Yeah, ofthe horse, but you're fearful,
they're going to be fearfulbecause they're like, Well,
what's coming? It's like, what,why are you true? Why are you
and I tend to be a high energyperson. And because I used to do
a lot of competition. On horses,I used to be more like, let's
(12:00):
go, it's 5am. We've got to go tothe show. Now I'm trying to
learn with help for myinstructors to slow down. And we
teach all our children to take adeep breath, when they walk into
the stall. Look at the pony, wego from the side, remember, the
eyes are on the side, they can'tsee directly in front of them.
Is that startling? So you gofrom the side, gentle voice
(12:22):
horses love the voice, all ourhorses are trained to go on the
voice because some of ourwriters are physically not able,
or cognitively not able to givethe aids with their legs or
their hands. And we train themall to stop, walk on, trot
everything on voice and horseslove a calming voice. But the
(12:43):
irony is, if you mentionedcoming from the city, if you are
a little bit anxious, you dohave to work on that because as
you said, Lila a horse will pickup if you're a little bit
nervous. And it's so ironic thatduring the pandemic, we had more
inquiries than ever, becauseparents were looking for
activities for their children,looking for safe activities
(13:04):
where they could be outside, orupon a horse on their own. All
the team sports had beencanceled. And it seems strange
to some people that you wouldbring an anxious child to a
stable, but no, we train we as Isaid, we train our horses. Well,
our instructors are all trainedto teach and help children and
(13:25):
adults with challenges. And weteach the children to take it
very slowly, very carefully. Ihave seen a child trembling as
they get into the saddle. And ina second, it turns to a smile
when they realize I can do this.
And it goes back to what ourfounders said, we're all capable
of more than we think. But youneed help right to try. Take a
(13:45):
deep breath, take it slowly. Geton the pony and develop this
relationship. And slowly, youovercome your fear. And I'm sure
you'll agree that to be able todo something that was difficult
in the beginning, and youovercame your fear. We have
mothers who say their childrenare singing on the way home
(14:05):
because they're so happy if Idid it, right. I did it right.
And that's actually good advicefor any situation. Right? Take a
deep breath.
Always take a deep breath.
Exactly, exactly.
So stepping through fear ofvulnerability is crossing over
(14:27):
from say, a lower vibration to ahigher vibration. And so fear
and anxiety and depression areon the low rungs of the
emotional ladder. And joy andpeace and love are at the top of
the emotional ladder. There's alot of other emotions in
(14:51):
between. But the middle is hope.
And so when a human so so prettymuch the horse is giving the
human an opportunity without thehuman realizing it, to then move
from the low rung over up tohope. I'm hopeful that this is
going to be a beautifulexperience. Not in this alone, I
(15:13):
have this beautiful majesticanimal with me, it then turns
into stepping through that fearof vulnerability, using the
hope. And then you go up to joy,and then the smiles come.
That's so lovely. Yeah, there isa saying, and nobody knows who
said it. Some people think it'sWinston Churchill, but it was
(15:35):
not. But somebody said, There'ssomething about the outside of
the horse, which is good for thesoul of man of a man's soul. And
it's such a great saying. Theother thing I mentioned before
is there's a lot of researchbeing done now about the benefit
for children on the spectrum, oradults with dementia. And you
(15:57):
can measure things such as youknow, is reduction in anxiety,
you can measure improvement inyour balance or your muscle
tone. But we have served formany years, children from the
Perkins School for the Blind.
And one day I saw a youngteenager standing on one of our
horses is called vaulting,they're standing there and the
horse is moving. And I said toone of my and he's the biggest
(16:20):
smile ever. And I said to one ofmy instructors, we can measure
all these things. But how can Imeasure joy? To your point? Yes,
the joy of someone who's blindriding a horse? It's absolutely
incredible, right?
Do you believe that theseanimals are empathic? Do you use
that language? And the showempathy you meet? Yes. And so it
(16:43):
was? Yes, it means to feelothers feelings?
Absolutely. And we select them.
It's very difficult for a horseto be accepted to Windrush, my
former chair said it's harderthan for a student to get into
Harvard. They come on a trialfor eight weeks, they have to
show empathy me otherwise theywould not be suitable for this
(17:05):
program. But all of Windrushruns on love and kindness. We
have hundreds of volunteers whohelp every day, we have staff
who are there, in New Englandwinters, it's not easy, but they
do it for the mission, everybodygets up every day to help our
clients and our horses the same,they have a job to do the horse.
It's amazing that they arecreated for us with such a work
(17:30):
ethic. Yes, they have to be fed.
And I tell everybody, you haveto love and feed them, it's
actually the other way around,you have to feed them and then
love.
Horses do have differentpersonalities, horses will be
more successful exactly in aprogram like yours Exactly. than
(17:50):
other horses,some horses like people love to
be with one other. At Windrush,you have to be ready to be with
many people, and some of ourhorses are social butterflies
and just love it, and otherswould rather not be so so
social, but they have to haveempathy, they have to be kind.
So some of the horses areactually compassionate. And I'd
(18:13):
like to explain why Okay, isempathy is the ability to feel
others feelings, but then when ahorse is aligned with a human
that is say highest and best forthem, for whatever reason, when
there is this, this intuitiveelement of chemistry or
(18:36):
connection, so an energeticconnection, the horse actually
becomes compassionate. And thatis when healing takes place. So
compassion is basically feelingthe feeling, but you want to
take it away. So the horsebegins to become through that
(18:58):
connection with the human. Andwe could talk about love is
there to write, the horse thenenergetically starts to be
compassionate in a human, maybenot in their mind, but in their
their body, in an energeticsense can feel the love and
compassion of a horse. Andthat's when the magic happens.
(19:20):
That's when the child with ablind child is standing on the
floor. I feel like I'm gonnacry.
Oh, it's so it's so well saidand you're not a horse person.
I'm so impressed. Ijust haven't been exposed. I
I feel maybe I just need to calmmyself. Right. That's amazing.
(19:40):
Because you also offer you youhave writing programs for
beginners or summer camps.
Absolutely.
It's a wonderful place foreverybody to learn to ride
because the horses as I said,are so well trained, and we're
not a competition bond. It'sabout enjoying the relationship
with horses makes me like thatlaw Janet. That's what that's
what Just about today, you'regonna join summer camp. But you
(20:05):
have to look out the stores. Oh,I can sell my girl, which I also
want to mention the other wayround from what you so
beautifully said, wow is thekindness that horses bring out
in people. So we had a child afew years ago who was bouncing
in the saddle. And imagine ifyou're on all fours with your
(20:26):
your children or yourgrandchildren bouncing on your
back. It's doesn't It doesn'thelp you. You don't feel great.
And the mother, sometimes theparents walk with the children
because they enjoy it. When wego out on our beautiful trails.
We have miles of trails toexplore. And one time this boy
was bouncing in the saddle. Andthe mother asked him to stop.
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And unfortunately, he decidedthat would be more fun to
continue. And I was there and Ijust said, be kind to the pony.
She's hurting. And he leantforward, patted her on the neck,
and never did it again. It wasso sweet because he understood
that, although it was fun tobounce in the saddle, and
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sometimes it's fun to not listento your parents. When he
realized that he was actuallyhurting the pony. He completely
changed and never did it again.
So it is a two way street.
Kindnessit is but your super kind Janet.
When you when when a mom says itwere moms. You have a little
anger there. But when Chad Janetsaying it's a lovely I love for
(21:30):
the phony. My British accent.
Everything is lovely. I saylovely. All lovely.
And so the Chatswood This is mychildren through so precious.
It's the approach. And you justlet them know at a love that
(21:50):
we're now going to hurt thehorse. Right, right. And then
they just they'll checkthemselves saying it from love.
Lovely. It's fun.
So tell us a little more aboutthe therapeutic part of the
(22:12):
center. And what takes place?
Yeah, so that is such a greatquestion. Because we've talked a
lot about writing about it.
Windrush, we teach so much aboutcaring for an animal, and
feeling responsible for thatanimal. And noticing things, I
think we've touched on that. Butwhen you go into the stable, the
horse will be looking at youbecause he is an animal of prey,
(22:32):
we teach our children how to sayhello to a horse, which I didn't
know about growing up I didn'tknow about you should approach a
horse on the side. Althoughhorses and humans have been
together for about 10,000 years,we always have more things to
learn about each other. So we'vewe teach our clients to make a
fist and let the horse smelltheir hand. Because that's how
(22:54):
animals like to greet eachother. The horse needs to know
that you're a friend, not a foe,be very gentle. And we teach our
clients how to groom how tobrush a pony, which is very
beneficial for both. It's again,a bonding experience, you get to
know know each other. This isnot a place where everything is
quick, let's get the tack on thehorse and let's go for a ride.
(23:18):
It's about building thatrelationship. As we talked about
before, building the confidencein our in our clients, teaching
them about horse behavior, whatto look out for how to know when
a horse is not happy. And we dothough ask them to do as much as
they can, if they can. Nowclients who are in a wheelchair
can groom horses, we're just nowbuilding a new center, a
(23:41):
structure called the outdoorlearning center. And it's going
to make it possible for somebodyin a wheelchair to get closer to
the horses, because in thestable, it's a bit difficult,
but we're just building it. Aswe speak today. The concrete has
gone in there's a beautifulslope so that we can push the
wheelchairs up the slope and getpeople close to the horse. And
(24:03):
we have a ramp that helped thatcaregivers often come with the
clients and can take thewheelchair up the ramp to mount
the horse. Now if they cannotget out of the wheelchair onto
the horse, we have a electroniclift that lifts you into the air
up and over onto the house,which absolutely fantastic. Then
(24:25):
almost I'll talk about theriding almost every writing
lesson starts with exercises topromote strength to build your
core, your coordination and yourbalance. So all the adults are
doing exercises with their legsand their arms up in the air.
It's a great way to warm peopleup and get them ready. And
(24:46):
almost almost every lessonrequires a horse handler that
somebody to lead the horse ifthe client isn't able to use the
reins themselves or they're abeginner So many of our clients
who have issues with balance,need side walkers that I hope it
makes sense as they walk on theside of the horse. Some horses
(25:08):
don't like that they have tolearn to be used to people
walking beside them, who justhelped the rider to stay in the
center. They helped with theirposture and their balance. But
every lesson begins with helpingto get the horse ready. If
you're able, then mounting, as Isaid, then exercises and then
depending on your level, you'llbe walking, possibly trotting,
(25:31):
that's when the horse goes alittle faster. Some of our
clients can counter. But moreimportantly, there's also
socialization element. Some ofour clients come from homes,
they don't get a lot ofactivities outside. And the day
at Windrush is often the verybest day. And the lessons often
end with a ride out through thewoods or through the fields. And
(25:55):
many games Secondly, many, manygames to play, because I think
that's important, too, that youplay together and you meet other
people. So as I said, some ofour riders are a little nervous,
little anxious. Not very social.
We have many children on thespectrum who are nonverbal. They
(26:15):
absolutely communicate withtheir horses, touching and
hugging and playing games. Sothat's the typical program. Wow,
yeah. Do you find? Or can yousend a, like a different
personality with each horse?
Yes. And if the ridinginstructors were here, they will
(26:37):
be much better at it than I am.
We have this is a testament tomark Kittredge. I have three
people who've worked at Windrushfor over 30 years. Wow, they
know every horse, it'sunbelievable. And sadly, because
that's the sad fact that horsesdon't live as long as humans. So
we have a list of wonderfulhorses that have left this
world. But our instructors, myinstructors still tell me about,
(27:00):
oh, this horse did this, andthis hosted that they know them
so well. I think I'm a goodhorse person. I think my
instructors are extraordinaryhorse people. And we have had
clients who've been riding withus for over 20 years. So they
have so many stories to tellabout what happened in a
particular situation. It'samazing. Yeah.
(27:24):
Do you feel that yourinstructors felt a calling for
this work?
Absolutely. No question. It'svery challenging, because you're
not just teaching horsebehavior, horse care,
responsibility and writing,you're dealing with a wide range
(27:45):
of people with differentchallenges. From the age of six
to over 70. We've mentionedchildren on the spectrum,
children who are nonverbal,adults with dementia, an adult
who's had a stroke. It's anamazingly challenging position,
because you have to be able tobalance the two, your skills
with horses and your skills withpeople. And it isn't very well
(28:09):
paid. That's a fact. They do itbecause they love horses and
love people. And I'm going tosay the same for volunteers. Our
volunteers usually come toWindrush because they love
horses, they used to ride orthey've always wanted to ride.
And they end up staying formonths or years, because they
build a bond with the client.
And they love it to come everyweek to help in a class. And we
(28:33):
couldn't do the classes withoutthe volunteers because as I said
before, we need horse handlers.
And we need side walkers. But Ilove the fact if you ask almost
anybody, Amy and Lila, why didyou come to Windrush? Oh,
because I loved horses. I usedto ride. I watched Flickr every
day, but they stay because ofwhat they see the benefits the
(28:55):
smile, and there is one lady whonever smiles and I once said to
a board member, am I sure she'senjoying this experience? He
said, does she turn up everyweek? I said yes. She just isn't
probably able to smile. Sheprobably is quite challenged.
But she comes every week. Sothat tells you that she still
loves it, though she's she'snonverbal. And I never see a
(29:18):
smile, but she comes every week.
So I think the smile is on theinside.
Okay, so is it a form of likeawkward occupational therapy or
physical therapy that the theinstructors are doing it? I have
to be careful because they'renot trained as I have to be
careful and respect theprofession of occupational
therapists and physicaltherapists and speech
therapists, but they aretrained, certified, writing
(29:43):
instructors, for people withchallenges. The association that
we belong to is called Path andit's the professional
association of TherapeuticHorsemanship. And it's wonderful
that our founder started or wasone of the The status of the
predecessor of path, there usedto be a different Association.
(30:05):
March started it to set thestandards out there. And
Windrush is a premier accreditedCenter, which is very hard work,
it means every few years, peoplecome and inspect everything we
do to make sure that our horsesare in the best condition
possible, and that we follow allthe guidelines, it is possible
(30:25):
to open a therapeutic ridingcenter without having
therapeutic certifiedinstructors. But that's not what
Windrush does, because it's theright thing to do is to have the
highest standards, becausethat's what our clients deserve.
And our horses, they deservethat. And
I've no one needs a referral oranything to be in touch with you
(30:46):
and see if they would be a matchfor your that's a
great question. They don't needa referral, and we have
inquiries every day. But if youhave a diagnosis, for example,
you're on the spectrum or haveany type of ailment, you do need
permission from your physicianto partake of writing at
Windrush farm, which just makessense, right. And that is
(31:08):
something that's usually veryeasy to obtain. And the other
thing I should mention, becausepeople might be asking, the
services are not free, do haveto pay. But we do now have
scholarships that you can findon the website, Windrush
farm.org. And I'm so pleasedthat we can now help people who
aren't able to pay for theservices. And our sessions are
(31:30):
rather like at a school we have,we follow the academic year. So
we have a full session, a wintersession, which is the shorter
one, for very brave people wholove to ride in the cold. And
some people really do really dolove to ride in the snow. And
then we have the spring session,and then we have the summer
programs for you, Amy.
(31:52):
All I can think of is I need anew outfit for this. Oh, yes,
you have to have the outfit.
Very important. It's veryimportant. We'll
tell you. So I grew up ridingYeah. And then hadn't written
gears over just this pastwinter. So my sister, we both
grew up riding. Yeah, uh,probably five or six years ago,
she was like, I'm gonna takeriding lessons. I was like, What
(32:13):
are you talking about? So shehad written a while she was
like, Oh, it's so much fun. Youknow? So this past winter, I did
it. I have to tell you. I couldnot believe how hard it was.
When I think back to my secondchild. I'm like, Oh, my God.
Exactly. The muscles that youknow.
(32:34):
And muscles that you don't usein other sports. Yeah. And we
have clients who come to ride wecall the recreational programs
or therapeutic riding programsare recreational. And you do
have adults who always wanted toride now that they're living the
dream, but they're alsosurprised how hard it is.
So I've actually been on ahorse. Yeah, it's been years.
(32:56):
You know, I'm 47. So maybe 40years ago. And I'm just
remembering this now is mygrandfather. So my mother's
father. So this is the Italianside. He had a farm in Maine,
and had a horse in this photosof us on the horse. Yes, I
(33:17):
remember it a little bit. Yeah.
But it was just I was soconnected to the animals. And
you know, sometimes the animalsdisappeared, not the horses but
disappeared for food, quoteunquote. Yes. And I had a tough
time with that exact that wasn'thidden from me. Yeah. My stocks
coming up while Ah.
(33:41):
Yeah, my mother told me the samething. They had chickens during
the war. And one day herfavorite chicken wasn't there.
That probably shouldn't berecorded. But it's reality. It's
during the war. Oh, absolutely.
In rural places, that issomething you you get accustomed
to. But the first time it's ashock. It's terrible.
(34:06):
Right? We don't think of whenyou're 567 years old, where the
food comes from?
Exactly. People don't think ofit when they're 50 years. Right?
It's in a cellophane package.
You don't want to think about itdo it Have you thought about it?
It's like don't name the horseor the sorry, the how if the
(34:27):
cars going down.
I hear some people would say thereverse that you that you love
the cow and you give the cow aname and then you sort of think
the cow forRight? Right? Well that's 2022
we're going back to 1980 by that1982
(34:48):
But I think I am thinking aboutit more than I used to and I
wonder if I am slowly becomingvegan because it's bothering me
more than used to slowlysee that happening. All
elemental soul.
Slowly though, when Iwas a kid, I remember we used to
name the lobsters. So you'd havelobsters and we'd play with them
on the floor and we would namethem and my parents would always
(35:10):
say don't do that. Don'tget too attached to them. Harry,
Harry's going down. The funniestthing that I have to say about
ponies, I hope Oh, let me askyou, Leila. Do you remember the
name of the first pony that yourode? Lucky. You see, everybody
does andthen we had not only did I ride
him first, he was the first putwe we bought that pony. And
(35:30):
yeah, we treated that pony like,like a dog or a pet we we lay
down with him in his stallreally? For thing to bits, but
right so interestingly, he hadan accident and lost an eye
right. And we had done you know,Pony hunters with him. So Oh,
(35:54):
nuts. In addition to that he wasthis Dog Pony. So perfect love
Don and the rest of it. And itwas fascinating to see how he
just continued to trust people.
So with with the IMS thing,yeah. You know, he was really at
a huge deficit. Exactly.
(36:15):
That's amazing. Lila, itwas It is amazing.
He went on we left the womanthat we trained with, you know,
as we outgrew him she kept himas the lesson pony because he
was a great Tony but his I willnever forget. So he had his eye
was removed. So he had like asunken cavity where his Yeah,
(36:37):
would have been. Yeah. So alittle girl is getting him
ready. She's brushing him andthe mother comes around and sees
him and she's like, Oh, what iswrong with that pony? And oh,
really? This month? She's sospecial. Oh, you have to just be
gentle. So he sees you coming?
Yes, she was. It was beautiful.
(36:58):
In that moment, I knew we haddone the right thing to leave
him as it because he loved beinga lesson. Yes, yes, the laziest
lesson.
But there are ponies with oneeye that still jump and do
amazing things. We're actuallynot allowed to sadly take ponies
with one eye is one of the rulesof the association that I just
mentioned. But they often dovery well. It's amazing
(37:21):
is the forgiveness pony. Butthen all because he was so
forgiving to the humans andstill loved them. Yeah. So he
taught forgiveness. Yeah. Butthen he taught the mother love.
Yeah, like, well, the littlegirl helped with that. But yeah,
teaching the mother how toreally love unconditionally.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It'spowerful. When you really look
(37:44):
at that story.
He was just the best.
But everybody remembers thepony. They forget wrote except
for me.
I'm ready to text my sister.
She's a genie, but you onlywrote once. No
several times. We got with himout of the city. Remembering
(38:05):
what was yours Janet Rugglesgirls and Amanda
Windrush. We teach cantering inthe indoor arena when the child
or adult is ready. But Iremember being taken. Oh, I
can't remember what you call itpony pony or something. I don't
know. But I remember being ledby my instructor and cantering
(38:28):
behind her, you know, on shehad? Yeah. And I would counter
with her. And because it wasEngland, everything was muddy.
And I always remember beingcompletely covered in mud. But
that's how I learned to Cantorwas being led by the instructor
with Ruggles. I never forgethim. He's so sweet. And I also
think your first experiencematters. If it was good, it's
(38:51):
usually something you want to doforever and ever. If it was a
little bit scary, you may notwant to. And that's another
thing that's so important thatwind rush, take it slowly. Make
sure you're ready to do the nextthing, right, because this isn't
a sprint. This is a marathon toteaching you about animals and
caring and right and the joythat you mentioned before.
(39:12):
And the animals that you'reusing are are very well trained,
that they're very wellsocialized to having people
around and exactly not allhorses have exactly.
And that I said that before.
It's quite difficult to get intoWindrush as a horse because some
are not suitable and some willtell you they would say I'd
rather than have one personwriting me, not different
people. And I said some horsesjust love this activity that
(39:35):
goes onall the time. So do we call them
extroverted horses? I thinkintroverted points are
onto something. And if only Icould have a form that we could
find love. But you know, horsesdo need to be busy, right? It is
(39:55):
an animal that likes to to haveactivities, whatever that might
be. In, but some of them justare so happy to to be the wind
in the Wind Rush programs andevery child has their favorite.
And to your question earlier, Ithink the horses have their
favorites too,too. So during the pandemic, my
husband and I watchedYellowstone, and that really got
(40:18):
us into horses are thinkingabout horses. And my friend, one
of my best friends watchedYellowstone as well. So she
said, I think I want to startriding horses. So I'm sure some
of the the adults that that areinterested watched yellow. Sure,
(40:38):
you're right. And so she went toa farm, it wasn't your farm. And
there were a bunch of horsesthat she was looking at. There
was this male horse in thedistance, and he was alone. And
she felt drawn to him. And sheinquired, and the owner had
(41:00):
said, Well, he had a very roughupbringing. No one rides him. So
she asked us, she wanted to seehim. So she she went up to like
the fence or whatever. The youknow, wherever he was, and he
actually came towards her. Andshe pet she started to pet them.
(41:22):
And they there was a connection.
And the owner said he, hedoesn't, he hasn't allowed
anyone to touch him since he'sbeen here. Okay, so then she
ended up getting pregnant, whichis a beautiful thing. Yes. And
so I'm not sure then about thishorse. But I just wanted to
(41:46):
mention about the beautifulconnections and how they just
can sense exactly. She's a verygrounded present person right?
That would make you feel safe.
She's very very she's she's veryshe she has her like we would
say your head on straight. Butshe in her priorities and check.
(42:09):
But the way she presentsherself, she's a very
emotionally and physicallystrong female. Right? Right. But
yet gentle,right? But you see, you're onto
something. If you go to a ranch,or go for a trail ride, which
I've done because my familyenjoy it, you do just turn up,
and they'll line up the horsesand you'll just ride one. That's
(42:32):
how it is right. But that's nothow it is at Windrush, our
instructors spend a lot of timematching the rider with the
horse. And it's for manydifferent reasons. Sometimes
it's physical, our weight limitis 185 pounds, just just so
you're aware. But sometimes wehave a child who's rather
ambitious, and needs a fasterhorse. We have different breeds
(42:53):
at the farm different types ofhorses. And sometimes we have a
very anxious rider who needs avery steady horse. So you have
to get the partnership right, sothat there is a connection. It
reminds me though, of theSpanish Riding School, where the
beautiful liposarcomas in Viennaare trained to do wonderful
(43:13):
movements, you've probably seenthem in shows and the older
horses train the young riders,and the older riders train the
young horses. So it's a perfectbalance. It's interesting, and
we kind of do this little bitthe same thing at Windrush
because of trying to find theconnection. Most of our riders
love the first pony or horsethey ride. And if it doesn't
(43:35):
work out, if there isn't aconnection, then we try to find
the right partner. Because Ithink there are many sports
where you can work on physicalattributes such as your balance
your your fitness, yourcoordination your core. But as
you both understand, this is adifferent sport because you've
got an animal, and if he's not,or she's not very happy with
(43:58):
you, or the other way around,then we we change it. But you'd
be amazed how much time myinstructors work on the
connection and making theconnection. Yeah, yeah. So as a
society, we can just learn fromthat. Yeah, like really looking
at the connection, whether it'sa teacher with children, like
(44:19):
not all teachers are the bestfit for each child. That's true.
Not all parents have the bestparent for the child. I'm a big
advocate. I've sat on herebefore the parents of the
problem. These Children's Fundthey do not come into this world
talking back to you. There's alittle anger in there or not
(44:41):
being seen in there or a littlemisunderstanding that we need to
get to the bottom of right. Alot from from the structure of
these horses andthe nice part about it is the
horse doesn't bother to get intoit with you. It just walks away
like that'sit It's true. But there is,
there is the other level incompetition, there are the same
(45:02):
thing where you can have a topcompetent combination of horse
and rider winning everything.
And then the horse gets sold tothe next rider, there's no
guarantee at all that successwill continue. Because the
connection might not be there.
And it can happen the other wayaround, that a ride is not doing
well with a horse. So I'mtalking now about competition.
(45:22):
The horse is sold to a newpartner and everything changes,
it's kind of the same thing. Itis the connection, right?
We'll think of like a marriage,like I'm actually a very strong,
fiery female. And so I'm Alphaand my relationship a lot. And I
have a very sweet husband. Thatis okay with that. Right? You
(45:44):
know, that'sthe perfect match, right. And so
that's,you know, a little metaphor for
the horse. Butit's also it's also the the
leader follower metaphor. I'vebeen telling you that my
instructors have been teachingfor years and years and years,
and they have an unbelievableunderstanding of our horses. So
when they go out on a rightafter the, towards the end of
the lesson, when we go out onthe trails, let's say for
(46:07):
horses, most of our classes arefor four people. They know which
host wants to go at the front,which run it goes in the middle
and which one goes at the back.
It's extraordinary, right? Wow,there are horses that like to be
leaders and horses that like tobe followers like me. Yeah. And
we know all of that. And thatleads to success.
(46:27):
My daughter's horse there. Sowhen we got her she was to help
Claire gain some confidence.
Right. And she's an experiencedhorse. Yeah, yeah. As she says,
she knows what's what, that'snot going to tell her. As far as
Claire is progressing. Yes, theyhave this little bit of a power
will give her a little bit andshe'll be like, Okay, I'll do it
(46:49):
your way. And the minute Clairegets it wrong. She's like,
that's it. We're doing it myway. I gave you.
Yeah, that's funny. That'sfunny. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, but
those are extraordinary thingsthat you can't think of another
sport where you can have that Iwould agree, I guess, with the
dog a little bit. But the factthat you're riding a horse, and
(47:10):
it says, levels toinvolved in that, you know, if
you're competing on a horse,like the trust level is exactly
for both of you.
Exactly. And and we do havechildren who would struggle to
be in a team sport, and thereare some sports they can't do.
But writing is one that mostpeople can do. I've talked about
that today, whether you'reblind, or perhaps you've had a
(47:30):
stroke, or you're very anxious.
At Windrush, we love to show youthat you're capable of more than
you think. And it's justfantastic to see the smiles
when, when people are eitherrunning, although we ask them
not to run, but they run to theponies don't run don't run, or
when they get off the pony andrun to the car and want to tell
their parents what they did.
(47:52):
Yes. Right.
So when we when we crossover,the first thing that you realize
is how capable you were as ahuman, and how powerful
energetically your thoughts andyour words are. And how powerful
your intention. Intentionenergetically is everything here
(48:16):
on Earth. Yeah, yeah. And youdon't fully have the full
realization of this until you'renot in the physical body
anymore. Okay, but the horsessense it. So the horse is able
to see it within you and know itbefore you even know it.
Amazing. Beauty. So thebeautiful woman that started
(48:37):
when rash. Yes, she had thatknowing she came in with that.
Yes, yes. And she was braveenough Yes, to step through fear
of vulnerability and start thebeautiful business.
And what's really great ispeople recognize that Amy, she
has so many friends andsupporters on the North Shore. I
(48:58):
couldn't think of a better placeto have Windrush than the North
Shore because it's an area fullof equestrians. Marge was a very
accomplished rider and judge ofdressage competitions. Dressage
is like ballet you're noddingbecause you know, you know
what's important. I have noidea. But they're learning it's
it's high level writing andmarch Kittredge is was renowned.
(49:22):
Sadly, she passed away, I thinkit was 2010. But to this day, so
many people give donations toWindrush because of March and
during the pandemic, when wewere closed, and I was concerned
of how are we going to getthrough this? I said to a board
member that I was a bit worriedthat Windrush was going to close
on my watch. I joined in 2016.
And she said, There's no waydonors will not let that happen
(49:46):
to what Marge Kitteridgestarted. Isn't that fantastic?
Because people knew what youjust said that she was an
extraordinary soul and just knewabout what we've been talking
about that the connection isstraordinaria that the outside
of a horse, it's good for theinside of man. And if you can
get support, we could not runWindrush without donations and
(50:07):
grants. And the gala, everynonprofit has to have a gala
where we have beautiful videosand people see what we do and
become quite emotional. Andwhat's so beautiful at the gala
is non horse, people get to seesomething that they've never
seen before. I mean, in thevideo, and horse, people just
get to admire how Windrush doesit. Because we do serve up to
(50:32):
160 clients a week, it's a lotof people. That's a lot of work
for our horses, right? We'reasking a lot of our horses to
one day, be gentle with a childwho's struggling, the next day,
trot for a man who wants to go abit faster, the next day stand
there because somebody wants togroom them for an hour. And I
(50:54):
call them whatever horses, theyhad to do whatever we asked them
to do.
But they have a purpose. Andthey know what they do. I agree
with you, they really do. Sowhen Rush is is built on love.
Yes. She built that on love.
Yes. And love is such a highvibration. So as long as when
Russia stays in alignment withlove, there will always be money
(51:17):
in donation. Right? It's justsuch a high vibe. Well, I
actually think you're right. Ihadn't worked in fundraising
before. And then I learned thatyou're not asking for gifts for
yourself. Obviously, you'reasking for a mission. And when
you find somebody, and there area lot of people out there who
love animals, and then lovechildren and love to help. It's
(51:40):
so incredibly rewarding. Andit's not impossible. So I like
what you said. And I agree withyou because I think we're doing
something very special bybringing horses and people
together. And it would not bepossible without people like you
taking the time to speak to me.
And donors taking the time towrite a check. Yeah, seriously,
take the time,Janet, how can people find you?
(52:03):
Especially if they want to writethose checks? For such a
beautiful and donate? Yes,though, I think we have a good
website. It's Wind Rush farm.orgOne word. We're also on Facebook
and Instagram. But the websiteis where you can get all the
information about how tovolunteer, how to register for
classes, and how to make adonation to everything and how
(52:28):
to apply for a scholarship. It'spretty a good website, a lot of
information that you'recoming down. I know you Janet,
thank you for inviting me it wasa pleasure.
And thank you everyone forlistening. We hope you found
this enlightening. Please besure to subscribe to our podcast
we can be found wherever you getyour podcasts.
(52:50):
And we're on Instagram at spillthe ginger tea podcast. So if
you have any questions orcomments or ideas for future
shows, please message us there.
And you can follow me on socialmedia at Angel ami 1123. Until
next time, be well
Hi, I'm Lila. And I'm Angel, Amy. So today we are
going to have a chat with Janetfrom Wind Rush farm. And she is
the CEO of therapeutic ridingcenter. And we are so excited to
have you here today, Janet,thank you.
(00:22):
Thank you so much for invitingme.
So Janet, tell us a little bitabout how you got into horses.
I wish I could tell youprecisely but I was so young. I
don't really remember. I dothink it sometimes just happens
that you see ponies on thetelevision or in a local farm. I
grew up in Devon in England,where there are a lot of ponies.
(00:44):
And all I do remember is beingsent to ballet lessons and after
the first or second saying to mymother, could I please have
riding lessons and after thatnever looked back?
So you've just kind of felt acalling in. I always say from
your soul. It just felt verynatural for you. Yes,
(01:05):
I think that is exactly the wayto say it.
So beautiful. So Lila actuallyhas a horse so you've been
around formy daughter's technically okay.
But she's very clear. Are weallowed to tell her name on air?
Let's she's bow.
Beautiful. How old is Belle nowis 16. Okay, Claire has had her
(01:25):
for two years. She was her justout of the pandemic horse, which
was very lucky right. Aseverything opened up. We raced
off and found her. Perfect.
She's the absolute perfecthorse.
(01:45):
Oh, so Janet, obviously is isvery versed in horses and Lila
has a love for horses. And I'm acity girl. I have moved to more
of a country setting. And I'mstarting to get into really like
(02:05):
looking at the horses. I'mgetting a little closer. I feel
I do feel a connection. But Ineed to come and visit you,
Janet.
You absolutely do. Especiallyfor the new clients who have
never seen a horse before. It'squite surprising. And for small
(02:26):
children, it can be a littlescary. But at Windrush farm, we
have very well trainedinstructors, and very well
trained horses to help youovercome any fear or anxiety
that you might have. And thensometimes it happens in a day.
Sometimes it takes a little bitlonger before you develop that
passion that so many horselovers have.
(02:48):
So Janet, tell us a little bitabout what you do at Windrush
farm, what these therapeuticwriting programs are about,
thank you. Windrush farm is theoldest therapeutic riding center
in New England. It was foundedin 1964 by Marge Kittredge, she
had the idea that we are allcapable of more than we think.
(03:10):
And she wanted to challengeyoung people. She started with a
group of teenagers who troubledor had many challenges in life.
She started the farm with herown horses, and quickly
discovered the benefits oftherapeutic riding. Since 1964.
(03:31):
As I said, we're the oldestCenter in New England, we've
grown to be one of the largestwith about 20 horses, and one of
the leading always coming upwith new ideas to meet the needs
of the market. Today, we havemany clients who are struggling
with anxiety, with stress, somefacing addiction, clients with
memory care, or memorychallenges. And the benefits of
(03:56):
spending time on a farm withwell trained horses is quite
extraordinary. There's manypieces of research that have
been done about the benefits,physical, mental, and for your
for your spirit of being withhorses, many studies all over
the world. But I think ourfounder March kitchen just knew
(04:19):
that this would be a conceptthat would take off the center's
are now all over the UnitedStates. But march started this
movement right here in NorthAndover at Windrush mom. Oh,
that's amazing.
It is.
So do you find that? So let mestart here. So I know that
(04:40):
horses have a sixth sense justas I do, and that they can sense
things about humans that maybeother humans aren't as, as aware
of. Do you find that some horsesact differently around certain
types of people? There arecertain people that may have a
(05:02):
thematic, something in theirlife, whether it's anxiety or
addiction orsuch a great question. I can't
tell you scientifically why thathappens, perhaps, you know, but
it's absolutely true. We had asweet pony for many years.
Sadly, he departed this wellbefore Christmas. But there is
(05:25):
an article about him in theBoston Globe because he was so
well known. And he is known forone day, when he just stopped in
class. And, of course, our ponyshouldn't stop in class until
they're asked to. And theinstructor went over to see what
was wrong. And the child washaving a seizure, and the pony
(05:45):
had always felt it before itstarted. Wow, ponies can feel
that there's a fly on their backwhen you think about that's
ridiculous, right? One fly is sosmall, but they are very
sensitive creatures. And therewas a group last week of
teenagers who came to help atthe farm. And afterwards, the
(06:06):
treat is always to say hello tothe horses. And we have one
horse that is the highestperforming horse in the arena.
He can do movements that theothers can't do. But he is known
for not being the most friendlyin the band, because he's, he I
think he sees himself as a star.
(06:27):
And this one teenager wanted tosay hello to him. And I said,
please be careful. And it was aperfect meeting, they the horse
just seemed to know that thisteenager was right for him. And
they wanted to to coordinate andconnect, I should say they
wanted to connect. And you'reabsolutely right. There are
definitely people who have moreof a sense for horses. And there
(06:50):
are certain horses that relateto certain people. We also have
many innovative programs, andwith our instructors always
coming up with new ideas, andone is people who come unmounted
they're standing in the arenawith five people in a circle
usually starts with some yogaand meditation, then we bring in
(07:12):
five horses who are in a circleoutside the the clients, if that
makes sense. And we ask theclient from goat to go from
horse to horse and pick the onethat's right for them. And often
my instructor says, Janet,that's not what's happening. The
horse is picking the person. No,no, no, they become a team for
the program.
Do you notice? Is there apattern that you've noticed as
(07:37):
Janet from Wind Rush bomb? Or isIs there no rhyme or reason?
Like? Did you notice like apattern as to why a horse would
pick a particular person?
I don't think I can. I don'tthink I'm good enough to do
that. It's sort of a magic thingthat like They're magically
explained, just seems to be aconnection. But I think most of
(08:00):
us if you've gone to look at apony that you might buy for
yourself or your child, or Iremember when I went to a
shelter to select a puppy withmy children. It was just obvious
likea knowing Yeah, yeah. So in my
world, when humans know, thingsjust know. It's called
clairsentience. And that'sactually the number one were my
(08:23):
number one ability. And then Isee clear clairvoyance is seeing
but clear sentience is justknowing. And so I have this cute
little story from a few yearsback where I was at camp with my
husband's side of the family.
(08:44):
And there's five children, andall the children were out
playing away from the camp, wewere on a lake. And all I was
with all the adults and all of asudden I say out loud, I feel an
injured child. I just and so Ijust got off the chair. Because
(09:04):
at the time mine may have beenseven ish. And so as I got up, I
look out the window. And there'sall five children and to have
little Henry who was aroundseven as well. And he had
tripped and fallen and and theother adults were like how did
(09:25):
you know that? Even though theyknow I'm psychic? Yeah, I
didn't. I was glad he didn'tbreak anything if To be honest,
because you so you didn't knowthe level of the injury, right?
You could just I feel unsafe,and unsafe can also feel
(09:50):
sadness, like if he was crying.
I could just feel it within achild element and knew that we
had five children. It must beone of ours. You're seeing the
horses consensus thatthey're very sensitive
creatures. Now, if you thinkabout the evolution of horses,
it's an animal of prey. And Ilove teaching the children that
(10:12):
and some of them know and one ofthe children taught me, I'll try
to remember what he said, eyeson the side born to hide as the
animal of prey, right, eyes infront born to hunt. And what's
so wonderful about Windrush iswe all learn about nature,
because on a beautiful farm, welearn about horses, we learn
(10:32):
about people. But we also we atWindrush also learn from our
clients. And that was a nicelittle thing I learned eyes on
the side, eyes in front born tohunt. Now, because the horse is
an animal of prey, he always hasto look out for himself. But at
the same time, very often, he'slooking out for the rider as
(10:53):
well. So if he hears something,their sense of hearing is
incredible. Their sense of smellis incredible. And I would
imagine, and you'd know betterthan me, me that all those
heightened senses develops theother sense. I think you called
it the sixth sense. Yeah.
Because sometimes you'll go outinto the woods, and the horse
(11:16):
might be a little bit anxious.
And it could be that theysmelled a bear, for example,
that you didn't smell. So youhave to respect the horse
because he's protecting himselfand protecting you.
Absolutely.
That's what when I was a kid,that was one of the big things
that I remember learning wasthat because they're prey
(11:38):
animals, your energy iseverything. So if you're afraid
of something not not Yeah, ofthe horse, but you're fearful,
they're going to be fearfulbecause they're like, Well,
what's coming? It's like, what,why are you true? Why are you
and I tend to be a high energyperson. And because I used to do
a lot of competition. On horses,I used to be more like, let's
(12:00):
go, it's 5am. We've got to go tothe show. Now I'm trying to
learn with help for myinstructors to slow down. And we
teach all our children to take adeep breath, when they walk into
the stall. Look at the pony, wego from the side, remember, the
eyes are on the side, they can'tsee directly in front of them.
Is that startling? So you gofrom the side, gentle voice
(12:22):
horses love the voice, all ourhorses are trained to go on the
voice because some of ourwriters are physically not able,
or cognitively not able to givethe aids with their legs or
their hands. And we train themall to stop, walk on, trot
everything on voice and horseslove a calming voice. But the
(12:43):
irony is, if you mentionedcoming from the city, if you are
a little bit anxious, you dohave to work on that because as
you said, Lila a horse will pickup if you're a little bit
nervous. And it's so ironic thatduring the pandemic, we had more
inquiries than ever, becauseparents were looking for
activities for their children,looking for safe activities
(13:04):
where they could be outside, orupon a horse on their own. All
the team sports had beencanceled. And it seems strange
to some people that you wouldbring an anxious child to a
stable, but no, we train we as Isaid, we train our horses. Well,
our instructors are all trainedto teach and help children and
(13:25):
adults with challenges. And weteach the children to take it
very slowly, very carefully. Ihave seen a child trembling as
they get into the saddle. And ina second, it turns to a smile
when they realize I can do this.
And it goes back to what ourfounders said, we're all capable
of more than we think. But youneed help right to try. Take a
(13:45):
deep breath, take it slowly. Geton the pony and develop this
relationship. And slowly, youovercome your fear. And I'm sure
you'll agree that to be able todo something that was difficult
in the beginning, and youovercame your fear. We have
mothers who say their childrenare singing on the way home
(14:05):
because they're so happy if Idid it, right. I did it right.
And that's actually good advicefor any situation. Right? Take a
deep breath.
Always take a deep breath.
Exactly, exactly.
So stepping through fear ofvulnerability is crossing over
(14:27):
from say, a lower vibration to ahigher vibration. And so fear
and anxiety and depression areon the low rungs of the
emotional ladder. And joy andpeace and love are at the top of
the emotional ladder. There's alot of other emotions in
(14:51):
between. But the middle is hope.
And so when a human so so prettymuch the horse is giving the
human an opportunity without thehuman realizing it, to then move
from the low rung over up tohope. I'm hopeful that this is
going to be a beautifulexperience. Not in this alone, I
(15:13):
have this beautiful majesticanimal with me, it then turns
into stepping through that fearof vulnerability, using the
hope. And then you go up to joy,and then the smiles come.
That's so lovely. Yeah, there isa saying, and nobody knows who
said it. Some people think it'sWinston Churchill, but it was
(15:35):
not. But somebody said, There'ssomething about the outside of
the horse, which is good for thesoul of man of a man's soul. And
it's such a great saying. Theother thing I mentioned before
is there's a lot of researchbeing done now about the benefit
for children on the spectrum, oradults with dementia. And you
(15:57):
can measure things such as youknow, is reduction in anxiety,
you can measure improvement inyour balance or your muscle
tone. But we have served formany years, children from the
Perkins School for the Blind.
And one day I saw a youngteenager standing on one of our
horses is called vaulting,they're standing there and the
horse is moving. And I said toone of my and he's the biggest
(16:20):
smile ever. And I said to one ofmy instructors, we can measure
all these things. But how can Imeasure joy? To your point? Yes,
the joy of someone who's blindriding a horse? It's absolutely
incredible, right?
Do you believe that theseanimals are empathic? Do you use
that language? And the showempathy you meet? Yes. And so it
(16:43):
was? Yes, it means to feelothers feelings?
Absolutely. And we select them.
It's very difficult for a horseto be accepted to Windrush, my
former chair said it's harderthan for a student to get into
Harvard. They come on a trialfor eight weeks, they have to
show empathy me otherwise theywould not be suitable for this
(17:05):
program. But all of Windrushruns on love and kindness. We
have hundreds of volunteers whohelp every day, we have staff
who are there, in New Englandwinters, it's not easy, but they
do it for the mission, everybodygets up every day to help our
clients and our horses the same,they have a job to do the horse.
It's amazing that they arecreated for us with such a work
(17:30):
ethic. Yes, they have to be fed.
And I tell everybody, you haveto love and feed them, it's
actually the other way around,you have to feed them and then
love.
Horses do have differentpersonalities, horses will be
more successful exactly in aprogram like yours Exactly. than
(17:50):
other horses,some horses like people love to
be with one other. At Windrush,you have to be ready to be with
many people, and some of ourhorses are social butterflies
and just love it, and otherswould rather not be so so
social, but they have to haveempathy, they have to be kind.
So some of the horses areactually compassionate. And I'd
(18:13):
like to explain why Okay, isempathy is the ability to feel
others feelings, but then when ahorse is aligned with a human
that is say highest and best forthem, for whatever reason, when
there is this, this intuitiveelement of chemistry or
(18:36):
connection, so an energeticconnection, the horse actually
becomes compassionate. And thatis when healing takes place. So
compassion is basically feelingthe feeling, but you want to
take it away. So the horsebegins to become through that
(18:58):
connection with the human. Andwe could talk about love is
there to write, the horse thenenergetically starts to be
compassionate in a human, maybenot in their mind, but in their
their body, in an energeticsense can feel the love and
compassion of a horse. Andthat's when the magic happens.
(19:20):
That's when the child with ablind child is standing on the
floor. I feel like I'm gonnacry.
Oh, it's so it's so well saidand you're not a horse person.
I'm so impressed. Ijust haven't been exposed. I
I feel maybe I just need to calmmyself. Right. That's amazing.
(19:40):
Because you also offer you youhave writing programs for
beginners or summer camps.
Absolutely.
It's a wonderful place foreverybody to learn to ride
because the horses as I said,are so well trained, and we're
not a competition bond. It'sabout enjoying the relationship
with horses makes me like thatlaw Janet. That's what that's
what Just about today, you'regonna join summer camp. But you
(20:05):
have to look out the stores. Oh,I can sell my girl, which I also
want to mention the other wayround from what you so
beautifully said, wow is thekindness that horses bring out
in people. So we had a child afew years ago who was bouncing
in the saddle. And imagine ifyou're on all fours with your
(20:26):
your children or yourgrandchildren bouncing on your
back. It's doesn't It doesn'thelp you. You don't feel great.
And the mother, sometimes theparents walk with the children
because they enjoy it. When wego out on our beautiful trails.
We have miles of trails toexplore. And one time this boy
was bouncing in the saddle. Andthe mother asked him to stop.
(20:46):
And unfortunately, he decidedthat would be more fun to
continue. And I was there and Ijust said, be kind to the pony.
She's hurting. And he leantforward, patted her on the neck,
and never did it again. It wasso sweet because he understood
that, although it was fun tobounce in the saddle, and
(21:07):
sometimes it's fun to not listento your parents. When he
realized that he was actuallyhurting the pony. He completely
changed and never did it again.
So it is a two way street.
Kindnessit is but your super kind Janet.
When you when when a mom says itwere moms. You have a little
anger there. But when Chad Janetsaying it's a lovely I love for
(21:30):
the phony. My British accent.
Everything is lovely. I saylovely. All lovely.
And so the Chatswood This is mychildren through so precious.
It's the approach. And you justlet them know at a love that
(21:50):
we're now going to hurt thehorse. Right, right. And then
they just they'll checkthemselves saying it from love.
Lovely. It's fun.
So tell us a little more aboutthe therapeutic part of the
(22:12):
center. And what takes place?
Yeah, so that is such a greatquestion. Because we've talked a
lot about writing about it.
Windrush, we teach so much aboutcaring for an animal, and
feeling responsible for thatanimal. And noticing things, I
think we've touched on that. Butwhen you go into the stable, the
horse will be looking at youbecause he is an animal of prey,
(22:32):
we teach our children how to sayhello to a horse, which I didn't
know about growing up I didn'tknow about you should approach a
horse on the side. Althoughhorses and humans have been
together for about 10,000 years,we always have more things to
learn about each other. So we'vewe teach our clients to make a
fist and let the horse smelltheir hand. Because that's how
(22:54):
animals like to greet eachother. The horse needs to know
that you're a friend, not a foe,be very gentle. And we teach our
clients how to groom how tobrush a pony, which is very
beneficial for both. It's again,a bonding experience, you get to
know know each other. This isnot a place where everything is
quick, let's get the tack on thehorse and let's go for a ride.
(23:18):
It's about building thatrelationship. As we talked about
before, building the confidencein our in our clients, teaching
them about horse behavior, whatto look out for how to know when
a horse is not happy. And we dothough ask them to do as much as
they can, if they can. Nowclients who are in a wheelchair
can groom horses, we're just nowbuilding a new center, a
(23:41):
structure called the outdoorlearning center. And it's going
to make it possible for somebodyin a wheelchair to get closer to
the horses, because in thestable, it's a bit difficult,
but we're just building it. Aswe speak today. The concrete has
gone in there's a beautifulslope so that we can push the
wheelchairs up the slope and getpeople close to the horse. And
(24:03):
we have a ramp that helped thatcaregivers often come with the
clients and can take thewheelchair up the ramp to mount
the horse. Now if they cannotget out of the wheelchair onto
the horse, we have a electroniclift that lifts you into the air
up and over onto the house,which absolutely fantastic. Then
(24:25):
almost I'll talk about theriding almost every writing
lesson starts with exercises topromote strength to build your
core, your coordination and yourbalance. So all the adults are
doing exercises with their legsand their arms up in the air.
It's a great way to warm peopleup and get them ready. And
(24:46):
almost almost every lessonrequires a horse handler that
somebody to lead the horse ifthe client isn't able to use the
reins themselves or they're abeginner So many of our clients
who have issues with balance,need side walkers that I hope it
makes sense as they walk on theside of the horse. Some horses
(25:08):
don't like that they have tolearn to be used to people
walking beside them, who justhelped the rider to stay in the
center. They helped with theirposture and their balance. But
every lesson begins with helpingto get the horse ready. If
you're able, then mounting, as Isaid, then exercises and then
depending on your level, you'llbe walking, possibly trotting,
(25:31):
that's when the horse goes alittle faster. Some of our
clients can counter. But moreimportantly, there's also
socialization element. Some ofour clients come from homes,
they don't get a lot ofactivities outside. And the day
at Windrush is often the verybest day. And the lessons often
end with a ride out through thewoods or through the fields. And
(25:55):
many games Secondly, many, manygames to play, because I think
that's important, too, that youplay together and you meet other
people. So as I said, some ofour riders are a little nervous,
little anxious. Not very social.
We have many children on thespectrum who are nonverbal. They
(26:15):
absolutely communicate withtheir horses, touching and
hugging and playing games. Sothat's the typical program. Wow,
yeah. Do you find? Or can yousend a, like a different
personality with each horse?
Yes. And if the ridinginstructors were here, they will
(26:37):
be much better at it than I am.
We have this is a testament tomark Kittredge. I have three
people who've worked at Windrushfor over 30 years. Wow, they
know every horse, it'sunbelievable. And sadly, because
that's the sad fact that horsesdon't live as long as humans. So
we have a list of wonderfulhorses that have left this
world. But our instructors, myinstructors still tell me about,
(27:00):
oh, this horse did this, andthis hosted that they know them
so well. I think I'm a goodhorse person. I think my
instructors are extraordinaryhorse people. And we have had
clients who've been riding withus for over 20 years. So they
have so many stories to tellabout what happened in a
particular situation. It'samazing. Yeah.
(27:24):
Do you feel that yourinstructors felt a calling for
this work?
Absolutely. No question. It'svery challenging, because you're
not just teaching horsebehavior, horse care,
responsibility and writing,you're dealing with a wide range
(27:45):
of people with differentchallenges. From the age of six
to over 70. We've mentionedchildren on the spectrum,
children who are nonverbal,adults with dementia, an adult
who's had a stroke. It's anamazingly challenging position,
because you have to be able tobalance the two, your skills
with horses and your skills withpeople. And it isn't very well
(28:09):
paid. That's a fact. They do itbecause they love horses and
love people. And I'm going tosay the same for volunteers. Our
volunteers usually come toWindrush because they love
horses, they used to ride orthey've always wanted to ride.
And they end up staying formonths or years, because they
build a bond with the client.
And they love it to come everyweek to help in a class. And we
(28:33):
couldn't do the classes withoutthe volunteers because as I said
before, we need horse handlers.
And we need side walkers. But Ilove the fact if you ask almost
anybody, Amy and Lila, why didyou come to Windrush? Oh,
because I loved horses. I usedto ride. I watched Flickr every
day, but they stay because ofwhat they see the benefits the
(28:55):
smile, and there is one lady whonever smiles and I once said to
a board member, am I sure she'senjoying this experience? He
said, does she turn up everyweek? I said yes. She just isn't
probably able to smile. Sheprobably is quite challenged.
But she comes every week. Sothat tells you that she still
loves it, though she's she'snonverbal. And I never see a
(29:18):
smile, but she comes every week.
So I think the smile is on theinside.
Okay, so is it a form of likeawkward occupational therapy or
physical therapy that the theinstructors are doing it? I have
to be careful because they'renot trained as I have to be
careful and respect theprofession of occupational
therapists and physicaltherapists and speech
therapists, but they aretrained, certified, writing
(29:43):
instructors, for people withchallenges. The association that
we belong to is called Path andit's the professional
association of TherapeuticHorsemanship. And it's wonderful
that our founder started or wasone of the The status of the
predecessor of path, there usedto be a different Association.
(30:05):
March started it to set thestandards out there. And
Windrush is a premier accreditedCenter, which is very hard work,
it means every few years, peoplecome and inspect everything we
do to make sure that our horsesare in the best condition
possible, and that we follow allthe guidelines, it is possible
(30:25):
to open a therapeutic ridingcenter without having
therapeutic certifiedinstructors. But that's not what
Windrush does, because it's theright thing to do is to have the
highest standards, becausethat's what our clients deserve.
And our horses, they deservethat. And
I've no one needs a referral oranything to be in touch with you
(30:46):
and see if they would be a matchfor your that's a
great question. They don't needa referral, and we have
inquiries every day. But if youhave a diagnosis, for example,
you're on the spectrum or haveany type of ailment, you do need
permission from your physicianto partake of writing at
Windrush farm, which just makessense, right. And that is
(31:08):
something that's usually veryeasy to obtain. And the other
thing I should mention, becausepeople might be asking, the
services are not free, do haveto pay. But we do now have
scholarships that you can findon the website, Windrush
farm.org. And I'm so pleasedthat we can now help people who
aren't able to pay for theservices. And our sessions are
(31:30):
rather like at a school we have,we follow the academic year. So
we have a full session, a wintersession, which is the shorter
one, for very brave people wholove to ride in the cold. And
some people really do really dolove to ride in the snow. And
then we have the spring session,and then we have the summer
programs for you, Amy.
(31:52):
All I can think of is I need anew outfit for this. Oh, yes,
you have to have the outfit.
Very important. It's veryimportant. We'll
tell you. So I grew up ridingYeah. And then hadn't written
gears over just this pastwinter. So my sister, we both
grew up riding. Yeah, uh,probably five or six years ago,
she was like, I'm gonna takeriding lessons. I was like, What
(32:13):
are you talking about? So shehad written a while she was
like, Oh, it's so much fun. Youknow? So this past winter, I did
it. I have to tell you. I couldnot believe how hard it was.
When I think back to my secondchild. I'm like, Oh, my God.
Exactly. The muscles that youknow.
(32:34):
And muscles that you don't usein other sports. Yeah. And we
have clients who come to ride wecall the recreational programs
or therapeutic riding programsare recreational. And you do
have adults who always wanted toride now that they're living the
dream, but they're alsosurprised how hard it is.
So I've actually been on ahorse. Yeah, it's been years.
(32:56):
You know, I'm 47. So maybe 40years ago. And I'm just
remembering this now is mygrandfather. So my mother's
father. So this is the Italianside. He had a farm in Maine,
and had a horse in this photosof us on the horse. Yes, I
(33:17):
remember it a little bit. Yeah.
But it was just I was soconnected to the animals. And
you know, sometimes the animalsdisappeared, not the horses but
disappeared for food, quoteunquote. Yes. And I had a tough
time with that exact that wasn'thidden from me. Yeah. My stocks
coming up while Ah.
(33:41):
Yeah, my mother told me the samething. They had chickens during
the war. And one day herfavorite chicken wasn't there.
That probably shouldn't berecorded. But it's reality. It's
during the war. Oh, absolutely.
In rural places, that issomething you you get accustomed
to. But the first time it's ashock. It's terrible.
(34:06):
Right? We don't think of whenyou're 567 years old, where the
food comes from?
Exactly. People don't think ofit when they're 50 years. Right?
It's in a cellophane package.
You don't want to think about itdo it Have you thought about it?
It's like don't name the horseor the sorry, the how if the
(34:27):
cars going down.
I hear some people would say thereverse that you that you love
the cow and you give the cow aname and then you sort of think
the cow forRight? Right? Well that's 2022
we're going back to 1980 by that1982
(34:48):
But I think I am thinking aboutit more than I used to and I
wonder if I am slowly becomingvegan because it's bothering me
more than used to slowlysee that happening. All
elemental soul.
Slowly though, when Iwas a kid, I remember we used to
name the lobsters. So you'd havelobsters and we'd play with them
on the floor and we would namethem and my parents would always
(35:10):
say don't do that. Don'tget too attached to them. Harry,
Harry's going down. The funniestthing that I have to say about
ponies, I hope Oh, let me askyou, Leila. Do you remember the
name of the first pony that yourode? Lucky. You see, everybody
does andthen we had not only did I ride
him first, he was the first putwe we bought that pony. And
(35:30):
yeah, we treated that pony like,like a dog or a pet we we lay
down with him in his stallreally? For thing to bits, but
right so interestingly, he hadan accident and lost an eye
right. And we had done you know,Pony hunters with him. So Oh,
(35:54):
nuts. In addition to that he wasthis Dog Pony. So perfect love
Don and the rest of it. And itwas fascinating to see how he
just continued to trust people.
So with with the IMS thing,yeah. You know, he was really at
a huge deficit. Exactly.
(36:15):
That's amazing. Lila, itwas It is amazing.
He went on we left the womanthat we trained with, you know,
as we outgrew him she kept himas the lesson pony because he
was a great Tony but his I willnever forget. So he had his eye
was removed. So he had like asunken cavity where his Yeah,
(36:37):
would have been. Yeah. So alittle girl is getting him
ready. She's brushing him andthe mother comes around and sees
him and she's like, Oh, what iswrong with that pony? And oh,
really? This month? She's sospecial. Oh, you have to just be
gentle. So he sees you coming?
Yes, she was. It was beautiful.
(36:58):
In that moment, I knew we haddone the right thing to leave
him as it because he loved beinga lesson. Yes, yes, the laziest
lesson.
But there are ponies with oneeye that still jump and do
amazing things. We're actuallynot allowed to sadly take ponies
with one eye is one of the rulesof the association that I just
mentioned. But they often dovery well. It's amazing
(37:21):
is the forgiveness pony. Butthen all because he was so
forgiving to the humans andstill loved them. Yeah. So he
taught forgiveness. Yeah. Butthen he taught the mother love.
Yeah, like, well, the littlegirl helped with that. But yeah,
teaching the mother how toreally love unconditionally.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. It'spowerful. When you really look
(37:44):
at that story.
He was just the best.
But everybody remembers thepony. They forget wrote except
for me.
I'm ready to text my sister.
She's a genie, but you onlywrote once. No
several times. We got with himout of the city. Remembering
(38:05):
what was yours Janet Rugglesgirls and Amanda
Windrush. We teach cantering inthe indoor arena when the child
or adult is ready. But Iremember being taken. Oh, I
can't remember what you call itpony pony or something. I don't
know. But I remember being ledby my instructor and cantering
(38:28):
behind her, you know, on shehad? Yeah. And I would counter
with her. And because it wasEngland, everything was muddy.
And I always remember beingcompletely covered in mud. But
that's how I learned to Cantorwas being led by the instructor
with Ruggles. I never forgethim. He's so sweet. And I also
think your first experiencematters. If it was good, it's
(38:51):
usually something you want to doforever and ever. If it was a
little bit scary, you may notwant to. And that's another
thing that's so important thatwind rush, take it slowly. Make
sure you're ready to do the nextthing, right, because this isn't
a sprint. This is a marathon toteaching you about animals and
caring and right and the joythat you mentioned before.
(39:12):
And the animals that you'reusing are are very well trained,
that they're very wellsocialized to having people
around and exactly not allhorses have exactly.
And that I said that before.
It's quite difficult to get intoWindrush as a horse because some
are not suitable and some willtell you they would say I'd
rather than have one personwriting me, not different
people. And I said some horsesjust love this activity that
(39:35):
goes onall the time. So do we call them
extroverted horses? I thinkintroverted points are
onto something. And if only Icould have a form that we could
find love. But you know, horsesdo need to be busy, right? It is
(39:55):
an animal that likes to to haveactivities, whatever that might
be. In, but some of them justare so happy to to be the wind
in the Wind Rush programs andevery child has their favorite.
And to your question earlier, Ithink the horses have their
favorites too,too. So during the pandemic, my
husband and I watchedYellowstone, and that really got
(40:18):
us into horses are thinkingabout horses. And my friend, one
of my best friends watchedYellowstone as well. So she
said, I think I want to startriding horses. So I'm sure some
of the the adults that that areinterested watched yellow. Sure,
(40:38):
you're right. And so she went toa farm, it wasn't your farm. And
there were a bunch of horsesthat she was looking at. There
was this male horse in thedistance, and he was alone. And
she felt drawn to him. And sheinquired, and the owner had
(41:00):
said, Well, he had a very roughupbringing. No one rides him. So
she asked us, she wanted to seehim. So she she went up to like
the fence or whatever. The youknow, wherever he was, and he
actually came towards her. Andshe pet she started to pet them.
(41:22):
And they there was a connection.
And the owner said he, hedoesn't, he hasn't allowed
anyone to touch him since he'sbeen here. Okay, so then she
ended up getting pregnant, whichis a beautiful thing. Yes. And
so I'm not sure then about thishorse. But I just wanted to
(41:46):
mention about the beautifulconnections and how they just
can sense exactly. She's a verygrounded present person right?
That would make you feel safe.
She's very very she's she's veryshe she has her like we would
say your head on straight. Butshe in her priorities and check.
(42:09):
But the way she presentsherself, she's a very
emotionally and physicallystrong female. Right? Right. But
yet gentle,right? But you see, you're onto
something. If you go to a ranch,or go for a trail ride, which
I've done because my familyenjoy it, you do just turn up,
and they'll line up the horsesand you'll just ride one. That's
(42:32):
how it is right. But that's nothow it is at Windrush, our
instructors spend a lot of timematching the rider with the
horse. And it's for manydifferent reasons. Sometimes
it's physical, our weight limitis 185 pounds, just just so
you're aware. But sometimes wehave a child who's rather
ambitious, and needs a fasterhorse. We have different breeds
(42:53):
at the farm different types ofhorses. And sometimes we have a
very anxious rider who needs avery steady horse. So you have
to get the partnership right, sothat there is a connection. It
reminds me though, of theSpanish Riding School, where the
beautiful liposarcomas in Viennaare trained to do wonderful
(43:13):
movements, you've probably seenthem in shows and the older
horses train the young riders,and the older riders train the
young horses. So it's a perfectbalance. It's interesting, and
we kind of do this little bitthe same thing at Windrush
because of trying to find theconnection. Most of our riders
love the first pony or horsethey ride. And if it doesn't
(43:35):
work out, if there isn't aconnection, then we try to find
the right partner. Because Ithink there are many sports
where you can work on physicalattributes such as your balance
your your fitness, yourcoordination your core. But as
you both understand, this is adifferent sport because you've
got an animal, and if he's not,or she's not very happy with
(43:58):
you, or the other way around,then we we change it. But you'd
be amazed how much time myinstructors work on the
connection and making theconnection. Yeah, yeah. So as a
society, we can just learn fromthat. Yeah, like really looking
at the connection, whether it'sa teacher with children, like
(44:19):
not all teachers are the bestfit for each child. That's true.
Not all parents have the bestparent for the child. I'm a big
advocate. I've sat on herebefore the parents of the
problem. These Children's Fundthey do not come into this world
talking back to you. There's alittle anger in there or not
(44:41):
being seen in there or a littlemisunderstanding that we need to
get to the bottom of right. Alot from from the structure of
these horses andthe nice part about it is the
horse doesn't bother to get intoit with you. It just walks away
like that'sit It's true. But there is,
there is the other level incompetition, there are the same
(45:02):
thing where you can have a topcompetent combination of horse
and rider winning everything.
And then the horse gets sold tothe next rider, there's no
guarantee at all that successwill continue. Because the
connection might not be there.
And it can happen the other wayaround, that a ride is not doing
well with a horse. So I'mtalking now about competition.
(45:22):
The horse is sold to a newpartner and everything changes,
it's kind of the same thing. Itis the connection, right?
We'll think of like a marriage,like I'm actually a very strong,
fiery female. And so I'm Alphaand my relationship a lot. And I
have a very sweet husband. Thatis okay with that. Right? You
(45:44):
know, that'sthe perfect match, right. And so
that's,you know, a little metaphor for
the horse. Butit's also it's also the the
leader follower metaphor. I'vebeen telling you that my
instructors have been teachingfor years and years and years,
and they have an unbelievableunderstanding of our horses. So
when they go out on a rightafter the, towards the end of
the lesson, when we go out onthe trails, let's say for
(46:07):
horses, most of our classes arefor four people. They know which
host wants to go at the front,which run it goes in the middle
and which one goes at the back.
It's extraordinary, right? Wow,there are horses that like to be
leaders and horses that like tobe followers like me. Yeah. And
we know all of that. And thatleads to success.
(46:27):
My daughter's horse there. Sowhen we got her she was to help
Claire gain some confidence.
Right. And she's an experiencedhorse. Yeah, yeah. As she says,
she knows what's what, that'snot going to tell her. As far as
Claire is progressing. Yes, theyhave this little bit of a power
will give her a little bit andshe'll be like, Okay, I'll do it
(46:49):
your way. And the minute Clairegets it wrong. She's like,
that's it. We're doing it myway. I gave you.
Yeah, that's funny. That'sfunny. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, but
those are extraordinary thingsthat you can't think of another
sport where you can have that Iwould agree, I guess, with the
dog a little bit. But the factthat you're riding a horse, and
(47:10):
it says, levels toinvolved in that, you know, if
you're competing on a horse,like the trust level is exactly
for both of you.
Exactly. And and we do havechildren who would struggle to
be in a team sport, and thereare some sports they can't do.
But writing is one that mostpeople can do. I've talked about
that today, whether you'reblind, or perhaps you've had a
(47:30):
stroke, or you're very anxious.
At Windrush, we love to show youthat you're capable of more than
you think. And it's justfantastic to see the smiles
when, when people are eitherrunning, although we ask them
not to run, but they run to theponies don't run don't run, or
when they get off the pony andrun to the car and want to tell
their parents what they did.
(47:52):
Yes. Right.
So when we when we crossover,the first thing that you realize
is how capable you were as ahuman, and how powerful
energetically your thoughts andyour words are. And how powerful
your intention. Intentionenergetically is everything here
(48:16):
on Earth. Yeah, yeah. And youdon't fully have the full
realization of this until you'renot in the physical body
anymore. Okay, but the horsessense it. So the horse is able
to see it within you and know itbefore you even know it.
Amazing. Beauty. So thebeautiful woman that started
(48:37):
when rash. Yes, she had thatknowing she came in with that.
Yes, yes. And she was braveenough Yes, to step through fear
of vulnerability and start thebeautiful business.
And what's really great ispeople recognize that Amy, she
has so many friends andsupporters on the North Shore. I
(48:58):
couldn't think of a better placeto have Windrush than the North
Shore because it's an area fullof equestrians. Marge was a very
accomplished rider and judge ofdressage competitions. Dressage
is like ballet you're noddingbecause you know, you know
what's important. I have noidea. But they're learning it's
it's high level writing andmarch Kittredge is was renowned.
(49:22):
Sadly, she passed away, I thinkit was 2010. But to this day, so
many people give donations toWindrush because of March and
during the pandemic, when wewere closed, and I was concerned
of how are we going to getthrough this? I said to a board
member that I was a bit worriedthat Windrush was going to close
on my watch. I joined in 2016.
And she said, There's no waydonors will not let that happen
(49:46):
to what Marge Kitteridgestarted. Isn't that fantastic?
Because people knew what youjust said that she was an
extraordinary soul and just knewabout what we've been talking
about that the connection isstraordinaria that the outside
of a horse, it's good for theinside of man. And if you can
get support, we could not runWindrush without donations and
(50:07):
grants. And the gala, everynonprofit has to have a gala
where we have beautiful videosand people see what we do and
become quite emotional. Andwhat's so beautiful at the gala
is non horse, people get to seesomething that they've never
seen before. I mean, in thevideo, and horse, people just
get to admire how Windrush doesit. Because we do serve up to
(50:32):
160 clients a week, it's a lotof people. That's a lot of work
for our horses, right? We'reasking a lot of our horses to
one day, be gentle with a childwho's struggling, the next day,
trot for a man who wants to go abit faster, the next day stand
there because somebody wants togroom them for an hour. And I
(50:54):
call them whatever horses, theyhad to do whatever we asked them
to do.
But they have a purpose. Andthey know what they do. I agree
with you, they really do. Sowhen Rush is is built on love.
Yes. She built that on love.
Yes. And love is such a highvibration. So as long as when
Russia stays in alignment withlove, there will always be money
(51:17):
in donation. Right? It's justsuch a high vibe. Well, I
actually think you're right. Ihadn't worked in fundraising
before. And then I learned thatyou're not asking for gifts for
yourself. Obviously, you'reasking for a mission. And when
you find somebody, and there area lot of people out there who
love animals, and then lovechildren and love to help. It's
(51:40):
so incredibly rewarding. Andit's not impossible. So I like
what you said. And I agree withyou because I think we're doing
something very special bybringing horses and people
together. And it would not bepossible without people like you
taking the time to speak to me.
And donors taking the time towrite a check. Yeah, seriously,
take the time,Janet, how can people find you?
(52:03):
Especially if they want to writethose checks? For such a
beautiful and donate? Yes,though, I think we have a good
website. It's Wind Rush farm.orgOne word. We're also on Facebook
and Instagram. But the websiteis where you can get all the
information about how tovolunteer, how to register for
classes, and how to make adonation to everything and how
(52:28):
to apply for a scholarship. It'spretty a good website, a lot of
information that you'recoming down. I know you Janet,
thank you for inviting me it wasa pleasure.
And thank you everyone forlistening. We hope you found
this enlightening. Please besure to subscribe to our podcast
we can be found wherever you getyour podcasts.
(52:50):
And we're on Instagram at spillthe ginger tea podcast. So if
you have any questions orcomments or ideas for future
shows, please message us there.
And you can follow me on socialmedia at Angel ami 1123. Until
next time, be well
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