A few miles north of Clovis is place where folks keep horses but at this particular sprawling horse ranch something magical is happening in what's called a round pen. A little boy is atop a small horse riding in what's called 'a round house', a closed round building with a roof where horses are also trained.
Children come to the Heart the Horse Ranch to learn to ride. And so do kids with learning disabilities and difficult lives that bring them to foster care. It is therapy on four feet. Guy Adams runs the ranch, "As time went on more kid's parents were calling saying I've got a child has this need or that. Can i come out and see the horses and it kinda went from there."
Kymberl Dildine works for Easter Seals of Central California. She says that serve kids with autism and other challenges are sold on Horse Therapy. She says it does open doors to learning, "They really connect on a higher level allot of often times we find that it opens a door to better communications with family members and other children just because they had the experience with a horse."
This ranch opened the door for Guy Adams too. He had hit rock bottom after losing his job and home. The family struggled until he came here to start managing this horse ranch. He saw the connections made with challenged kids and an idea became reality. He calls it the Heart of the Horse Ranch. Adams has filled all the paper work to be a non-profit. That and support from the community he says will keep his gentle horses connected to the children who need them.
"At first I thought it was gonna be wonderful for the kids but it turned out to be wonderful for me. If there was anything could get rid me of that little bit of ice that might be left on an old heart, it was this."
Every child in foster care and those with special needs are welcome to come to experience the heart of the horse at no cost.
Visit the Heart of the Horse Therapy Ranch website for more information.
