This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi there, I have donated two of my fjords for about 5 years now to a handicapped program north of spokane. I guess to be exact..it's a hippotherapy program. The horses stay here and are picked up two times a week for about 11 weeks in the summer for this program. They are brought back after each days session. There are able bodied riders who warm up each of the horses involved. Instead of saddles, they have a thick pad with a handicapped harness and brace w/ handles that the horses wear. One person leads the horse, one follows behind and a physical therapist is on each side of the horse. Before selecting my horses we had a child on then and had to see how they reacted to funnoodles against them, balls thrown at their side , and many people around them. These handicapped children and adults don't "ride" the horse but instead go through a series of exercises on the horses specific to the person's need. This is a very controlled situation and each horse gets a rest after each rider's session and they get rotated around. They love the fjords because they are easy to reach up to the rider, calm, easy to load rider from ramp w/ wheel-chair individuals, and they love the kids. The only activity that my gelding wasn't good at was when they had a plastic bucket full of animals that the students were suppose to bend and reach for...he got too excited about the bucket shaking..thinking of food! The therapists that work in this program all have horses of their own and all work as therapists in the local school districts. Some of you may know Robyn Pearson and her gelding Toby from the Libby show. He is the third fjord in the program and well loved as well. Robyn is one of the therapists and is the one who picks up my mare Budiea for the program. Duffy, our gelding, also used to go until we sold him. He now lives in San Diego with a wonderful family. One of my thoughts regarding souring at therapy and pummeling would be to rotate the horses more, use them for more than therapy so it's an adventure when they are used. They have an active mind.:) A special side pannel system could also be made to cover the horses sides enough to buffer uncontrollable legs from irritating the horse and still allow for some leg aides to be used. Just an idea. If you have a fjord with the right kind of temperment I encourage you to consider a loan system with a local program, what a wonderful way to share our fjords with others and show all their wonderful qualities. Nice to hear what everyone is up to. Take care, Kathy Rollins, Cornerstone Fjords, Deer Park, Wa.