A child visited Summerwinds Stable, a non-profit equine rescue located in Delaware , in hopes of volunteering. She would not meet anyone's eyes and hung her head low. Her mother explained how school was difficult for her as she was picked on most of the time and had no friends. She said her daughter had become so withdrawn she didn't really know how to reach her any longer.
The executive director of the facility, Elena DiSilvestro and the mother looked on as the child sat on the fence gazing longingly at the horses, which were paying her no attention. Suddenly one of the retired Thoroughbreds, known for being picked on and somewhat withdrawn, ran toward the girl. We thought he would surely knock the child to the ground, as she was perched precariously on the fence.
Our gentle giant leaned toward her and placed his head gently on hers. Lifting up to hug him, the two sat that way for a long while. When she finally did let him go, she ran across the field to where the adults standing. Her little face was tear-stained as she beamed up at us. “Mom! I want to come back here because I think that horse over there really needs me.” Little did she know how much she actually needed him!
Today that same child is a youth leader at Summerwinds Farm and happily shows new children around teaching equine safety and care. She has become a favorite at the barn. This is one of the many stories I hear about and TCA is very happy to be a regular contributor to this and 150 other facilities like it, making a difference to horses and their caretakers all over the United States .