Grandmother Horse Story
Mike Cross, Mustang Trainer and Owner of Crosswinds Equine Rescue Reminds Us of How Horses can Bring Humans Closer Together.
Here is how a horse brought a grandmother and granddaughter close together:
A week or so ago I went to our little town grocery. As I was getting off my bicycle I watched a grandmother help her granddaughter out of a little white van. You could see that the two of them were not very comfortable with each other.
In the store we were in line next to each other and I asked the little girl, who was maybe 5, if she liked horses. She nodded but did not say anything. I told the grandma about the rescue and that if they came out I would give them both a ride on Tess. I gave them a card and went on my way.
That night while AnnMarie and I were feeding the herd, the same little white van pulled in the driveway. AnnMarie continued to feed as I got Tess and took her in the arena and put her tack on. The little girl was a little hesitant about getting on Tess by herself so I talked grandma into getting on Tess first. We often have people ride Tess with their kids. If the kids are nervous about getting on, we ask the parent (or in this case, grandparent) to ride first, and that usually gives the kids confidence enough to try. After grandma walked a lap with Tess, her granddaughter was ready to ride with grandma.
I helped the little girl up the steps and sat in her front of her grandma where she could hold on. I got down and started to lead Tess turning around to talk to them as doing so. The little girl was snuggled into grandma and grandma was smiling huge. We walked around several laps and I fed Tess some treats making bow and stretch and doing the things we normally do.
When I helped them get off Tess, grandma had tears in her eyes and told me why. Her son is sick and in the hospital and the mother of the little girl left more than a year ago. So she was taking care of her granddaughter, whom she did not know. She told me that riding on Tess was the first time her granddaughter let her hold her.
To be part of a young lady trusting her grandmother to protect her for the first time was amazing to me.
Mike Cross
A week or so ago I went to our little town grocery. As I was getting off my bicycle I watched a grandmother help her granddaughter out of a little white van. You could see that the two of them were not very comfortable with each other.
In the store we were in line next to each other and I asked the little girl, who was maybe 5, if she liked horses. She nodded but did not say anything. I told the grandma about the rescue and that if they came out I would give them both a ride on Tess. I gave them a card and went on my way.
That night while AnnMarie and I were feeding the herd, the same little white van pulled in the driveway. AnnMarie continued to feed as I got Tess and took her in the arena and put her tack on. The little girl was a little hesitant about getting on Tess by herself so I talked grandma into getting on Tess first. We often have people ride Tess with their kids. If the kids are nervous about getting on, we ask the parent (or in this case, grandparent) to ride first, and that usually gives the kids confidence enough to try. After grandma walked a lap with Tess, her granddaughter was ready to ride with grandma.
I helped the little girl up the steps and sat in her front of her grandma where she could hold on. I got down and started to lead Tess turning around to talk to them as doing so. The little girl was snuggled into grandma and grandma was smiling huge. We walked around several laps and I fed Tess some treats making bow and stretch and doing the things we normally do.
When I helped them get off Tess, grandma had tears in her eyes and told me why. Her son is sick and in the hospital and the mother of the little girl left more than a year ago. So she was taking care of her granddaughter, whom she did not know. She told me that riding on Tess was the first time her granddaughter let her hold her.
To be part of a young lady trusting her grandmother to protect her for the first time was amazing to me.
Mike Cross
