#krisadilli

Do it.

When I was in high school, I volunteered at this therapy stable called Horsefeathers (http://horsefeatherscenter.org/). When I was volunteering there in the summer of 2011, these eight horses were the ones that were being used as therapy horses. The type of therapy that these beautiful creatures are used for is called hippotherapy, which uses horses to help people with disabilities or who need therapy to improve their life. I worked alongside a lovely lady who was very nice to her clients and patients, and she helped me improve both my relationship with our clients and with the horses. For the summer before my senior year of high school, this was probably the best thing to happen to me. I loved these horses, and working with them only increased my love for them.

Here are the descriptions of the horses, from my point of view (starting from top left and ending in bottom right):

Apollo: He is a chestnut, Belgian Draft and Quarter Horse cross. He is a very strong horse, but he’s a gentle giant, and very sweet. He greeted me every day, and I just had to give him a big rub on the nose. He’s a bit of a dunce, he likes to push, and he likes to nip. When he’s happy, he’ll smile.

Big Red: He is a large, chestnut, Thoroughbred horse, who is actually retired now. He was a police horse before he became a therapy horse. And he loves his hugs. (He is my favorite.) He’s very calm, very laid-back, and he loves to nuzzle.

Calvin: He is a chestnut Paint pony, and he’s actually a rescue. He has issues with people trying to feed him from his hand, as he was malnourished before he was rescued. He’s stall-aggressive, and he doesn’t like people handling his food. However, when I took him to pasture, he let me pet him, and he even nudged me in thanks before we went back in.

Harley: He is a black Quarter Horse, and he’s a bit of a bully. He likes to shove us workers around, and he absolutely doesn’t like it when you tighten his saddle around him. However, he’s a silly boy, and he liked to use me as a scratching post.

Lucky: He is a red roan Welsh pony, and he is very rambunctious and sweet. He’s very small, only a few inches taller than Little Red Rover, but he’s the fastest equine at the stable. I saw him during morning turn-out, and boy, was he fast.

Ice: He is a bay Paint horse who belongs to one of the owners there. He is the ‘alpha’ of the herd. He’s very laid-back, though sometimes he has a bit of an attitude.

Poco: He is a black Paint horse who is a sweetheart. He knows how to bow and nod, and he will hug you back if you hug him. He is my second favorite, and he is such a happy horse. I feed him carrots after he bows and nods for me, and then he licks me.

Recently, I’ve had the urge to draw, and since I have a graphic drawing tablet, I bought a new tablet pen, and away I went. The three drawings that are pictured above are the products of those drawing sessions. As you can see, I very much love to draw animals.

The top picture is a drawing of a hyena that I have for one of my stories that I currently have in my mind. Her name is Makena, and I will more than likely come back to her in the near future.

The middle picture was actually supposed to me practicing human facial expressions, but my hand had a mind of its own and decided to draw a barn owl. I am very happy with this drawing, though, as with Makena, I will more than likely come back to it in the future.

The bottom picture is of another character in the book that Makena will be in. He is a black mamba snake by the name of Theo. I have drawn him before, but only by hand, and I was very curious as to how I would draw him with my tablet. I’m pleased with how he turned out, though I probably will come back to him again to do some touch-ups and whatnot.