June/July 2013
shown in those capacities all over the United States and Canada.
he really stepped up his game when he knew he was at a horse
He has never let his physical challenge slow him down, and it’s
show- I remember the first time I rode him at a show the night
something our riders and volunteers can relate to,” says Karen.
before his class. My mom asked me how it went- I told her ‘He’s
Marjorie Carr, who showed him to Youth National Champion re-
amazing- I just hope I can keep up with him!’ Wise Guy took care
calls, “Wise Guy was one of the most fun horses I have ever rid-
of me and he taught me how to ride a top English Pleasure horse.
den. He was an incredible athlete and he loved to show. In fact,
On the ground he was as sweet and loving as could be. Wise Guy embodies what an Arabian horse should be: a great athlete and a close friend to those around him.” These aren’t over the hill, tired show horses. They are active, healthy horses that have achieved regional and national titles and have gone on to a second, rewarding career in their golden years. Karen says, “The innate intelligence and willingness to please in the Arabian horse makes them ideally suited for this job. In addition to a Clydesdale and three Norwegian Fjords, we have a number of Arabian and Half Arabian horses and ponies in our program: Almost a Lady, a Half Arabian pony; Goldie, a Half Arabian mare; two Half Arabian Geldings: SS Lord of the Dance and Bobo Show+/ plus the two full Arabians, Khlassic and Mr Wise Guy. The Arabian is generally a long-lived breed, and our therapy horses are still going strong well into their mid twenties. They thrive on having a job, and being cared for and loved by so many people. Because these horses have been active campaigners on the show circuit, they have a been-there, done-that attitude and they are extremely well schooled. These are qualities that make excellent therapy horses.” Karen admits that in some spheres, there is a misconception about the Arabian breed that her horses are helping to overcome. She explains, “Because Arabian horses have such a proud, majestic carriage, and can really turn on the fire in the show ring, people often think they are a flighty, hot type of horse. I was at a P.A.T.H. International Conference where more than once a person said that they would use any type of horse for therapy except for Arabians. That type of statement just comes from a lack of true knowledge about the breed, and our horses disprove that stereotype every day.” Khlassic, Wise Guy, Lady and the other horses with Arabian bloodlines at Wings and Hooves are evidence that this breed can do it all, from winning national titles in the show ring, to carefully carrying a four year old with Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome through his therapeutic riding lesson. “They are so incredibly smart,” says Karen, “You can see them watching and feeling their riders, and adjusting their way of going for them. With their keen intelligence and their highly developed sense of the human/horse bond, Arabians make great therapy horses.”
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