Tiny Hoofprints...

Tonight, we held our inaugural meeting for the Hoofprints 4-H Club. Amber's brainchild, the club will consist at this time of 14 or so children who range from ages four to fifteen. Some of these children show horses- most do not. Some of these children have horses- most do not. It is an opportunity for us at Fields Quarter Horses to impact the lives of children around us using horses.

Amber and I are both civic minded. We feel strongly about giving back to the horse industry and helping children. As I looked around the room at tonight's meeting, I was filled with hope, pride, and satisfaction at the laughter, smiles, and faces I saw.

We conducted some brief business- keeping the discussions centered around the children, their projects, and their choices. Next, we moved to a brief educational presentation (straight from the AQHA Jr Master Horseman Program!). Thanks to a generous sponsor (thanks to MaryAnne who is a fellow leader and Sibcy-Cline who is a local realty office), each child will receive their own Jr Master Horseman booklet to study, learn from, and enjoy at home. 

Tonight's presentation discussed how horses are measured. The children learned about "hands" and were given an opportunity to measure one another to determine their own heights in "hands" (which is a traditional horse measurement of 4 inches). We had two "ponies" in our group- one child who measured 11 hands and another who measured 13 hands. All of the kids were anxious to learn the height of their favorite horses from the barn in hands and a lively discussion about the differing sizes ensued.

Next, in honor of Christmas, each child constructed a hand-made Christmas ornament from old horse shoes collected around the barn. Again, the kids enjoyed imagining which shoes may have come from their favorite horse based upon the size of the different shoes. Glitter, glue, and horse shoes combined to create a festive display!

The parents enjoyed their children, their children enjoyed learning and creating, and we enjoyed sharing. It was a rich evening to be sure. I am honored to be able to leave some Tiny Hoofprints...

Khris