The idea to make miniature horses available to individuals with special needs developed from the marvelous experience we are having with our children, Michael and Marci.  Our hope is to help others experience the same joys and benefits from working and playing with miniature horses.  Michael and Marci’s relationship with minis has been very rewarding.  Both are looking forward to the upcoming show season.

 

It is clear there is something special happening when people of all abilities are exposed to the pleasures of our special horses.  The statement, “the miniature horse is the horse for everyone,” has taken on a new meaning for us and the people we are serving.

 

One of the Special Education classes from the Tigard/Tualatin School District visited and spent the entire day with the horses.  Two students with severe disabilities were afraid to feed or even touch the minis.  After a slow start, they took the horse’s lead and each walked their horse in the arena.  The two delighted children spent several hours leading the horses.  One of the instructors marveled at the children’s attention span with the horses compared to their usual near zero attention span.  There have been similar experiences with people from the United Cerebral Palsy Association and Families with Autism.

 

We want to thank all the members of the Northwest Miniature Horse Club and the Oregon Pinto Horse Association for their help, patience and kindness to Michael.  A special thanks to Judy, Jean and Kathy Howard for their facility, guidance and willingness to share.

 

To continue to advance this project to serve families with special needs, we have formed a nonprofit organization called Michael’s Place.

 

I invite you to visit http://www.michaelsplace.org/.  If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or partner with us, please give me a call.  If you don’t have interest at this time, maybe you could refer us to someone you know.

 

We hope you all have a rewarding year.

 

Best Regards,

Marvin Stucki

(503) 475-5690