Hello there! My name is Aladdin. I am a horse of Egyptian Arabian and Poco Bueno quarter horse bloodlines. Pretty impressive, huh!! And yes, I do more than just stand around and eat. I work in a therapeutic riding program as a lesson horse. My job requires lots of patience, which is sometimes very hard for me. My friend, Star, seems to have an unlimited amount of patience. He stands very still, no matter how long it takes, while his kids learn how to groom, pick up his feet, put on his saddle, and even his bridle! Boy, not me! I want my rider to get it right the first time or forget it! My attributes are that I am very out going, sensitive, and friendly. Many of my students are teenagers who are super fine beings with lots of emotions. I can tell how they feel. It’s my specialty. They know when I’m tuned into them. It makes me feel good to share special moments of understanding with them.

I have other horse friends who work at Horses Unlimited. Joey, a Morgan horse, is probably the hardest working horse among us. I guess it’s because he is so very well trained that he will do anything his volunteers or students ask him to do! He has a consistency about his way of traveling. It is very steady and focused. He can arch his neck and lift his tail, then collect himself up under his rider and move out! He is very beautiful and proud. I think his riders feel proud and beautiful when they sit upon his back.

Our co-workers, that is, the human volunteers, are always encouraging us to stay focused on our job. The job being, to remain attentive to the person in charge, and to move along smoothly, helping my rider balance with my strides. It is a challenge to remember the different qualities of each rider. To be good at my job I need to perform and respond correctly. It is easy to get mixed up when the Horse Handler, the Student, and the Instructor, are all asking for the same thing, but giving me three different signals! Some lessons are very intense, especially if my rider needs a "team of volunteers." They walk along on both sides, supporting the rider, and they bump my ribs or flank accidentally, or apply pressure to my riders legs for therapeutic reasons, but I think its a signal to go faster! Sometimes I lose my confidence and freeze up. I’ll balk and refuse to move. I’ll bite anyone who tries to make me move! It’s the only way I know how to deal with the stress.

My friends, Sugar and Perceus, have a motto for this kind of situation: "When in doubt…take charge…and show them who’s boss!" It must be the Welsh pony blood in their veins to be so assertive and self-confident.

Here at Horses Unlimited, we take our experienced students out on trail rides. We all love to go out on trail rides! It is a big responsibility and I will say that "good ol’ trail riding" experience is a very important thing that should be on everybody’s resume. All of us know how to get across the river except Pezzi, and he did a real good job of faking it. He let everyone go ahead of him, and he watched real close, and then stepped exactly where I did, to get across.

It can be a real challenge to balance the "two of us" down a steep hill with loose rock and overgrown brush, or navigate through meadow grass so high that you can’t see where your feet are. Humans love to explore and we’ve taken on some real tough obstacle courses to gain the top of the ridge, just to look over the other side. They sure act happy and relaxed when we arrive back from a ride. Spiritually refreshed, I’d say.

I’m glad that I can help my human friends by just being me. I can move in a balanced and energetic fashion. I am learning to remain focused and confident so that I can cooperate with different students. "On the job training" is the password for anyone wanting to get into the therapy horse profession. So, if you’re wondering what it takes to be a lesson horse in a therapeutic riding program, you just heard it from the horses mouth!

Happy trails and high tails,