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Tobi Thoroughbred mare 10 yr old aprox 15 hands very sweet easy to handle and
gentle under saddle she has a bone chip which limits her to walk trot and no
jumping. Awarded through McLean,
Hearn, Lloyd Fund
to a child in need
Ashley & Ernie
Thank
you:
I want to thank you, everyone at Another Chance 4 Horses, our wonderful
“horse-finder” Nikki, and the very kind and generous people responsible for the
Kate McLean Fund for enabling my daughter Ashley to get Ernie, the horse of her
dreams. Please let me tell you a little about my daughter, and why getting a
horse like Ernie has been so important for Ashley. You see, Ashley is a special
needs child in that she is high-functioning autistic, and getting horse fills a
very special therapeutic need for her.
Dear Nancy,
I'm so glad Christy sent me your email! I've been
wanting to thank you and meet you since we got Ernie. I don't
know if I can adequately express in words our sincere thanks to you
for donating Ernie! Ernie is Ashley's dream horse! I don't
know if Christy told you about Ashley, but she is my only child, and
she's now 6 and half years old. Ashley has Asperger's Syndrome (aka
"high functioning autism"), and mainly because of that we
had her take horseback riding lessons since she was 4 (excellent
therapy). She is still very much a beginner, but loves horses
and absolutely loves Ernie!!!
It is really amazing to see Ernie and Ashley together.
Ernie seems to know that Ashley has special needs, and he really,
really takes very good care of her! Ashley has absolutely
blossomed since getting Ernie!
I don't know how much you may know about symptoms of
people on the autistic spectrum, but typically there are lots of major
tantrums and aggression issues, and we've had serious problems along
those lines with Ashley. No medication or behavior therapy
seemed to help, and we've tried everything. We did notice that
Ashley was much calmer and non-aggressive around horses which is why
we decided to get one for her. I don't understand it and I'm not
sure anyone does, but somehow it is common knowledge to those
therapists that work with people on the autistic spectrum that there
is something about riding a horse that signals the autistic rider's
brain to become less aggressive. Well, this worked in a major
way with Ashley - since getting Ernie she has become progressively
less aggressive to the point where now she hasn't had an aggressive
episode in weeks (it used to be daily)!!! When I say aggressive,
I really mean it, she has beat up me and my husband pretty badly for
years now, so we are so very, very glad that seems to have stopped!
I was really worried that if that behavior continued as she gets older
that she may not be able to live with us, and that thought is
something I don't think I could ever really bring myself to do no
matter how bad it got.
We haven't been riding since early January now because
of the weather, but we see Ernie all the time since he's boarded right
next to the trailer park where we live. That sweet little guy
gets lots and lots of apples and carrots on an almost daily basis!
He seems very happy, and he always neighs out a hello and comes right
over to us and nickers and lets us pet him (and of course feed him
treats!!!). We all love him so very much! I've attached a
picture of Ashley riding Ernie in the round pen, and that's me behind
her on Adam (a horse I got because I need to accompany Ashley on
her rides). Adam is a 20 something years old Percheron, and he
and Ernie apparently are best buddies!!! It is so nice, Adam is
the boss of the pasture (there are 3 other horses in the pasture
besides Adam and Ernie), and he hangs out with and takes care of
Ernie!!! Those two are always together, it is so sweet!
Another problem besides aggression that is
quintessentially autistic is the lack of social skills. There is
a difference in this aspect of friendship for Aspergers kids
(high functioning autistic) compared to the lower functioning
autistic kids. Unlike lower functioning autistic kids
who don't "seem" to care if they have any friends at
all, Aspergers kids want friends (albeit not maybe more than a few)
but they really aren't very good at figuring out how to make or
keep friends. People with Aspergers have real problems with
loneliness. I mention this because Ernie has helped Ashley
in another way, and that is in making a new friend. I know
another mom who has a 10 year old daughter (Anna) who also has
Aspergers Syndrome and is also horse crazy. Her mom can't afford
to pay board for a horse for Anna, so we got Anna and Ashley
together and they became great friends! Ashley is also learning
to share by letting Anna ride and help groom Ernie too. So your
very generous donation had helped two special needs children!
I'd like to talk now about how I felt when I read about
the Kate McLean Fund. It ripped my heart out to realize that
Kate was just 6 years old and had passed so recently. You dear
people, I hope you are somehow getting through this incredibly
difficult time. I want to express my very deepest sympathy
for the loss of your dear child. I am so very sorry this
happened. I hope you are alright but this must still be a very
difficult time for you. My heart truly goes out to you, and you
are in our prayers. I really am so sorry, you must be
devastated. I hope you can find some comfort spiritually, that
often may help a little. I'm sorry, I really don't know your
pain since I haven't experienced anything like it. Please
believe me, it makes me cry to realize that your daughter was the same
age as Ashley. Someday when Ashley is a little older and better
able to handle hearing about Kate I will tell her how Ernie came to be
donated to her. I think it will mean quite a bit to Ashley.
I don't dare tell her now because she is extremely sensitive and would
probably get totally freaked out by it, she'd be so sad. I hope
you understand. Without knowing Kate, I'd still guess that she
might be happy to know that Ernie went to another 6 year old like
herself who will love him forever. God bless you and your
family, dear Nancy.
We would love to meet you and have you come to visit
Ernie any time! Please feel free to contact me! I hope you
know you can visit Ernie any time you'd like, if it isn't too painful
for you. I would really love to hear from you. I would
love to know more about Kate if you ever want to share it, but if
not of course that's perfectly understandable.
Again, thank you so very much for such a generous
donation! As you know, Ernie is absolutely wonderful, and
we'll love and tenderly care for him forever. God
bless you.
Elaine Dryden
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