Hoof Beats From The Heart
by
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As a child growing up many Saturdays were spent with my best friend Ginger. Forty years had past and I often think of the great times a city kid had with a horse. My wife and I were looking for a pony for our animal assisted therapy progam when a friend suggested looking at some of his ponies. As we pulled into his farm a pony caught my eye as she came up to the gate. A smile came across my face as it did 40 years earlier. No she wasn't the same Ginger, but she had the buckshin markings and looked just like someone I knew years ago. Many things have changed over the years, but for the past 14 years I could call her name and Ginger would be at the gate waiting for us, nickering for her treats. Then one night Ginger didn't come to the gate. My wife Sue called her name and she heard a faint nickering reply. Ginger was laying down in the barn. we were able to help her walk into box stall and she laid down again. After awhile she was able to get up and eat, but then she laid down again. As we sat with her throughout the night we knew it was time for her to cross the Rainbow Bridge to reunite with those who had made the journey before her. Oue vet arrived early in the morning and after examining her , told us her heart valves had worn out. As Sue held her head and rubbed her neck, Ginger was put to sleep and she began her journey. As sat with Ginger many of the horses came over to the stall, some making a strange low nicker sound and Ginger softly replied to them. Chip, her best friend of over 25 years stood alone in the far corner of the barn. When the vet came into the stall, he slowly walked over to where he could see Ginger and softly nickered to her. Ginger opened slowly and looked at him. Our pets often give us expressions with their body language and their eyes. For Ginger it was sharing her gift of unconditional love with children. She always had that glow in her eyes when she was around children. Now her eyes showed us it was time for her t obegin a new journey. Many of us have heard about the story of Crossing Over The Rainbow Bridge. As Ginger began to cross the bridge she could begin to see Woody, Peanut and the others who had passed before her waiting in a field of lush grass. Upon reaching the other side, Ginger looked back with that glow in her eyes and we knew that she would be waiting for us....
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About the Book
Their stories will make you smile, laugh and perhaps there will even be a few tears. Enjoy the heartwarming tails and journeys of the horses at Special Needs Ranch. Horses that have been abused, neglected, abandoned or in need of a gentle nudge from an unforeseen situation are learning to live their lives not in fear, but to interact as the herd animal God intended.
Sue and Wes Kranz open their hearts to provide a home for troubled horses and give them a second chance in their lives to share their unique gift with others with no questions asked. Horses that have been mistreated may never forget, but through our interactions with them they can learn to forgive.
Maddie’s Tail of a horse with a special gift of helping others
Reagan helping someone overcoming their fear of animals
Ginger’s journey to the Rainbow Bridge
Woody, our blind horse, living a normal life
Proceeds from the sale of this book directly support the horses of the Special Needs Ranch.
About the Author
In 1994 Sue and I started to off er educational programs at our ranch and a few years later we began an animal assisted therapy activities program for individuals with special needs. School children and other organizations were offered the unique opportunity to interact with animals that had been given a second chance to share their unique gift . It was during the summer of 1994 that we received our first phone call from someone that no longer wanted to deal with the responsibility of caring for a horse. On the other side of the fence at the end of a grassy lane, a horse was pacing back and forth in a semi circle. The horse was tied to the bumper of an old car with a twenty or thirty foot piece of heavy rope. As we approached him with some apples, he stopped pacing and as we looked in his eyes we could see a horse in need of a second chance in their life.
While we continued with our programs, Sue and I realized the need to open our hearts and provide a home for horses with special needs. While searching for another horse that we could use in our animal assisted therapy programs, we had the opportunity to help a horse that was headed to a sale barn. Maddie would help change the course of our lives and show us how she could share her gift of unconditional love with others, with no questions asked.
Now sixteen years later, Sue and I share our ranch with three rescued dogs and the horses at Special Needs Ranch or as they are affectionately called “the thundering herd.” Many of the horses living at the ranch today have been abused, neglected or abandoned and have their own special needs. And although we both contiue to work “real jobs”, our real love is sharing a gentle nudge or a soft nicker with the horses of Special Needs Ranch. We continue to learn something new everyday through our interact ions with the horses while allowing them to run, roll in the mud and just be themselves.