Jenny rides horses at Whispering Manes. She brushes them. She helps feed them and care for them. She’s also legally blind, and overcoming low self-esteem. Riding horses makes her feel better about herself.
Jenny started coming to Whispering Manes as a volunteer. She served as a side walker, helping riders maintain correct form while on the horse. But she still had her own confidence issues, and serving as a side walker wasn’t helping with those. She wanted to be on the horses.
Then one of the staff members told her that her legally blind status might allow her to take lessons with Whispering Manes. Since then Jenny has taken several lessons. She says that in under a year’s time she’s gone from hardly being able to get on the horse by herself to performing various balance exercises. She’s not just riding, she’s getting good at riding. She’s building her confidence, and she’s building a connection with the horses she rides.
That connection is one of the most important things to Jenny. The horses feel like friends to her, and she can’t believe the level of trust they have in their riders. Jenny says, “I mean it’s just cool because it’s this huge animal, you know, and you’re able to have a bond and a trust with it.”
