Fall 2016

She gets out of the car and her face bursts into the most radiant smile I have ever seen. Baseball cap securely in place and water bottle in hand, Beth is eager to get started. We grab muck forks and buckets and head toward the back pasture. I can’t help but notice the small groups of leaves that have burst into brillant shades of red and yellow and point them out to Beth. We talk about how amazing it is that God makes the leaves so different and beautiful, just like us.

Once we’ve reached the pasture we begin to fill our buckets with manure. She is a very persistent worker, even though her shorter frame makes it more difficult to manuever a muck fork. Herman is her favourite horse; because he is blind, he is quick to listen and slow to move. He is predictable, which makes her comfortable. She goes through the routine of grooming him, mustering up the courage to do the things she finds challenging.

She chooses the small pink brush and takes a deep breath as she moves in front if him. I can see that she’s holding her breath as she tentatively reaches out with the brush to stroke the very end of his muzzle. Herman, feeling the attention being offered, lowers his head and Beth musters up the courage to brush higher up on his face. She lets out a small giggle as she realizes she is conquering the thing she finds so difficult! Next, it’s carrot time. Herman knows what is coming and stands with ears pricked and muzzle extended, waiting for his friend to present the treats. Again she takes a deep breath and moves slowly, holding the carrot firmly at the wide end and offering the narrow end up to Herman’s muzzle where he can feel it. The carrot disappears in a few large bites and her smile returns even bigger than before. Others might see a blind horse and a girl with limitations, but what I see before me are two friends exchanging gifts of courage and trust.

Beth has what some people would call a disability but here at the Ranch it doesn’t matter. She meets the one qualification of being here, a willingness to participate. Her horse might also have physical limitations but that doesn’t hinder his ability to serve. Both Beth and Herman know that God has given them much to offer in this world and they focus on just that.

Every time Beth visits the Ranch I am blessed with the spunky, caring person she is. She loves to write cards to people and spend time with them. Her ability to brighten someone’s day goes far beyond what any diagnosis could ever limit her to.

We all have different gifts that God has given us but

He leaves us with a choice: the choice to focus on our limitations, or the choice to focus on the things we CAN do to bless others.

“IN HIS GRACE, GOD HAS GIVEN US DIFFERENT GIFTS FOR

DOING CERTAIN THINGS WELL.” ROMANS 12:6

Ranch News

Summer has been an exciting time at the Ranch! We are very thankful to say that our big construction project of creating a flat riding area and getting sand in the round pen has been completed. A HUGE thank you goes out to all those who volunteered to help us out. We couldn’t do it without you! A very special thank you to Ron Fairchild who spent a week with us working on that project! We were glad to be able to host the “Message on the Mount” presentation by Ben Freeman again this year. We were inspired to see the correlation between the relationship a horse can have with their rider and how that directly relates to our relationship as humans, with God. It was a very moving demonstration of trust. We look forward to winter and the beauty it brings. Please see our Facebook page if you’d like to keep up with events around the Ranch!

Prayer Requests

We ask for your support in prayer for the following:

Guidance in the development of the ranch, we look forward to expanding our program and looking into various ways we can connect with the community

That the Lord would continue to send people to us

That the Holy Spirit would guide us as we interact with children and families

Volunteer Opportunities

We have many different opportunities for anyone who has a willing heart to invest in the Ranch. Whether you’re good with kids or adults, horses or mechanical things, we’ve got opportunities to help here. Let us know if you’ve got a free weekend to help with a project or two, or you just want to spend an hour once in a while unloading a hay wagon, grooming a horse, or picking up poop! There’s always stuff to do here!

Donate

Donations to support our ministry can be submitted on our website or sent to:
Timber Ridge Ranch, 2691 Route 174, Marietta, NY 13110.

We are a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.