My Journey

First of all, I never thought I would downsize to miniature horses. I have always been a big horse person and at the time I was very content in training my horses and giving lessons to riders looking for a better connection with their horses. It just never occurred to me how much miniature horses were capable of or that I should even consider owning one until April 2011.

Every year at the end of April, Minnesota horse enthusiasts gather at the state fair grounds for the Minnesota Horse Expo. I was walking through the horse barns and happened to go down the miniature horse aisle. I was casually looking into the stalls and admiring the small horses when one caught my eye. He was a handsome, little buckskin colt, named Billy The Kid.  I had no intention of buying a horse, much less a miniature horse, but within a matter of minutes I had bought him and was ready to bring him home.

As I began to train Billy, I found him to be extremely intelligent. He was easy to work with and I had fun teaching him to do new things such as giving kisses and pulling a cart. Eventually, I started to dress him in costumes for different holidays. The joy that he brought others made me want to use Billy to minister to people in the community. The more I prayed about this potential ministry the more I believed God was calling me to use Billy as a therapy horse.

 

Billy and Bonnie at their first therapy visit

 

In the middle of October 2011, Billy and I dressed up in our pumpkin outfit and visited over 30 residents in the Pine Island nursing home. They all enjoyed his cute tricks and adorable personality. The resident’s eyes lit up and the atmosphere changed from quiet and depressed to laughter and joy. At that moment I knew that this is where God wanted me to be and that I was starting a new chapter in my life with Him leading the way. I had a purpose with these little miniature horses and I could not wait to see what doors God would open as a result of this new path.  

 

 

This is a video of Billy at one of his therapy visits during the first year he worked as a therapy horse.