The Year of the Horse celebrated with a riding experience

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas -- The 2014 Chinese New Year starts Friday, January 31, so it’s not too late to make a New Year’s resolution. This is the Year of the Horse. Have you considered making horses more a part of your life? If so, it might be a good idea to use a little "horse" sense when making those resolutions and plans, especially for those born in 2002, 1990, 1978, 1966, 1954, 1942, 1930, and 1918, for this is your year.

The best way to approach this is to get it straight from the horse’s mouth. Just Us Gals...and our Horses has eight four-legged spokesmen, or "spokeshorses" who "neighed" in on the subject. Unanimously, the horses are optimistic that 2014 will be a very good year.

Donna Stedman who formed Just Us Gals...and our Horses just late last year, found space off Rayford for horses needing a ‘forever’ home, and manages to eek out the expenses in order to provide the horses and women with a better life.

“I really think it’s a God-Universe thing,” said Stedman. “Everything just came to me and fell into place. Every time I try to go off in a different direction, I keep coming back to this concept of providing women and horses with a place to do something they love together.”

The correlation between women and horses is striking, both thriving on socialization. Steadman believes that the women and horses enjoy the camaraderie and the opportunity to enjoy the peace and serenity of the outdoors. The riding experience provides stress management, a mental escape, and physical exercise for both the women and the horses.

“The development of the Spring Creek Greenway will provide a great opportunity to seek peace, God, and enjoy nature,” added Stedman. “The physical exercise and mental escape is beneficial to both species.”

It takes someone with a heart as big as a horse to take on the responsibility of caring for them. Space, feed, riding equipment, and medications come at a considerable cost. Many who own horses say, “I had money until I had a horse.”

Steadman provides women with an opportunity to enjoy a horse without having to incur all the cost. Just Us Gals...and our Horses provides two programs: Pay-to-Ride for $75, or a monthly flat fee of $300 which covers what it costs to pay for a horse’s monthly expenses. Anyone who has owned a horse will attest to the fact that they often cost more with veterinarian and farrier fees.

Stedman would like to apply for a 501(c)3 since the organization is a not-for-profit, and all the proceeds go back into the care and maintenance of the horses, but has had to defer the cost to file in order to provide for the horses. She is in the process of setting up a GoFundMe account to defer some of the expenses. Amazingly, she would like to obtain a few more horses.

“Sometimes women call to make reservations to ride, and there aren’t any horses available,” said Stedman. “My goal is to expand the business by finding a few more horses, maybe through an SPCA.”

Often students who opt to go away to school leave their horses behind for their parents to maintain. Students can donate their horses to a loving home and still visit and ride them on school breaks. The eight horses on site are referred to as "instructors" because they know a lot more about pleasure riding than some of the humans that mount them. They’re gentle, patient, and appreciative of their way of life. All eight horses will concur that the Year of the Horse will be a better year, especially for those who were abused or neglected.

For more information about Just Us Girls...and our Horses, or to donate a horse, contact Donna Stedman at the links below. Make a New Year’s resolution to celebrate The Year of the Horse by including horses in your year. For centuries the horse has served us, so for one year, during the Year of the Horse, we can at least return the favor.