Created by our wonderful volunteer, Michelle Lowe, in her own words: 

"As an elementary educator, one of my greatest hopes for my students is that they leave me at the end of the year having developed a love of reading and lifelong learning. I truly believe that in developing a love of reading, students are more likely to grasp and apply the research-based concepts and strategies that will help them grow as readers, and I am always looking for unique ways to help my students fall in love with books. A couple years ago, I was volunteering at Stockhands Horses For Healing and kept thinking to myself that so many of my students could benefit from spending time out at the barn. Pair that with my constant desire to find new ways to help my students fall in love with reading, and one night I had a dream that I was sitting in the barn, reading with my students. I pitched the idea to Tim, Lisa, and Courtney, and am so grateful they didn’t tell me I was crazy and instead told me to run with it. On May 5, 2019, my students joined me for the very first Read with the Horses. We then opened Read with the Horses to the public in June 2019, and as they say, the rest is history.

There is something restorative about being out at the barn. When you step foot into the barn, everything else seems to fall away; the stress, the worries, the fear of judgement, the chaos... Coming to the barn gives you the space to just be. Read with the Horses is meant to provide a space for readers of all ages and abilities to relax and enjoy their books, without the fear of judgement, without the stress of “getting it right.” Our equine partners love listening as our readers share new stories (you should see them looking around for their reading partners Saturday mornings prior to a Read with the Horses event) and they won’t ever tell you if you’ve misread something. Our hope is that Read with the Horses gives our readers a space to fall in love with reading, to escape the stress and pressures of the outside world, and a space to experience the adventures found within the pages of a book.

Come see the magic on the 2nd Saturday of every month and follow the Facebook page for updates and registration: https://fb.me/e/5ujta5Kh7