Since the start of our therapeutic riding program, the main group of lesson horses has stayed pretty much the same. They are an excellent choice for many reasons- Keri Orla, Lilly, Sudie Bee, Winter Dancer and Camille. This spring, Tall Trees Sassie was added to the group, as she is all done raising her colt and ready to get to "work". You can see most of the "group" here on the Dream On Curls web site.

Last week, we decided to add 2 new horses to the group- OYY Sweet Bee, a wonderful curly mare and OYY Pal's Job, an outstanding smooth coated gelding. Each of these new additions are perfectly suited to the program-- their size, their personality, their patience just a few of the pluses.

Sweet Bee was born here- out of Sudie Bee and Mead's Chocolate Chip. She was trained and sold.. recently we had the opportunity to bring her back to the farm. She's an awesome little mare- at a chunky 14.1 hh. As we brought her up to the indoor, it occurred to us-- she is a THIRD generation lesson horse !

Here she is as a newborn !

Her dam, Sudie Bee, is a much loved exemplary lesson horse, who carries riders of all levels of abilities.

Sudie's dam and Sweet Bee's grand-dam is Teena, a "grade" mare, meaning she had no known pedigree- but she was anything but grade, unless you classify her as Grade A-one ! Teena helped teach my own children how to ride and drive. We even used her to haul out logs and firewood on many occasion. When we began to give lessons, she was a natural choice as lesson mount. She is pictured here with one of her riders- at the time she was in her very late 20's. Sadly, Teena became quite old and with no teeth- we made the difficult decision to euthanize her at age 33. We still miss her- but her legacy continues with her many daughters. She has quite a few "children" and "grand-children", all of them inherited her remarkable qualities. She was surely a grand old mare.

Sweet Bee's first lesson with her happy rider ~ She lives up to her name - sweet ! Sweet Bee is a very versatile mare as she has competed in many shows and won lots of ribbons- she is a fun trail mount-- and the PERFECT therapy horse ! Just like her grand-mother and her mother.

OYY Pal's Job was also born and trained here. This fellow is also extremely versatile- a super driving horse, great steady trail mount, and lots of potential for shows. However- like Sweet Bee- he has earned his biggest awards as a therapy horse, with his quiet honest demeanor. His dam, Pal O' Mine, is a fabulous little pony- who has been used in lessons, but is not an American Curly. So far, Job has carried independent riders in the therapeutic program and riders with disabilities that require leaders and side-walkers. He is the model lesson horse- suited for both situations.

Job and another smiling rider.

We are very proud of our lesson horses- most of them bred and trained at Top O' The Hill Farm. They all have a challenging and special job and always are ready to rise to the occasion !

Enjoy your day ~