
20/09/2025
“Good judgement comes from experience, and a whole lot of that comes from bad judgement.” - Mark Twain
The first week of classes is in the books. Unfortunately, none of our riders were able to participate due to - stuff. I’ve had contacts on at least 3 folks wanting to ride with us, but until they commit, we are in a holding pattern. I know some regular riders will be back soon and we look forward to seeing them again. Spread the word and please help find a few more great volunteers and riders to join the fun. Please - Please - let me know if you will not be able to come and help so I can properly schedule. Thanks.
Temperatures not too bad this week. Got Spirit out for a workout on Sunday morning. She is doing so well and getting better and better each time she’s ridden. Today we worked in the pen and did all 7 games. Yo-yo and sideways are still weak, but improving. Then mounted up and did home trail on a soft feel rein. Worked in the arena with neutral rein, indirect rein to yield her hindquarters, short-long walking and circles to stretch out her stride. Trot was better today. All felt really connected, so I bent her head around, untied the reins and rode with only 1. Flipping back and forth didn’t bother her. I asked for walk and trot and circles. Very calm and nice. Retied the reins for the home trail back to the pen as I didn’t want to push the success we had achieved. Tuesday was a bust for riders as they were either sick or had appointments. But, volunteers came to play and ride the horses. Thursday I was all set to ride Dakota and before I could get the pens cleaned, it started to rain. It rained on and off all day. Got some really close lightning strikes and rain early Friday morning. It was a mess doing chores. So did errands in the morning and got to drive in a very VERY hard thunderstorm on the 101. Haven’t done that in many years. Saturday, Lisa, Saanvi and Smitha came to play. After chores, Lisa got Spirit, Saanvi got Dakota and Smitha got Liber-T. Since we didn’t have riders, they worked on their horsemanship skills. They all did ground games 1-5, some point to point to get connected and all had their horse step up on the tire pedestal. Saanvi had to work on it a bit because Dakota hasn’t done it much. But, with good focus and commitment, she got it to work. Was fun for her to see the moment Dakota understood and decided to step up. Liber-T and Spirit just stepped up easily. Meanwhile, we saw 13 vultures circling just north of us. Keep moving - they are looking for lunch. Mounted on their horses, the gals worked on neutral rein, riding point to point and circling barrels, ride over the hill, cavaletti and logs. It was fun. Each learned a few new things and got good practice. They finished up with a home trail ride.
Our horses are crucial in our mission to provide therapeutic services to our clients and to keep them healthy and happy. AND - Although hay is in for the year, we will need to purchase more again next fall - so there is always a Hay Fundraiser. Thank you to those who have donated in the past. We purchase enough each fall for the year so we can get consistent quality hay. The best time to purchase is at the end of summer when prices are lowest and the hay is freshest, so that’s when we do it. I don’t know what this year will bring, but we plan for $25 for 1 bale of hay. You can donate through Zelle to stableinfl@aol.com or send a check. PayPal works through our “Donate” button, but they do charge a processing fee of almost 3%, so less than what you donated comes to us. You can make a donation any time and receive dollar for dollar tax credit on your AZ State taxes for 2025. Again, the best way is with a check or through Zelle and stableinfl@aol.com. We are an Arizona Qualified Charitable Organization (QCO) and a donation will reduce your AZ State Taxes. Use QCO Code 22306 on Form 321 to receive a tax credit on your AZ State taxes - for 2025 up to $470 for a single person and $938 for couples. For all you Fry’s VIP shoppers, please sign up at Fry’s Rewards choosing Code and Fry’s will donate to Stable Influence. We get almost $400/year from Kroger each year. Shopping on the web? Go through iGive.com or GoodShop.com e-malls, choose to support Stable Influence through your on-line purchases. The e-mall merchants will donate a percentage of the purchases to us. You still get great prices, and we get a bonus. It’s a Win Win. THANKS!
The loan we had to get for a new car for Stable Influence is shrinking. But, it’s still not fully funded. So - Fundraiser - A car for Stable Influence is still out there. Anything you can donate will be much appreciated. You can donate through “Zelle” to our e-mail address - stableinfl@aol.com. A big thank you to those who have made donations.