Stable Influence Charity Programs - Equine Assisted Services - EAAT

With freedom, good horses, dogs, boots and the sun shining, who couldn’t be happy. - The Painting Pony

First week of summer classes began on Tuesday. If you are interested in joining our program, give a call soon to set up a visit. We have space for new riders on both riding days. Spread the word. 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.

Thank you for your donations -Smith Family. Sunday was a good day to ride Liber-T. Didn’t do a lot of work as we trimmed trees on the home trail. Liber-T stood rock solid as I clipped off hanging Palo Verde branches and they fell on her. What a champ! We did some touch it in the arena, but mostly just walked today. Monday was time to get Gracie out for a ride. It wasn’t supposed to be windy, but we got some good gusts, which she handled nicely. Focus today was to do lots of circles and turns as softly as we could. Did some indirect reining and got steps of backing up. Nice neutral rein today. We ended the day with a pretty sunset. Tuesday we met new volunteer Zoe, soon followed by Karen and Ellie and Saanvi. We got chores done. Saanvi and Zoe got Spirit while Ellie and Karen got Liber-T. With horses ready, we headed to the arena for ground warmup and some riding. Zoe rode Spirit with Saanvi spotting and Karen took Liber-T out. Cayden arrived and got busy with his ground games and stay with me. He did well and was persistent in his ask even though Spirit was a bit sticky today. Mounted up he worked on his reining while going over the hill, stopping in the hoop and weaving cones. Spirit argued a bit about turning right, but Cayden did well blocking her pull and she agreed to turn right for him then on. NICE ! Natalie arrived, was ready to go and mounted up on Liber-T. Cayden and Natalie then had a nice trail ride. Cayden dismounted and headed back to the pens with Ellie and Zoe to put Spirit away, then spend time cuddling with Gracie. Meanwhile, Natalie headed to the arena. She enjoyed going over the hill, tossing beanbags, stopping in the hoop and doing the puzzles. She was using her reins nicely to stop Liber-T as requested by Karen and giggled when Liber-T got “earrings”. She enjoyed a second trail ride to end her ride today. Wednesday and Thursday were off site work days, so no horse play. I did spend some time with Spirit on Thursday improving her ground games, especially porcupine and yo-yo. Friday Farrier Jason came to help with Dakota. He did some chiropractic work. She appeared to loosen up and hopefully allow her to be more comfortable when walking. Sure wish she could talk. AND - it was real REAL windy. Saturday, it was again real windy, so I worked in the pen with Spirit to help her be more responsive with porcupine and yo-yo games. Going forward is not the issue, but going backwards - yikes. So worked to have her take more than 2 steps at a time by backing her 20 feet. I’m pretty sure they never asked her, as a trail horse, to do much backing up. So she’s not sure and very awkward doing it. Jason returned and pulled Dakota's shoes. Perhaps that will help her out.

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 [email protected] 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 2026. The best way is with a check or through Zelle to [email protected]. 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 2026 up to $506 state for a single person and $1009 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 - [email protected]. A big thank you to those who have made donations.

….one of the great tragedies of the horse world is how often we confuse struggle with inadequacy. - Noelle Floyd

Classes begin again June 2 - see you then. No classes this week to share pictures, so just sunsets and fun clouds. If you are interested in joining our program, give a call soon to set up a visit. We have space for new riders on both riding days. Spread the word. 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.

Thank you for your donations - Sunday was - clean out the horse water tank. What a job. Monday was very gusty, then no wind at all. So. Decided to get Spirit out on line in the arena to work on touch it, backing up (still challenges for her), she did some sideways nicely for me and canter on the 22' line. I don’t believe she did much trotting or cantering with a rider. It took several months of riding before she’d trot for us under saddle. It’s not good yet, but coming along nicely. So, canter on line is still a bit rushy and not consistent. Don’t want to ride that until she’s good without a rider. It all takes time. Took Dakota to the arena as well to see how she does with her new shoes in the sand. She’s getting better - slowly - but better. We had a pretty sunset to end the day. Tuesday I got Liber-T out for a workout. Pushed her walk on the home trail and in the arena. Did lots of lateral work - indirect rein, sideways over cones, direct rein. Nice. Trotted quite a bit asking her to drop her head and work her back and hindquarters. She did nicely. The plan this week was to ride since temps were to be cooler. However, Mother Nature played a trick. Although it was nicely cooler, she picked up the wind and gusts making riding unsafe. DARN. So Wednesday and Thursday were, do chores and hide from the wind days. Thursday did give us some interesting cirrocumulus clouds to enjoy. Saturday wind was calmer and temps were pleasant, so Spirit and I had a good workout. Still working to help Spirit extend her stride and be more flexible. It’s all coming together, but takes time to change old habits of not stretching and moving well.

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 [email protected] 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 2026. The best way is with a check or through Zelle to [email protected]. 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 2026 up to $506 state for a single person and $1009 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 - [email protected]. A big thank you to those who have made donations.

Some of the best days in your life haven’t happened yet. How exciting. - Inside Timer

Honor all our brave lost veterans this Memorial Day. We are off Memorial Day week and will start up again June 2. We are only riding Tuesdays - late afternoon. If you are interested in joining our program, give a call soon to set up a visit. We have space for new riders on both riding days. Spread the word. 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.

Happy Birthday Liber-T - 33 years “young” today. She has been helping folks with challenges since 2003. Thank you for your donation - D Woodall. Sunday was very windy and dusty, so hid inside all day. Don’t want me or my horse to be breathing all that dust. Monday was quite nice. When in the hay barn, Carmel and Silky kittys were very keen to see what was at the side of the barn. Didn’t take much to hear the diamondback rattling. Craig, our hero, got a flat edged shovel and took care of the 3' long snake. YIKE! ‘Tis the time of the yea. Later I was able to get a good ride on Spirit. Asking her to extend her stride - this is an ongoing challenge and will take time as she stretches the muscles in her hindquarters and back to allow her to take longer steps. She did some really nice indirect rein to limber up her hindquarters, stretching her walk and trot strides, did some touch it and backing. Nice workout. Tuesday, the saguaro cactus by the horse pens which was struck by lightning in a spring storm has slowly been dying. In the morning it was still upright, but by afternoon the top ½ of it fell to the ground. What a mess. Glad nothing got in the way. The base is still up and will have to come down sometime soon. Ellie and Karen arrived and got Spirit and Liber-T out. Ellie did well with Spirit on ground games and had her turning quite nicely today. Karen got Liber-T ready and after ground games, mounted up. After walking a bit Liber-T offered her a couple of trots. Cayden arrived and after cuddling Spirit and Liber-T a bit, got to work doing ground games with Spirit. Accuracy in friendly tossing lead rope is very good. Focus in asking for porcupine and driving is coming along. He did some very nice stay with me and touch barrels. Good stop with front, then back feet in hula hoop. Mounted up he enjoyed choosing objects to ride to, around and weave through. Nice going over the hill. He followed Karen on Liber-T and led. Ending the day with a trail ride. Well, not totally the end. He helped with untacking, some grooming and had to cuddle Gracie and play with her a bit. He even helped pick up the pens - then the day was done. Wednesday, although was still somewhat breezy, I got Gracie ready with stay with me and driving hind quarters at liberty. Good draw today. On line her trot and canter were very nice. Need more cantering on line to get it consistent and smoother - before we ask while mounted. After mounting up, I did some riding by the pens, then headed to the arena for work on neutral rein, circling barrels, whoa when asked and even some backing up. Did some walking and trotted around the whole arena a couple of times with a few OK trot circles. Nice ride today. Thursday was kind of windy and got some good gusts, but it was OK for me and Liber-T to get her some exercise. After riding the home trail, with caution as we passed the chicken coop near the north fence that is full of chickens, we worked in the arena. I asked her to touch everything, then circle everything in the arena, which she did. Yielding hindquarters in rhythm with her walk, step on the spot, going sideways, going over the hill a few times and trotting were also part of our exercise today. Nice ride. Saturday, Cat, Lisa, Saanvi and Smitha came to get chores done and horses ready. Cat and Smitha got Liber-T, Lisa got Spirit and Lisa got Gracie. Out to the arena all did warm-up ground games and mounted up. Nice work for all. Dana came first and was ready for his second ride with us. He claims many great improvements in his mobility since last week. He walked from his truck to the ramp - used a wheelchair last week. COOL. Once mounted on Liber-T he did a warm circuit of the arena then got to work. He did pushing passenger, Hold reins (right hand is stiff, so this is good) and ask Liber-T to halt and walk on. Did arm raises right, left, alternate and both well. Then started reining around barrels, weaving cones and stop in the hoop. All looked good, so over the hill he want - a couple of times because it is fun. Great ride and great walking afterwards. Charleigh and Rhett came and got busy grooming Spirit and Liber-T before taking their horses around to see what we put out there to play with. Rhett mounted up on Liber-T and worked on some reining and enjoyed riding backwards. Charleigh was having an “I need Daddy” day, so Dad (who is a rider) hopped on Spirit and off they went together. Charleigh settled and did some playing with puzzle and toy food. They went over the hill and did some follow the leader with Rhett on Liber-T. This was the end of our “regular” class sessions. Classes will begin again on June 2 only on Tuesday evenings.

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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]. 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 $495 for a single person and $987 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 - [email protected]. A big thank you to those who have made donations.

When you see something beautiful in someone, tell them. It may just take seconds to say, but for them it could last a lifetime. - Enchanting Minds

If you are interested in joining our program, give a call soon to beat the heat. We have space for new riders on both riding days. Spread the word. Got hot stuff going on this week, but should cool a bit by the weekend. That is if you can call 101 “cool”. Mornings and evenings are still very nice though. 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.

Sunday was a rest day as all the horses got a good workout on Saturday morning. Monday was sad as we lost our dog Calypso - and it was really hot. So no riding today. Tuesday was also quite warm, but with only Natalie riding, we pushed time in the sun back a bit and we could make it work. Ellie came and we got Liber-T ready. Natalie arrived and got right on. She worked the shape puzzles, tossed bean bags and enjoyed a trail ride to end her session. Wednesday, Jason came to trim horses. Did some amazing work with Dakota to figure out how to help her - sore feet, sore shoulders. He tried various techniques to see what would work. Friday was errands and off site work. Got message my Saturday riders couldn’t come and as I prepped e-mail to volunteers, got a call about a new rider coming to visit. YEAH! Saturday, Lisa, Saanvi and Smitha arrived, chores got done and horse prepped. Lisa got Gracie, Smitha got Liber-T and Saanvi got Spirit. Off to the arena for some really nice ground work. Lisa had Gracie doing all games with a very nice sideways. Smitha had Liber-T do some over cavaletti back and forth, touch the cone and figure 8 around barrels. Saanvi got very nice circling with Spirit. COOL STUFF! Our new rider, Dana, arrived with his aide, Debbie. Dana rode before, but it’s been 20 years, so we took things slowly. Dana mounted up on Liber-T from the ramp and Liber-T’s movement helped him loosen up. He did pushing passenger, raise hands up and down, put hands on thighs, even used reins to ask for whoa. Very nice first ride. He was able to walk better after the ride. Love what this does. So. . . just for fun we gave Debbie a wellness ride so she could better understand what a horse’s movement can do for a person. WOW. It is always so much fun to share this with caregivers. AND - it was not too hot. Bonus all around.

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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]. 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 $495 for a single person and $987 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 - [email protected]. A big thank you to those who have made donations