Our good friend Haji is retiring from We Can Ride after nearly two decades of service to our program.  To honor him, We Can Ride is hosting a retirement party on Friday, November 4th at the Minnetonka Barn from 12-1pm.

Everyone is welcome to come out to wish Haji well as he embarks on the next part of his journey! Refreshments will be served for humans and horses and we are thrilled that Kare 11 news will be there to cover the extraordinary story of Haji's career.

We hope to see you there!

Our good friend Haji is retiring from We Can Ride after nearly 2 decades of service to our program! Hajijoined the herd on July 6th, 1992 as a 6 year old and now, at the ripe old age of 25, has done his last lap around the Minnetonka ring as a therapy horse. In 2009, Haji won the Region 6 Horse of the Year award from NARHA (now PATH Intl.) for overcoming great odds and continually serving our clientele. Haji's career, as many who knew him then will tell you, began with a bang - he was a bit of a "hell cat" to work with, spooking at paper, running into walls, and being very difficult to handle. Due to the patience and love from the We Can Ride community, a lifetime of training was poured into Haji, molding him into the gentle, loving member of the herd that we know today.

A little history:
Haji's life started with a family who wanted him for their young girls. For one reason or another (I have to guess part of that has to do with his young, spunky Arabian heritage) the family lost interest in Haji for the children, and instead tried to get him onto the racing circuit! This was also not his cup of tea, but be tried it, like the champ he is. The family became disappointed and angry that Haji couldn't fill any of the roles they had wanted him to, so they donated him to We Can Ride to work primarily with the residents in 1992.

During his We Can Ride training, a brief look through his volunteer conditioning files reveal notes like this one, from 1994: "Haji began shying at shadows in the arena. Better after an hour of riding," and this one, from 1998: "jumpy when asked to stand still.  Head constantly tossing when not happy with something. Need to work on his MANNERS!"   In 2011, volunteers and I noted the following on his yearly evaluation: "Calm and steady. When riding, happy to canter all day long, or just walk for hours. " My, how times change!

Why is Haji retiring?
Haji's time at We Can Ride has been very productive. He's served many of our clients, been a steady member of the team for demonstrations and public events, and has helped many Home School residents learn about the power and friendship of a horse. He is a favorite of so many people! Over the years, Haji has sustained some damage to his hind suspensory ligaments and has limited range of motion in his hips.  Like many older horses, he does have some tough arthritis in his back and neck.  He's seen regularly by a horse chiropractor to help manage his discomfort and help him move freely. However, Haji still sometimes struggles to stand if he has napped in the wrong position out in the pasture, and displays discomfort during the mounting process at the block or lift (shifting of weight frequently, rushing forward immediately after the mount, dragging his hind legs). Because Haji is a horse we all care about deeply, providing him comfort in his daily life is a big priority.  We Can Ride is grateful for his years of service and is committed to honor his readiness to lead a life of leisure as a “pasture pal” for the rest of his days

We Can Ride's own Haji is the NARHA Region 6 Horse of the Year!

Haji, the Arabian gelding, has been part of We Can Ride since 1992 when he was only 6 years old. Haji is 22 now and has been serving the riders of WCR faithfully for 16 years. Haji wasn't always the steady therapy horse. Originally he was purchased by a man that wanted to turn him into a race horse. When the man discovered that wasn't the job Haji was good at, he was sold to another person that thought Haji would make a good children's horse. At that time Haji was a typical high strung Arab and wasn't working out as a nice calm family horse. When he was first donated to We Can Ride he was still that high strung horse, afraid of everything and not scared to show it. Haji must have knew that Therapeutic Riding was his calling as he went from a hard to handle young horse to a seasoned veteran in no time.

Now Haji, though very high in the herd hierarchy, is the calmest horse WCR has. Haji works with the smallest, most scared, and some times most frail riders, making them feel at ease on his back. Haji is also the horse that helps train new volunteers. It's been joked that Haji could probably run a Therapeutic Riding class all by himself. He knows where the mounting block is and can guide himself right next to the hydraulic lift as close as he needs to be with very little cuing from his leader. He can walk carefully along side a rider as they lead him around the arena for warm-up. He gladly lets riders groom him, dress him up in costumes, and will stand still for a thank you kiss and a hug after class is over.

As part of the NARHA Horse of the Year program, Haji is featured in an Activity and Coloring book that you can purchase on the NARHA website.  As quantities are limited, here is a sneak preview of Haji's page.