Brownies learn some horse sense

The excitement could be summed up in two words: “It’s horsies!”

Girl Scout Brownies from Whitefish Troop No. 3363 spent their Presidents Day holiday at Majestic Valley Arena, where a couple of employees and their equine friends taught the girls the ins and outs of horses.

Fidel Alejandre, the arena’s grounds manager, and horse trainer Margaret Herron led the tour for the scouts, a handful of parents and troop leaders Sherry Mayeaux and Suzette Hiebert. The troop is made up of 11 girls in first, second and third grades — a time when many girls first fall in love with horses.

The field trip fit perfectly with the values Brownies teaches, Mayeaux said.

“That’s what Girl Scouts is all about, kindness and respect to animals and to people,” she said.

Some girls were bouncing with anticipation before the tour began, but a little of the excitement subsided once the scouts reached the horse barn. Kelsie Hiebert pinched her nose shut when she stepped inside. Reagan Retz handed Allie Hickman a glove, which she used to cover her nose and mouth.

Others, including Herron, inhaled deeply. “What does it smell like?” she asked the girls.

They shouted out their answers.

“Poop.”

“Hay.”

“Dirt.”

“Fleas.”

Herron took issue with the last one, assuring the scouts that the horses were flea free. “Horse people” think the barn smells wonderful, she added, as a few girls exchanged doubtful looks.

After noses adjusted to new aromas, Herron outlined the rules for the barn: No horsing around and no wiggling small fingers near horses that might mistake them for carrots.

Herron and Alejandre led the girls through the barn, introducing them briefly to race horses and roping horses, showing them the tack room and allowing them a glimpse of where the animals are showered.

Then they girls met Will and Tooley, the gentle horses they would spend the rest of the tour with.

Before they would be allowed to ride, however, the scouts had to learn how to prepare the horses for the saddle. Each girl took a turn with a curry comb or brush to make sure the horses’ backs were free of dirt and debris.

When it was Taylor Holm’s turn with the brush, she worked on Tooley’s tail. It was more tangled than her own blonde mane.

“Doesn’t it hurt him?” she wondered.

“Does it hurt when you brush your hair?” Herron asked her.

“Yes,” Taylor said, grinning.

Mayeaux’s daughter, Dani, volunteered to clean Tooley’s hooves. The horse’s hind feet, however, proved too much for the child.

“Oh my gosh,” she said as she strained to position the foot as Alejandre instructed. “That foot is heavy.”

Once the horses were groomed, it was time to ride. Most girls were excited, but one wanted to ride something a little more challenging.

“I want to ride a bull,” Dani announced.

Alejandre tried gently to discourage her. “A bull would be a little too much for you.”

“Not a miniature bull,” Dani shot back.

Alejandre laughed and encouraged her to sign up for “mutton bustin’” at the county fair.

“If you can practice on a sheep and stay on a sheep, that’s how all these cowboys started,” he said. “If you can stay on [a sheep], that’s when you say, ‘Mom, I think I’m ready for a bull.’”

Despite wanting a more exciting mount, Dani seemed excited about the chance to ride Tooley. She was competent enough to be allowed to ride alone instead of being led like most of the other girls.

After swinging into Will’s saddle like a pro, Taylor was given the same privilege.

“I’ve been riding since I was a little girl,” she said.

“Me and Taylor are the two advanced ones,” Dani told her mother as soon as her brief stint on Tooley was finished. “We got to be on horses by ourselves. I got to trot.”

The girls wore helmets for safety, but no one needed the protection.

Megan Walter had the only close call; she slipped a little while climbing into the saddle, which startled Will. She clung to the saddle horn as the horse took a few quick steps. Alejandre, with one hand on the bridle and one on the girl, tried to calm them both.

Decidedly more nervous this time, Megan tried mounting again. With a boost from her mother, she climbed into the saddle with no problem, and by the time she, Will and Alejandre had made their slow circle around the arena, she was smiling again.

Once everyone had a turn, the girls followed the horses back to the barn, where they helped put away the tack and clean up. Then they bid the horses a fond if loud goodbye.

Alejandre was smiling as the tour wrapped up. He believes it’s important for children to be introduced to animals.

“I grew up with animals, and it kept me away from trouble,” he said.

Such field trips “let the girls get out and see different things, lets them find their loves, builds self-esteem and confidence,” Mayeaux said. Girl Scouts “helps them be successful later in life.”

For more information about Girl Scouts or to find a nearby troop, visit http://gsmw.org.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.