Stable teaches kids about horses, and responsibility

Parents with children that ask for pets soon come to the realization that the care of the animal quickly becomes parental responsibility. While Johnny begs for Fido, he promises to walk the dog every day without fail, but when you cross the threshold after a long day’s work, you soon find Fido at your feet with his tail wagging at light speed, leash in mouth.  But that need not always be the case, as I learned in a visit to Bella Oaks Stables, where children willingly care for horses in programs that teach responsibility and life skills under the guise of horsemanship.

On a spring-like Saturday morning Denice Barton gathers her group of eight young apprentices to make their rounds while I tag along. “Okay girls,” she calls out, “let’s start at the top and see who’s taking care of the horses.”  The girls ranged in age from seven to fourteen, and are here to help care for the dozen horses, grooming, walking, feeding, and even rendering medicine when needed in a program called the Bella Oaks Saddle Club. While the horses get the attention, the program is designed to nurture the children, as well as the horses, by building character while they learn to care for the animals.

“Having a horse teaches responsibility” Denice, a professional and competitive driver, says. “When you’re out on a trail and there’s a deer, you have to manage your horse. You can’t run to your mom, you have to decide what to do.” Children also realize a sense of achievement in mastering the large animals, controlling them with a tug on the rein or a nudge of the heel. The enhanced self esteem goes along with improved concentration and hand to eye coordination that are necessary in controlling an animal that weighs upward of eight hundred pounds. While the sight of a child be in command of such a large animal can be impressive, it’s the lessons that they learn in caring for the horse that is the focus at Bella Oaks.

Bella Oaks Stables has been in business for about five years, and offers riding, vaulting and driving lessons year round for children and adults, and seventeen nature and summer camps. Located in Alhambra Valley, the stables are owned by Debi Cacavo, who grew up riding the trails in and around the Briones area of Martinez from her dad’s stable of quarter horses that he raised and raced. “Horses are therapeutic” says Debi. She says the whole experience is not only about having fun, but developing character.

I asked Denice what her group said about that, and if they had any goals, other than fun.

“Well, Kaitlin is going to a special jumping camp in two weeks, so she’s got some goals. Some of the girls are just here having fun and enjoying horses. But they all say that they want to be able to own their own horse someday, and they want to know what goes into it. What they have to do to take care of it.”

“So is it more than teaching them to ride?” I asked.

“Oh yeah” she said. “It’s horsemanship. They’re learning about barn management, feeding, supplements, and things like that. The girls all take on one horse, and take care of them. And if they can’t be here, they’ll assign it to another one to take care of. They take it on as a personal responsibility.”

It’s that sense of responsibility that has attracted Jennifer and Brent Christiansen of Benicia to the stables today. The young couple is here with their daughters, Ivy, 10, and Chloe, 7, to take a look at Bella Oaks and see what it offers.  “It could be good for them” Brent says. “I grew up around horses, and hunting and fishing. But it’s a new experience for them. So we’ll have to see if it’s worth it.” We watch as the two mingle with the older girls, and seem to enjoy themselves.

The dozen or so horses that are stabled here include some that have been rescued from unsafe conditions.  “Skip is our newest horse” Denice says, “he wasn’t completely broken, and he’s sensitive with his legs. So Kaitlin’s taken him on with our trainer here by spending time with him and putting hands on him regularly.” We cross the dirt road to another corral. “This is Prince. He’s one of our best schooling horses, and he will give you anything you want. You just kind of squeeze him, and he’ll do it. He’s got some eye problems, so he gets eye medicine very day. Before we started this as part of our apprenticeship program, Debbie was working real hard to try to get each one their medicine. We’re now starting to see a real improvement in them because the kids have taken on the responsibility.” Denice watches closely as one of the girls places drops in Prince’s eyes.

“This is Maggie, she’s a thoroughbred. Her grandfather raced against Secretariat. We’re giving her away because she spooks a bit on trail rides and in the woods, and she needs a pasture to stretch her legs in. We’re not comfortable putting kids on her, because she’s so big and fast. We want a find a better place that’s more suited to her.”

In addition to the weekly camps, lessons and other programs, the ranch has a program that works with community organizations to introduce disadvantaged children to horses. Last year a family with twelve children from Oakland went through the program during the school year.

“Some dropped out” Denice told me, “because of school commitments and such, but a few made it to the end. I think they got something out of it.”