Freya standing for the first time John and family petting Freya during WSS Winter Retreat Freya- a horse arrives in the world (part 1) As written by Renee Krider from the events of March 22, 2022- As I remember the birth experience of our big foal, Freya and God's provision-  This all started when my husband and I bought a twelve year old Belgian mare to pull a sled to gather maple sap for our maple syrup business. We were looking forward to having an old fashion experience for our visitors of gathering sap by dumping buckets into a horse drawn sled with a dumping container. About December I mentioned to Jack, my husband that I thought this Amish raised mare, Belle, may be carrying a foal. A blood test revealed my suspicions were in fact correct. The problem was a blood test does not provide the due date. I read everything trying to remember all the signs of a previous foaling now almost fifty years ago. Noting that the veterinarian said he very much doubted it [...]

Emily and Bo happy together Donate to WSS Horses Our horses are a community affair. Would you consider donating for hay, farrier care, repairs to tack, medication, or even sponsoring Freya or your favorite horse? Please join us on the the horse adventure! Emily giving instructions from the back of Philip, our Haflinger Emily Hall (Part 1 of 2) Hello! I'm Emily and I've been the horse program manager here at WSS for just over 2 years now, and have been working with these horses for a total of 3 years.  I wanted to let you know how God called me into working with horses.    It started in 2004 when I was in high school. I had read horse books before,  but I didn't think is get a chance to work with them.  I was introduced to a local barn and invited to come and work for and learn from them. I stated as a stable hand, mucking stalls,  lots of cleaning and starting to learn how to care for and handle the horses.  The [...]

Malia and her own horse Malia is interested in Equine Therapy for her future. How does equine therapy work? Malia Malanchuk  Hi everyone! My name is Malia Malanchuk, I am a fellow in the EXSEL Discipleship Program. I was born and raised in Lancaster, PA. The past two years I have been serving as a wrangler in the Horse Program, I have absolutely loved my time here at the springs with the horses and wrangler staff. When I was a junior/senior in high school I was looking for colleges but couldn't get onto college campuses do to covid and I didn't want to decide on a college without seeing the campus. I decided to explore gap year programs, I looked into YWAM and Word of Life but decided against those. My family friends Lee & Marcie DeRemer told me about the EXSEL program so I came and visited and loved it and two years later here I am as a fellow! My plans after EXSEL are to stay here as full time staff and continue working with the horses [...]

Riding in the high desert with 777 Ranch, Utah Two horses on one day! Susanne Pappal A brief history. My adventure with horses began late in life. Specifically in May 2017 (age 45). As is generally the case, my daughter, Julianne, wanted a horse. Our then WSS barn manager struck up a conversation with a horseman over by Willow Hill, PA. The horseman’s name was Louis Curly and he had a paint horse for sale. We drove over and ‘test rode’ Apache, quickly deciding that he would be a welcome addition to the WSS herd. While everyone was busy evaluating Apache, I noticed another horse tied to the rail. He had intelligent eyes and I took an interest in him. That interest quickly sparked into the thought that maybe I could get a horse as well. And that was that. Tasso came to live at WSS. I bought him and that’s how I started with horses. This is not the recommended starting point. Hopefully most people have a bit more of a ramp up to the purchase of their [...]

Lil Freya on the approach {sample photo} How big will she get? Could she grow to be your favorite horse? Watch foals in their playtime Freya, the little big horse- first meeting One of the most exciting things about Freya is her breed. Her mother was an Amish workhorse. The Amish use draft horses to pull their plows for the fields. When her mother was bought by a local family to pull their maple syrup wagon, unbeknownst to them, she carried Freya inside. Later when they discovered she was pregnant, there could only be guesses as to what kind of horse the father might be. Freya was born on March 22, 2022. Later we’ll have a post to talk more about the morning she was born. After looking her over, the vet’s belief that she was ¾ draft, specifically Belgian Draft, was confirmed. There are some wonderful attributes to draft horses that included: they are the largest of horse breeds, have a heavy bone structure, big hooves and are well-muscled. They possess a quiet and calm [...]

Koa, our gentle giant Our first look at Freya and her dam 8 months old and already 15 hands high (the size of a full grown horse) The beginning: It was the weekend of White Sulphur Springs Advisory Committee (11-13 November 2022.) As part of my presentation to the committee, I projected a photo of Koa, our gentle giant, on the wall behind me. Koa, our Belgian Draft, is aging out of our horse program, I told them. Many know the story of Koa, how he was rescued from a kill pen at a local horse auction. He and another draft were pulled out of the pen to be rehabilitated by a PA horse woman. Both were so malnourished that the second horse she rescued later died in his pasture. However, Koa survived and came to live at WSS in February of 2018. He was given the name Koa by one of our interns and its meaning is ‘warrior.’ Over time, Koa put on 500 pounds to come back up to his healthy weight and then enter our [...]