Sessions

Sessions at Uncle Genes first and foremost are developed around HOWDY: Helping Others With Discovering Yahweh. Our primary focus for each session is that every person that comes to our farm would feel the incredible love that Jesus has for them and discover the hope of the gospel. As we have children and families of all ages and abilities participating in our sessions, we prayerfully consider how best to serve our students and families as we plan each session. Our typical session includes:

Connection

Personal conversation with each child, sharing highs and lows of their week, praises and prayer requests, and group prayer. This gives us great insight to what may be going in mentally, physically, and spiritually in the child’s life.  

Stretching

Getting our body ready to work in tandem with our horse is a critical piece of being prepared for whatever movement comes during our session.

Horse Care

As most children that come to the farm have little prior horse experience, we start with the basics to build safety for horse and rider from the ground up. Learning how to approach, halter, groom, and tack becomes a great place for us to also develop personal connection with the child. We have found that conversation flows when hands are busy. 

Groundwork and Riding

Not every session is spent in the saddle, some days we work on connecting with the child out of the saddle or developing the child’s connection with the horse through groundwork.  We find this is a wonderful place to parallel how the Holy Spirit works in and through us. Perhaps what most children look forward to the most, though, is time spent in the saddle. These sessions look different on any given day depending on the needs of the child or the horse but range from beginner skills to advanced riding skills. 

Our focus is the enjoyment of the process and the horse and not a pressure to perform.