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Oh that sweet smell of fresh-ish air! My heart raced with anticipation as I merged onto the jam packed, concrete 215 highway headed north to my friend’s new ranch.

“The ranch” as I’ve always called it, is really called Horses 4 Heroes and has been located several places since its inception by my friend and her daughters, three of my former students. It called home at an equestrian center behind Sam’s Town casino, my friend’s personal property, Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs and the beautiful new location in Northwest Las Vegas, NV USA

“Horses4Heroes is a Las Vegas-based, national non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth, adults and families and enriching their lives through deeply discounted recreational, instructional and morale-boosting health and wellness programs that emphasize fun and safe activities with horses.“

As we rounded the corner to find the entrance to the property, it was undeniably patriotic! We are greeted with half moon shaped fabric in red, white and blue stripes attached to the fence line and blowing their accordion folds in the gentle breeze. The green John Deere tractor, reminiscent of what farmed all of the fields surrounding my hometown, looks to be on display but we know full well it is a powerful work horse. Golden yellow straw bales arched around the tractor and each held two flags, prominently jabbed in and standing tall so as not to fall over from the wind. I was thankful for my jacket because as my grandma would say, “it was definitely light jacket weather”.

The ranch operates on a membership basis and has different opportunities for “heroes” and your everyday “hero”  They are also proud to network with other ranches and farms across the U.S. getting them set up to serve their communities as well. The day we went was a Veteran and Hero day, expecting both adults and children. I knew the weather may be a deterrent for some, but there were still plenty of visitors checking out the animals and activities on the spacious 2.2 acres (if you know anything about Las Vegas, you will know that’s a lot of land for one property!) . I was bound and determined to meet Willie the steer – a famous face on their Facebook page, but no one warned me about Zeus (the guard) llama!

“You’re always on my mind”…

The famous words in Willie Nelson’s song ring true when it comes to this beauty. Willie’s pen shares a side rail with Zeus the llama. If you know anything about llamas, they are protectors of the herd, which was evident as Zeus had crazy eyes on us as we approached Willie, who was resting laying down in the middle of his pen. At first glance, he looks “top heavy”. At second glance, you realize your intuition was right. He was set to be slaughtered due to his short statured legs and heavy head. A steer’s horns are supposed to be cut off when they are born, however his were either done incorrectly or didn’t work, thus continuing to grow.

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If you look at the top of his massively solid head, you’d realize that his horns are attached into his brain, preventing any chance of cutting them permanently off..aka or certain death. Thankfully the ranch owner took him in and added “Trim Willie’s horns” to the to-do list. Megyn slid through the metal fence rails easily while I was not so graceful. I’m sure the ranch hand observing us had a good chuckle. You’re welcome! We enthusiastically discovered that Willie is super friendly and loves to have the area under his chin scratched-which I assume also deters the flies 🙂

Food, Feces & Flies…

Oh yes – there is plenty of that to go around! If choosing to go outdoors, one must hopefully think of appropriate footwear. I haven’t worn tennis shoes since my trip to the Galapagos two years ago (read about that here!), so on my first outing, I chose my oh-so-comfortable Sketchers On-the-go 600 slide sandal, open-toed, backless slip on shoes. I fractured my foot 15 years ago and it never healed correctly so when I find a pair of shoes, I literally wear them into the ground (and poop). As a parent, I had my kids wearing their older tennis shoes, not knowing the layout of the stalls, etc. Had I been leading a horse or hanging out more with the goats, I would’ve definitely preferred having my toes covered to prevent them from being stepped on. Fair warning – animals are fed and it has to go somewhere!

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Poop comes in all shapes and sizes: little and round, logged and piles and your occasional emoji looking steamy swirly 🙂 . It is an excellent lesson for children to understand that, make faces, make noises, plug their noses and more. While I didn’t hear it that day, being around littles most of my life and having four kids, I would expect to hear “what is coming out of its buttttttt?” With food and feces, of course there will be flies! The containers are recycled drink bottles from thirsty day campers. They are strategically designed to entice the flies in the hole and trap them. I guess the one on the yellow top is just there visiting…for now.

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Hogs ‘n Kisses…

Meet Patches – she is the sweet and salty of all porkers! I had met her once before when our school was looking for a live pig for our school’s phenomenal theater performance of Charlotte’s Web. She was truly a hit and even had a petting pen in the lobby of our theater 🙂 Today’s visit was a little different. I was in HER territory and she wanted to be a tad bit stubborn and salty and not come out of her hut. Bill, the owner, coerced her with a few words of encouragement and taps on the house with his cane. The other visitors, a mix of all ages, waited in anticipation since her coloring matched the blackness of the hut entrance. How does one fit through a hole that size? Well, she managed to wiggle out with grunts and snorts, similar to a cranky teenager, woken up much too early on a weekend. Her demeanor quickly changed once people started to pet her and within minutes she was on her side expecting a belly rub. Her short, little legs twitched with glee as she seemed in a borderline catatonic state.

It was an amazing day and the story continues! Read Horses4Heroes Las Vegas part 2 here to find out about WILD ROXANNE, ponies, ducks and the DONKEY!!!

Visit their Las Vegas website at https://horses4heroes.org/las-vegas/ and the national website at https://horses4heroes.org for additional information.