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Gentle Carousel Awards and Good News

   AARP's Most Heroic Pet In America

Gentle Carousel in Magazines

On Television, Film and Radio

Gentle Carousel in Newspapers

  Meet Our Therapy Horse Team

Horse Costumes

  Movie Star Benji Teams Up With Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses

  Gentle Carousel and Martha Stewart    

               A Visit From National Geographic

Prancing With The Stars

Magic on NEWSWEEK/DAILY BEAST  Ten Most Heroic Animals

READING IS MAGIC at Schools

READING IS MAGIC Horses

READING IS MAGIC at Libraries

READING IS MAGIC Authors

  READING IS MAGIC Bringing Books To Life at Literacy Festivals

  Smallest Horses In The World

Becoming a Therapy Horse

Home Sweet Home

  Magic is a Power Of One  AMERICANTOWNS HERO

Princess Tea Parties

 Magic of Horses

 Sundance Star of Jason and Elihu

Elephants, Zebras and Gentle Carousel

Our Rescues and Therapy Friends

              Tiny Horses of Distant Thunder Ranch 

Magical Moments Fashion Show

Magic Horses Poem

Lake City Journal | Lake City, FL Therapy Dog Henry's Newspaper Column

  Holiday Memories

Contact Us

 Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity.

     Your donations are tax deductible. Help us grant wishes, make memories and bring a little magic into the world.

Gentle Carousel Inc.

P.O. Box 358844

Gainesville, FL  32635

Phone: 352-226-9009

MiniHorseTherapy@att.net

  Rainbow in a huddle with two time Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP quarterback Phil Simms.

Hugh Jackman talks about Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses on stage during his amazing Broadway show.

 

"Keep up the wonderful work you do.  I often tell people that Lassie was the first therapy dog--the first to be allowed in hospitals more than 50 years ago!"      

Jon Provost, Appeared as Timmy Martin on Lassie

Cloudburst wins Martha Stewart's Annual Halloween Photo Contest!  Martha talked about Gentle Carousel on her website and Twitter.  Thank you Martha!

Cloudburst on People Magazine website.

"...Gentle Carousel, you are wonderful, gentle, caring people! "

Marlo Thomas,Actress, producer, best selling author, four-time Emmy winner and activist for children's causes

A photo of Peanut and Aladdin were on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and her website home page. Who doesn't love Ellen!

Canine movie star Benji working with Magic.

"What they are doing is just so incredible.  They are making a difference. These people are the real deal.  They are down there in the trenches doing it."

Joe Camp, film writer, producer, director, bestselling author and man behind canine superstar Benji.

Rainbow with THE DUKES OF HAZZARD star Tom Wopat.

Sundance reading at a Boys and Girls Club with former NFL and University of Florida  quarterback Doug Johnson for an Associated Press photo and literacy poster.

 

Gentle Carousel was selected a charity partner in Disney's volunteer program "Give a Day. Get a Day."

As Seen in:

TeaTime Magazine

"Your Reading Is Magic program and volunteers are heroes every time they walk into a school or library.  Using little miniature horses to inspire young children to read is most creative.  Congratulations on your wonderful charity, spirit and service to your community."

 William J. Bennett, Former Secretary of Education

James Gurney, Best-selling author and illustrator of the Dinotopia book series.

"Gentle Carousel...  Thank you for all of your hard work!"

Joan Lundon, Journalist, author and television host

 Magic with four-time Olympian and ten-time US Female Equestrian Athlete of the Year, Karen O'Connor.

 

Magic with David O'Connor, president of the United States Equestrian Federation, Olympic gold medalist and Pan American Games and World Equestrian Games medalist.

 

"Reading Is Magic!

Every child you inspire to read is a life forever changed. Thank you for that and for bringing books to life...It can take you from outer space to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Either way, the journey is magical.

...Wow.  Love those little horses... Great job you're doing.  I'm proud of you." 

-Homer Hickam, #1 New York Times Bestselling author and NASA engineer  

"What you have to get across is that these are highly trained horses. They go into an environment, a situation, circumstances where only a trained horse such as this can navigate himself... They seem to have an innate sense of how to go to the person they are there to comfort."

 Ilene Silverman, Executive producer and host of the The Ilene Silverman Show.

"...I think that the use of horses is wonderful for children with self-regulation and attachment issues (the classic problems with so many children in the CPS system as you are aware)...Keep up your work. With  Respect"

Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.Senior Fellow
The Child Trauma Academy 

"...I just wanted to take the opportunity to write you a letter expressing my amazement with your miracle miniature horse "Magic". As I read about all the miraculous things that have happened in her presence, I was absolutely stunned. It is amazing that despite the modern marvels of medicine and how much that field has advanced in my lifetime, that sometimes there remains an unexplained element to health and recovery that is covered by miraculous creatures like your horse..."

Senator Steve Oelrich

"Magic and Gentle Carousel, Inspiring children to read is magical. You are making a difference!"

 Chris Soentpiet, Acclaimed children's book author and illustrator (Thank you for the beautiful artwork you donated to help Gentle Carousel's Reading Is Magic!)

 "My own daughter, who has Down Syndrome has been touched by Magic. I have been able to see first hand what these animals can do just with my own child...This program benefits so many different population bases. They can reach the elderly, the terminally ill, children with developmental disabilities, children with needs in reading...there are just so many opportunities to reach so many people in need..."

Lance Block, Chairman for the Governor's Commission on Disabilities

"What 'Reading Is Magic' does for kids by going into schools and igniting excitement for reading a story is beyond compare.  Keep the hoof beats going."

Carl Joseph, author and Hall of Fame athlete

 

"What an honor and thrill to have Gentle Carousel's Sundance as a riveting character in JASON AND ELIHU."

Shelley Fraser Mickle, Award winning author and National Public Radio commentator  

 

Sundance smiles for a fan then kisses one of his photos in the novel JASON AND ELIHU as an autograph.

 "You have a wonderful program. Thank you for bringing joy to children... Keep reading! It is magic!"

Anna Grossnickle Hines, Author and illustrator of over 50 children's books.

"...Thank you for all the work you do...Reading is Magic!"

Linda Sue Park, Bestselling author and Newbery Medal Winner

 

HOME SWEET HOME

The Oaks of Lake City welcomes Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses to the Equestrian Center
 
Miniature therapy horse Hamlet greets Trooper, one of the other residents at the Equestrian Center at The Oaks of Lake City. (LakeCityJournal.com photo)
Miniature therapy horse Hamlet greets Trooper, one of the other residents at the Equestrian Center at The Oaks of Lake City. (LakeCityJournal.com photo)
Therapy horses Wakanda (left) and Magic look out a special window made for them. They visit with Hamlet as he walks to the training area. (LakeCityJournal.com photo)
Therapy horses Wakanda (left) and Magic look out a special window made for them. They visit with Hamlet as he walks to the training area. (LakeCityJournal.com photo)
By Karl Burkhardt


 

Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses are now training in one of the nation's finest equestrian facilities, The Oaks of Lake City.

This partnership began with an inquiry from Debbie Garcia-Bengochea of Gentle Carousel, asking if they could use the training facilities. It takes two years of training for each therapy horse, but Gentle Carousel does not have a covered training area to keep them out of the hot sun in the summer or protect them from the weather in the winter.

Brad Dicks, owner of The Oaks of Lake City, not only offered the facility for training, he converted two stalls in the Equestrian Center by lowering the automatic watering bowls and putting in windows for the little horses.

Gentle Carousel is a very good program, Dicks said. "They helped support us when we first opened and, a couple of weeks ago, they wanted to discuss if we had any resources that would help their non-profit," Dicks said. "It really seemed to be a win-win situation. We have the staff and the facility and we're real excited to have them."

"The facilities are so nice they think we've taken them to a spa!" said Debbie Garcia Bengochea of Gentle Carousel. The reconfigured stalls hold two miniature horses. Each horse has a buddy, Debbie said.

The Equestrian Center has a special heated stall with warm water for washing the horses, a major convenience for Gentle Carousel.

Getting the horses ready to visit a hospital or nursing home on a cold morning has been a challenge. Sometimes the horses were brought into the house and washed in the bathtub.

Extensive training allows the therapy horses to go where others would not dare go. They are housetrained and, if they need to go outside, they let the volunteers know and they take a break.

The tiny horses go up and down stairs and in elevators, walk on hard, soft and even slippery surfaces, such as ceramic tiles. On one occasion, they had to walk over a bridge, next to a waterfall that ran under the bridge. The horses must get used to being around wheelchairs and hospital equipment. On one visit, alarms went off, but the therapy horses stood still and waited for handlers to lead them.

Therapy horses are very attentive to the people they visit, often nuzzling patients who are unable to move. But when they return to the farm, they romp like children getting out of school!

At The Oaks, "They have 15 miles of trails," Debbie said. "And they are letting us turn the horses out in the pasture so they get big pasture time."

There will be special events in the future where the public can visit the miniature horses at The Oaks. The high cost of insurance prevented Gentle Carousel from inviting guests at their farm in southern Columbia County. The Oaks already has that insurance for public visitors and Gentle Carousel will be covered at no additional cost.

The Equestrian Center is staffed all the time and staff members feed and care for all the horses. They will feed the miniature horses at no cost to Gentle Carousel, a significant benefit.

Security cameras allow horse owners to view their horses on cell phones or computers, anytime they log in.

The Equestrian Center is a separate organization, although it works closely with the housing development. The Oaks offers a competition quality Equestrian Center that hosts major events. It has English and Western facilities.

There are residential and equestrian home sites at The Oaks, off Tustennugee Avenue, between County Road 240 (S.W. Myrtis Road) and S.W. Howell Road.

For more information about The Oaks, visit http://www.oaksequestriancenter.com/

For more information about Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses, visit

http://www.Horse-Therapy.org



 

 

 

 

Gentle whisperer
Gentle whisperer
Hamlet listens as Jorge Garcia-Bengochea, co-founder of Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses, talks softly and adjusts his halter during a training session at The Oaks of Lake City Equestrian Center. Hamlet is nearly a year old and will have another year of training to become a therapy horse. (LakeCityJournal.com photo)

  Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses love to be with people, but they also need time to relax and just be horses. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After giving so much love to others, it is the time to receive love and pampering themselves.

Home Sweet Home!

 

Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity.

Your donations are tax deductible.

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." ~Winston Churchill

 

Gentle Carousel Inc.

P.O. Box 1672

High Springs, FL  32655

Phone: 352-226-9009

E-mail: MiniHorseTherapy@att.net

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