Horsin' Around with Little Bear

If you walk into the little barn at Windrush Farm after a day of lessons are over and the lights are out, there are many things that can catch your eye.  The first thing you might notice is the cleanly swept floors.  You might say to yourself, "Wow, this is awfully clean to be a barn."  Next, one might notice a cute brown and black nose with a pink snip poking out of a hole where the previous occupant had broken the stall.  Most will recognize this nose to be Seth's.  Now if you keep moving down to the next stall, there is a stall plate that reads "Echo Bera."  When you look in, you will notice a pair of kind, gentle eyes and also one of the tallest horses on the property.  Many people around Windrush Farm will know this horse to be our Little Bear, who in fact, is not so little!

Little Bear's mother actually spent some time herself at Windrush Farm. Nothing Special, also known as Bera, was an English-bred thoroughbred, who was actually a backup horse for Lendon Gray in the Bromont Olympics.  Bera was donated to Windrush Farm by Ellen Gold and was used in the program for the advanced riders.  When it was clear that Bera was not going to be sound enough to continue her work here, she was sent to retire in Maryland, where she was used for breeding.  Echo Bera, also known as Little Bear, was her second foal.

Mandy Hogan bought Little Bear as a yearling and then brought her to Windrush as a two-year-old.  She started showing under Mandy at some low level events at the age of four.  She participated in events like Shepley Hill, where she took home the blue ribbon in her division.  She eventually moved her way up to competing and pinning in Novice and Training level divisions at Groton House Farm.  At these same competitions, Little Bear showed her versatility by also doing demonstrations with disabled riders for Windrush Farm.  Little Bear has also done clinics, demonstrations and shows with Pam Skinner.  She has done some trail riding in Massachusetts, as well as Vermont, and loves going to the beach!

Little Bear is now 21 years old and a permanent face in our herd.  She continues to be a weight carrier in our program and is definitely valued for her smooth stride and sensible mind.  For her size, Little Bear actually has a very short and steady stride, which reassures some of our nervous and unbalanced riders.  Horses like Little Bear allow us to open our doors to programs like Horses for Heros because of her ability to carry full-grown men with very heavy adaptive equipment.

Most of our horses and ponies are under 16 hands tall.  Towering at 16.2 hands, she is hard to miss in our herd.  It is a good thing that Little Bear is not so little though, because after getting to know her, many would agree that all of her personality would not be able to fit in a smaller body!  She is very animated and also has a wide variety of expressions that let us know exactly what she is feeling!  She not only is a major asset to our program, but she also brings a little family tradition back to Windrush.