Most parents would love for their children to read more, but few could bring a horse in to help them do it.
Since June 5, the nonprofit Gentle Carousel has hosted weekly reading events at the Marion Theatre, bringing together crowds of children and their parents. Every Thursday, as part of its Reading with Horses program, staff first teach children about horses, then introduce a guest speaker and read a book.
After each reading, children meet the real-life heroes featured in the stories—like Circus, the spotted horse who greeted families on July 10. The theme this summer is learning about jobs with horses.
“The actual character comes to bring the book to life with the kids,” said Deb Garcia-Bengochea, a founder and the education director at Gentle Carousel, now in its 29th year. “I don’t think there’s anything better than that.”
“We really try to give children that whole idea of there’s so many careers that they can have,” Garcia-Bengochea said. “There’s so many different kinds of things that they could do, so we really try to introduce that.
Gentle Carousel conducts Reading with Horses with the help of Ocala’s chamber of commerce. The program has helped children for over 25 of Gentle Carousel’s 29 years and is an official part of Marion County’s elementary school curriculum.
“It’s been amazing to do this,” Bengochea-Garcia said. “I think it's just a wonderful way of encouraging reading, encouraging literacy.”
But these real-life heroes do far more than just encourage literacy. In addition to helping children read, the mini horses also visit cancer patients, trauma victims, hospice patients, those who have disabilities and the elderly.
Jenna Rovira is a volunteer with Gentle Carousel and has supported the organization for more than five years. She said Circus and his fellow horses help patients work through their challenges, struggles and trauma by reflecting their emotions and calming them.
“The horses are a mirror,” she said. “They really absorb our energy and feelings… and tune into us.”
If, for example, a patient is anxious and tense, the horse would also become tense, Rovira explained. She said the therapy horses help patients, such as those who struggle with cognitive or emotional difficulties, to calm down and enter a state in which they can focus on other tasks, such as language.
“It brings them into a different zone,” she said.
According to Garcia-Bengochea, Gentle Carousel’s mini therapy horse program is the first of its kind globally. Since its founding, the horses have worked with a wide range of patients, including Sandy Hook survivors, Surfside Condo first responders, and tornado survivors. They have been featured on National Geographic, CNN, FOX News and MSNBC, and have won awards like TIME Magazine’s One of History’s 10 Most Courageous Animals, Newsweek’s One of the 10 Most Heroic Animals and Reader’s Digest Power of One Hero.
Rovira said the miniature therapy horses help families at the events beyond just reading.
“They get to learn how… the horses can help humans in general,” she said. “There’s a lot that children and adults can learn from the horses… it’s a huge impact, especially on the kids.”
One of the parents, Shealah McCaskie, attended with her children and helped pass out glitter at the Marion Theatre. She says the events have helped her kids.
“It has…encouraged them to read because it has a special interest in horses,” she said. “It really brings it together for them… I have met countless families that this has helped.”
Mia, a Marion County mother, has been to three Reading with Horses events.
“My daughter Coco, she loves animals, so we came to see the horse and get another book,” she said.
Mia said she and her daughter try to read at least two to three books each night. She said that the program has given them different stories to read and praised the demeanor of the miniature horses.
“The horses are very friendly and do very well with the kids…it’s awesome that the horses are smaller horses, so they’re on their level, their size,” she said. “It’s just been a really good experience.”
Garcia-Bengochea said Reading with Horses has helped people come together.
“It brings the community together… to be able to really have this many people come for a book and to read.” Garcia-Bengochea said. “I think it's just a wonderful way of encouraging reading in our children and in our schools.”
Gentle Carousel’s next Reading with Horses event will be held on July 18 at the Dunnellon Library.