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www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
THE LAND — JULY 22/JULY 29, 2022
Bartz’s therapy Arabians are quick to sense your mood By RICHARD SIEMERS The Land Correspondent OLIVIA, Minn. — Rae Ann Bartz speaks with a calm and gentle voice. It is the same voice she uses with her horses and with the clients who come for therapy to her stable and arena outside of Olivia, Minn. To work with clients, her horse of choice is the Arabian. “They are incredibly intelligent,” Bartz said. “They’re also a people horse. They like to connect to the person. I see that so much because I use them with therapy, and they really like to connect to the person they are with.” The therapy focuses on developing a relationship with the horse. “I’ve had some kids who’ve had trouble in school. [Something is going on in their lives] and the horse brings that out. It’s not me talking about what is going on. We generally take them out in the arena. The horse doesn’t have a halter on. We just ask them to see if they can walk up to the horse. If they’re angry, the horse will walk away. If they’re ready to connect, the horse will come to them.” Rae Ann Bartz with her Arabian, Louie. This bred’s sensitivity to people is one of reason’s The horses aren’t sensitive Bartz is drawn to these horses. only to the clients. If Bartz is don’t talk to them a lot. I ask a question once in a exhibiting frustration with the day, the horse may while, like ‘What do you think the horse is thinking walk away from her, too. The goal is to take the focus right now?’ Get them away from thinking about off one’s self and develop a relationship with the themselves.” horse. That’s why she likes the Arabian horse, because “The client learns to make a connection with the she finds it so sensitive to people. Bartz thinks that horse, get the horse to do a number of things without goes back to their development by the Bedouin tribes. a lead rope,” Bartz said. It builds confidence when “The Bedouins prized their Arabian horse more the horse responds. “It’s incredible to watch because than anything else,” Bartz said. “Their horses — parthere’s so much going on at once. You’re watching the ticularly the mares — slept in the tent with them. horse, you’re watching the response of the client. I They were their constant companion. They trusted the horses and the horses trusted them, and I think d that’s where some of that has carried on in their relationship with people. They were bred to do that.” Their ability to relate to an individual isn’t the only thing Bartz likes about the Arabian. They are an excellent show horse. “They’re beauty is unmistakable,” she said. Their classic look includes the dish face and a high set tail. The high set tail may have developed as a cooling mechanism for life on the desert, but it does SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA Daniel & Terese Hall add a touch of class. 40133 - 620th Ave. Racing around on the desert, often long distances Butterfield, MN 56120
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Love and her foal are part of Bartz’s herd of horses.
without water, has resulted in a breed that is justly famous for their endurance. “They have incredible endurance,” Bartz said. “They are the number-one breed for endurance races. The Tevis Cup is usually won by an Arabian horse.” The race is run over varied terrain in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. According to the Tevis Cup website, the “Tevis Cup trophy is awarded to the person who completes the 100-mile oneday course in the shortest amount of time and whose horse is in sound condition and fit to continue.” Looking at the list of winners from its beginning in 1955, it is almost a solid string of Arabians, most of whom completed the 100 miles in under 15 hours. (Since there is some Arabian blood in every breed of light horse, they could claim to be part of every victory.) Some sources say the Arabian breed is docile, but that is not the experience of everyone. “So many people think that Arabians are spirited and crazy,” Bartz said. “It depends on how they’re handled. They do have a little bit more spirit and they’re a little more sensitive than some of the other breeds, so if they’re handled that way, they react that way. But I love the fact they are sensitive so that you don’t have to do so much with them to get what you want them to do.” Bartz’s attraction to horses began as a child where they had horses on the farm. She grew up in 4-H showing horses. Her first up-close acquaintance with Arabians came when she moved to Willmar, Minn. in 1975 and started working with 4-H. One family whose daughters she helped had Arabians. She got to know the horse better in her farrier work. “I was shoeing horses at the time and I had a client that had lots of Arabian horses,” she said. “I just fell in love with them, enjoyed shoeing and trimming and working with Arabians.” Today she is president of Minn-I-Kota Arabian Horse Association. See Arabians, pg. 16
