Want to win a beautiful rare curly horse? Just enter our "I Love Horses" Contest. You can write a poem or story, draw a picture, make a video or anything you want to tell us how much you love horses. This contest is open to all ages. Shalom Ranch Dara Warrior is a full curly horse that can be registered. This very sweet filly will be ready to ship in late August/early September. Hauling is free to all major cities in Canada or America. Please go to www.shalomranch.org and click on the foal contest link for the entry form and more information.

Want to win a beautiful rare curly horse? Just enter our "I Love Horses" Contest. You can write a poem or story, draw a picture, make a video or anything you want to tell us how much you love horses. This contest is open to all ages. Shalom Ranch Dara Warrior is a full curly horse that can be registered. This very sweet filly will be ready to ship in late August/early September. Hauling is free to all major cities in Canada or America. Please go to www.shalomranch.org and click on the foal contest link for the entry form and more information.

We will be hosting a Family Camp this summer.  Nancy Thomas is a Christian therapeutic parent from Colorado.  She will be our guest speaker.  You can check out her work at www.attachment.org.  If you are interested in finding out more about the camp please email me at marie@ShalomRanch.org.  

Shalom

At the same time as the stallion went home, another mare was dropped off for us to train.  Cheno is very over weight.  She is not that big, standing at 14. 1 hh, but has enough attitude of a horse of 17hh. 

Today we took Cheno out of her pasture to start working with her.  She is very used to humans and has no fear of us, but also has no respect for us.  She was used to being more of a pet and was not put in her place like she should have been.  We are now having to be quite tough with her.  We can see her potential, but cannot even start on proper training until she has some discilpine.

There are times that we ask something of her and she totally ignores us.  We then need to get bigger and in her face for her to listen.  Even when we lead her around she is not respectful.

She reminds me of us sometimes.  Christians that grow up in the church and are so familar with everything.  They think because they are 'good' they don't need to be disciplined.  It is interesting that these type of horses are the most difficult to train.  I think this might be true of humans also.  God has to get so big in their faces before they listen.  These horses tend to get offended; sounds like us again.

We now have Cheno isolated and dependent on us for all her needs.  She needs to learn that she is not self sufficient, that we are the boss and that she needs to listen right away, all the way and in a happy way.  Need I say more.

Shalom,

Marie

www.ShalomRanch.org

www.TheEasyFrench.com

www.TheEasySpanish.com

Talk about being stretched.  About a month ago we had a breeder bring a stallion onto the property to service our mares.  This was a huge blessing.  This stallion is a rare breed called Baskir Curly.  They are wonderful horses that are actually hypo-allergenic.  We are training some of her horses in exchange for the breeding.

Stallions are a "breed" onto themselves.  This particular guy was so calm.  This lasted until a mare came along.  He would then loose all sembalance of reason.  I called it "breeding mode".  The change was so complete.

Having never handled a stallion it was an experience for me.  I learnt to let him move his feet as much as he wanted until he calmed down.  He learnt the I would not let him go until he did calm down.  Horses are amazingly intelligent. 

We did have one incident where he was in breeding mode and my husband was holding him.  The lead fell off.  I guess it had not been secured properly.  Kid, the stallion, took off.  He headed to a back pasture where he had been hearing another horse.  It was our gelding Bear.  You cannot mix stallions, geldings and mares.  Some stallions have killed geldings that have gotten in their way.  Stallions will precieve geldings as competition and work to eliminate them.

My husband Peter and I started to run.  I got to the gate to see Kid and Bear half way down the pasture.  They were, thank God, still on opposite sides of the fence.  I called my geldings Bear.  He came.  I think it saved his life.  Kid turned to go back down the pasture to get to Bear.  Peter drove him away, some of his mares called to Kid.

I yelled to my oldest to open the gate to the large pasture.  Kid went running in. 

Tragedy was avoided.  I do know that the Lord took care of us in that situation.  Bear listened to me and turned around.  Kid allowed his being driven by Peter.  Some stallions will attack.  The mares called to Kid just at the right time.  Kid ran into the pature and not onto the road that is only 500 feet away.

Calling out to the Lord in our time of need is what we need to do.  Even one word in the midst of all that is going on.  His protection is on our ranch and I will continue to trust Him with all our situations!

Shalom Ranch has an opportunity for an older teen or young adult.  We are looking for a female who has experience with horses.  We use a natural horsemanship method.  We use a Christian method to gentle horses instead of breaking them.

We have been homeschooling since 1996, and run an Equine Therapy ministry to learning disabled kids.  For more information on our ministry please go to www.ShalomRanch.org.  

We offer a Share-A-Wage Program where we can help you raise your wage.  The fall session runs from September to December, the spring session is March to June and finally our summer session goes from July to August.

If interested, please email Marie at marie@shalomranch.org

It's been awhile.  Life happens sometimes.

Shalom Ranch is in full swing.  We have found amazing favor with two breeders.  We have a wonderful stallion on the property.  In exchange for his "services" we are training some of the breeders horses.

Two teenage homeschoolers are helping us.  We hope that we will continue to have more homeschoolers come and help us.  Their with the horses is enabling Shalom Ranch to do its God given tasks.  Please see www.ShalomRanch.org for more information.

We are looking for help for more help in September.  If anyone is interested in helping they can email me at marie@shalomranch.org. 

I have some appointments next week with a principal and a superentendant.  The principal is interested in enrolling 50 students starting in September.  These funds will enable us to purchase hay, pay our helpers and take care of the horses.

Please pray for continued favor.

Elle is doing so much better.  The supplements that we are giving her is putting some weight on her and her coat is looking wonderful.

Captain is still struggling at times.  His breathing problems get better and then he gets bad again.  The weather and hay that is even slightly dusty can set him off.  At least the herbs are helping.  I put too much oil in his mixture today.  Poor guy was hacking all over the place.  I always feel so guilty when I do something like that.  At least it is really good for his coat and hooves.

Cody has balance problems.  She never wants to go into a canter.  It was funny that when I did get her into a canter she was all over the place.  I decided to lounge her and see what she looked like from the ground.  Sure enough, even her trot is off balance.  I had to start right from the walk.  I encouraged her to stretch her neck out by pulling out on the line.  As she stretched I praised her.  Then I took her into a trot; it was better.  There is definately more work to be done.

It is funny when you think about it.  Here is a horse that is almost seven years old and has had hundreds of hours (maybe thousands) of riding yet, she still has balance problems.  It is funny that when even a person does not get the proper start in life it affects everything they do.  Going back to the basics is so important when this happens.  Cody's balance problems are a good example of how we use Equine Therapy to teach the students about life.  They can see concretely that this horse really needs to strart from the basics.  They can see that how the proper training results in a more balanced horse.  They can then accept that they need to go back and get some basics down.  They see how there is no shame in going back and fixing things.  It is just a fact of life and needs to be done.  They can see that no matter how much riding, this horse would not have fixed its own balance issues.  This horse was set into a pattern and did not know how to get out of it.  She needed help.  They see how there is no shame in getting help; only healing. 

I am constantly amazed at how the Lord teaches us at Shalom Ranch through these Equine friends.  I hope to share more of these stories with you. 

Shalom,

Marie

We have been working since last September with a certain school board to getting our Equine Therapy program approved.  This past Wednesday we were approved.  We will be able to start working with their students in April.  This is very exciting!!!

The Lord is so good.  It is amazing how He opens doors that I thought would never be opened.  My journey has been one of faith.  I would take one step on His direction having no idea where I was going.  Blind faith is what you would call it.  As I would take the step there would be a next step and then a next.  This would continue for a while until I could finally figure out where I was going.  The trust in taking any of the steps builds my faith emmensely!! 

I also received an email today from a lady who would like to donate her amazing Tennesse Walker.  He looks like Roy Rogers' old horse Trigger.  What an amazing animal.  As I said yes, I knew that I did not know how we were going to go get him.  We depend on God's hand to bring us people who transport horses for us.  The Lord has always provided a way before and I know He will this time!!  It is so interesting to live by faith.  You just never know where the Lord will take you. 

We have been asked to come and speak on our local Christian radio station.  Please pray that someone will volunteer to help go and get the amazing horse that has just been donated.  Even this radio interview is such a blessing for us.  We have a whole hour to talk about what our vision is.  By the Grace of God go I!!!

Nancy Thomas has been working with RAD children for many years.  Her methods have worked for our family and are working with the families that we help.  If you suspect that your child is RAD, please check out the information on www.attachment.org. 

The road can be a long one with older children, but certainly a necessary one.  Anyone who has adopted a child should consider looking at this material.  Those adopting infants should make this therapy part of their daily care.  Approximately 90% of kids that are adopted suffer from an attachment disorder.  This is probably not surprising considering what they have gone through.  They need to have care as soon as possible.

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua,

Marie

We have a new horse arriving tomorrow.  This mare is 11 years old, which is a great age for a Equine Therapy horse.  She is 15.1 hh and has a very sweet temperament. 

The really great thing is that we are buying her for $300.  The lady we are getting her from says Piper can not be used heavily, but we only use our horses lightly.  Many horses in this area are cattle horses.  These horses need to be hardy and able to go for hours.  Our riding is mostly done in our round pen. 

My husband left this morning to go and pick her up.  He also has business in the city where Piper is, so he will be home tomorrow. 

This will be a good horse for a more timid person. 

A friend of mine bought a horse for her daughter.  Since neither her nor her daughter have any experience with horses, I suggested that the horse stay here until they felt more comfortable.

Cody is a coyote dun.  This means her coat is the color of a coyote, with a black stripe down her back and black on the tips of her ears.  She also has light zebra striping on her sides.  She is very pretty, but quite emotional.

She is the type of horse that will go with the crowd.  My horse Misty was giving me a hard time last week.  Cody thought that might be a good idea for her.  We have been working with her almost everyday to convince her of different.  My friend will be coming tomorrow to ride, so I thought it would be a good idea to put Cody in the round pen so that we did not have to chase her for over half an hour tomorrow.

All our other horses come to us when we call, but Cody has been quite standoffish.  She misses her filly (now 1.5 years old, but still her friend). 

This evening I got a sense that maybe I should go a check on Cody.  I went and she was fine.  I got the feeling again, but thought that I was just over reacting.  At about 10pm we get a knock on our door.  Our neighbor tells us that one of our horses is trotting down the road.  This is the same neighbor that told us Chouette had gotten out.  If only I could listen in on some of the phone calls that will occur tomorrow.  :)

I called Cody and she came.  I was very surprised, but relieved that I did not have to chase a horse in the dark.  She went close to the gate.  My husband, Peter, opened the gate and Cody trotted in.

Mental Note: Don't leave any more horses in the round pen overnight!!!

We have a high school for at risk kids that is doing the paper work to send their students to our Equine Therapy program.  We are aiming for April.  We are all excited about the prospect of how this will change so many lives. 

Please pray that the Lord will guide the hands and hearts of those making decisions. 

Well, we have finally been able to set an official date for the ranch to be open to the public.  So far we have been helping those that needed help in a more unofficial way. 

Our official opening date is:

Saturday, 17 June 06

We will be having an open house/BarBQ at our ranch and inviting everyone.  Please pray that the Lord will bless the works of our hands.

Thank you to all who have been praying for us.

If you use my program(s) and have enjoyed them, please vote for me in The Old Schoolhouses Excellence Awards for 2005.  This will greatly help our ministry.   You can go to:   http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/excellence_awards/index.php   and vote under best foreign language curriculum. Please use the name "Great Commission Languages".  Thanks.

I hope you don’t mind if I share a prayer request with you.  I have an opportunity to go to France for a missions development project.  This is one of my goals; to work with missionaries in developing foreign language curriculum to send more people to the mission field.  I have raised part of my funding, but need some more.  Please also pray that the Lord will direct my steps in this project and my role in this capacity.  I am due to leave 16 Feb and return 20 March 06.  My family will also need much support while I am gone.  This will also give me the opportunity to record the French Level II in France with many wonderful people!   Oh la la!  Je suis très excitée!!

Dans les mains de Dieu,

Marie Filion

www.TheEasyFrench.com

www.TheEasySpanish.com

www.ShalomRanch.org

I hope you don’t mind if I share a prayer request with you.  I have an opportunity to go to France for a missions development project.  This is one of my goals; to work with missionaries in developing foreign language curriculum to send more people to the mission field.  I have raised part of my funding, but need some more.  Please also pray that the Lord will direct my steps in this project and my role in this capacity.  I am due to leave 16 Feb and return 20 March 06.  My family will also need much support while I am gone.  This will also give me the opportunity to record the French Level II in France with many wonderful people!   Oh la la!  Je suis très excitée!!

Dans les mains de Dieu,

Marie Filion

www.TheEasyFrench.com

www.TheEasySpanish.com

www.ShalomRanch.org

Captain is doing much better.  His breathing is improving every day.  The herbs we are using are working.  We are also supplementing his diet.  He is getting stronger, but I think he might have worms.  He is scratching his sides quite a bit. 

Elle is looking much better also.  Her coat is not as dull as it was.  She looks much more alert also.  It is very cute to see her come when I call her. 

Just like kids who have been damaged by past experienced these horses are making it through with the proper care.  I know they will make great therapy horses becasue of their past. 

It is interesting that when you take a step of faith, the Lord meets you.  I started with applying for my passport.  All systems go.  I then started looking into flights to Paris.  When I started looking we did not have the money.  My women's group prayed for financial provision.  Within 24 hours we had the money for the flight.  I also found a seat sale.  It was $1500, but then found a round trip for $880. 

We are praying for the money that I will need for the recording and accomadations.  This will total approximately $3000.  I am scheduled to leave 16 Feb 06.  Ideally, I would like the funds by 24 Jan 06.  We are trusting the Lord for this amount. 

It is exciting that the doors are opening for missions training.  I am honored that the Lord is using me in order to train missionaries.