Rita Mendel’s most special memory from a lifetime of working with horses is emblematic of the transformative power at the intersection of man and animal.

Mendel has owned Carousel Tack Shoppe on Cahaba Valley Road in Indian Springs for 21 years now. “It was my empty nest project,” she says. Mendel, who moved here from New York 25 years ago when her husband was transferred, had learned to ride when she was 25 and had always loved horses. A summer camp director in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, Mendel became involved in a handicapped riding program there. When she moved to Birmingham, she founded a similar program, Special Equestrians, which began 24 years ago with five horses and five instructors.

“I’ll never forget it. We had a television station out to report on the program, and they were shooting video of the riders. We had a young boy, who had spina bifida and was paralyzed from the mid-chest, on top of the horse and we were walking alongside him—palms up—supporting his hands and arms.
“When he got in front of that television camera, he slowly raised his arms over his head (in a classic victory salute), riding upright on that horse. I’ll never forget that moment,” Mendel says.

Today Special Equestrians, which is housed at Indian Springs School, serves 100 students a week with 12 certified instructors and hundreds of volunteers. “The movement of a horse is the same movement you feel when your hips move. It can’t be duplicated in a clinical setting, only on a horse.

“It is an amazing exercise and experience for them. It boosts their self-esteem, doing something that some able-bodied people can’t even do. It is a tactile experience. This motion provides physical benefits such as stimulating dormant nerves and muscles, increasing strength, stimulating vocal chords. Relaxation occurs from the warmth of the horses body reducing rigidity or spasticity.

“Emotional and psychological benefits include an increase in confidence and self-esteem through learning to master the horse. Interacting with and controlling the horse enhances focus, decision-making skills, and effective verbal and nonverbal communication (especially empowering to the speech impaired),” Mendel says.

The bond between horse and man can be just as strong for the able-bodied, Mendel says. “When you are riding, there is no world other than that moment. This is a partnership between man and animal. One can’t perform without the other. It is challenging and when you accomplish something—say in dressage—that is a real accomplishment. For women, the reason we like horses is maybe because we finally have control over something bigger,” Mendel says.

Susie Clements does not ride horses herself, but she and her husband own Cameron Oaks Farm, an equestrian facility in Chelsea. Her daughter Hannah started riding when she was eight-years-old and that drew the Clements family into the world of horses. They bought the land for Cameron Oaks two years ago and worked on their dream of building an equestrian facility.

“I love to watch the little ones learn and grow and go on to shows and become champions,” Clements says. “I don’t think you’ll find anyone involved with horses who say they do it for the money. They do it for the joy. The experience with horses brings so much peace. They are a great stress reliever. It brings families together, too.”
“I don’t know a troubled teenager who rides a horse and spends time around them,” Rita Mendel says.
Barbara Grubbs teaches at Cameron Oaks. As a trainer/instructor, she works with the horses, teaches the lessons, transports the students to shows. “Horse people are different,” Grubbs says. “Since I was very young, my love for horses has been there inside me. I’ve just always loved them, and I’ve ridden since I was eight-years-old.
“I’ve seen children want to ride, but who are initially afraid. But once you match them up with the right horse, something just clicks. It becomes a relationship. You are part of a team between animal and man,” Grubbs says. “I got so much joy out of it when I was a child, it is easy for me to impart this. I love teaching the little kids. They are like little sponges,” Grubbs says.

Dr. Katie Hamrick is an equine veterinarian with a solo ambulatory practice here in central Alabama.
“I started my own practice after I graduated from vet school. I am the only doctor in my practice, so I am on call quite a bit. Dr. Catherine Casey is another solo ambulatory practitioner in the area and we swap on call time—taking emergency calls for each other on the weekends so that we are able to have some time off.
“Basically, I travel around to different farms and provide routine care such as vaccination, teeth floating, lameness exams, breeding and pregnancy exams, etc. I also see a lot of emergencies—lacerations, colic, all types of injuries, eye problems, new babies, etc. I have everything that is needed on the truck, including portable ultrasound and x-ray equipment. I do routine surgeries—such as castrations—anything that can be done outside of an operating room,” Dr. Hamrick says.

“We have two very good equine hospitals in town that take referrals if I have something that cannot be done in the field. It is crazy some days. You can have everything scheduled then you get an emergency call from the other side of town. You end up changing everything. But the good part is, most horse owners are very understanding because they have at some time in the past been the one with the emergency.
“Everyday is different—going to different locations, seeing different problems. There are definitely tough times in this profession, when you have to help a horse that is suffering, by ending its life. But then the next day, I might get to help a new baby enter the world and take its first breath. It is never boring. I am blessed that I get to work with such amazing animals and such great people,” Hamrick says.

Her life as a vet is the realization of a long-time goal for Hamrick, a desire that started back when she was very young.
“I have loved horses for as long as I can remember. My family always lived in the suburbs and my parents were basically city people, so there was little opportunity to be around horses. When I was 10, Mom signed me up for a horse riding camp at The Rise with Jeanne Cox. I started riding there and never stopped. Jeanne taught hunter/jumpers. I rode with her until I went away to college. I was able to purchase my first horse when I turned 16, working at the stable to help pay for board and my lessons.”
Hamrick went to Jefferson Christian Academy and completed her undergraduate requirements at Mississippi State University in animal and dairy science. She then went to Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine for her DVM. “Becoming a veterinarian was something that I always wanted. I don’t know exactly when it started, but it was always a goal in the back of my mind.

“If you are not a ‘horse person,’ it can be very hard to understand ‘horse people.’ Horses have a way of getting into your blood. Once you are around them and spend time with them, you never want to be away from them. They are amazing animals, very elegant, beautiful, intelligent, breathtaking at times. Working with horses is hard work. There are stalls to clean, water buckets to fill, ice to break when its cold, heavy feed and hay bales to carry. Anyone who works in the horse industry does it because they have a deep love for horses. It can be hard sometimes for people to understand why these people devote so much time and energy into the care of their animals.

“Going into practice as an ambulatory equine vet, I knew what was in store for me: Long hours, a lot of driving, late night emergency calls,basically, really hard work for not a lot of money. But, I can’t think of anything that I would rather do. I have a huge love of horses and many days, after I get home from work, I go outside and take care of my own horses, riding if I have time, then grooming and feeding them. In my line of work, there obviously is a love of horses, but I realized very quickly that there is a love for the people that own the horses. Everyone that I meet has something that is unique and interesting. Every owner that I meet has a horse that to them, is the best horse in the world. I enjoy talking to them and hearing all the different stories about their life, their horses, their kids, etc.,” Hamrick says.

Blackjack Farms, founded by Miller and Frances Gorrie and managed by Ellen Gorrie Walker, is a nationally recognized hunter-jumper training center off of I-459 in Jefferson County near Trussville. J. Michael Halbleib has been trainer and director of equine since 2000. The growth in the horse industry in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa in recent years has been exponential.

An athlete at heart, Halbleib was introduced to horses in his native Texas and became a professional jumper. His work at Blackjack Farms is focused on enhancing its growing reputation as an internationally renowned equestrian center. To that end, U.S. Olympic Equestrian Coach George Morris will conduct a clinic, teach and lecture at Blackjack next October. Animal Planet television host Frank Madden will be at the facility this coming April and renowned trainer Michael Page visits next September.
“There is nothing more beautiful than looking at a horse—they are the upper echelon of all animals with power, agility, intelligence and sensitivity,” Halbleib says. “This industry is a conglomeration of everything that means something to me—sports, performance, business.

“The love of the horse draws you in. I know I can feel their spirit and transcend the gulf between our levels of communication. I never feel uncomfortable around horses,” Halbleib says.

From the main barn at Blackjack, you can look out over a rolling landscape of forested hills and green valleys, the perfect tableau for experiencing the ancient bond between horses and people.