All the pretty horses

Some might describe a horse as looking baleful, especially with all that hay they eat.

But the horses at Odessa College’s Livestock and Horses Camp weren’t so sinister as they were friendly to the campers that had warmed up to them by Thursday.

First-time camper Jason Lopes, 11, said he was really happy to be able to go to the camp because it’d been several years since he had last ridden a horse.

“It feels great to be on a horse. The hooves hit in a rhythm, and you feel like you’re part of it,” he said. The camp taught skills such as horse riding, how to take care of a horse, roping and the basics of interacting with livestock animals.

Camp counselor Todd Handley said the camp offers a good opportunity for kids to get interact with livestock.

“We get to introduce them to the Western lifestyle and can use this camp to help them overcome their fears with horses. Hopefully they’ll learn lessons they can carry with them beyond the camp,” Handley said.

Handley said some of his campers have made some remarkable progress throughout the camp.

“I’ve seen some kids riding horses backward by the second day,” he said. “Some kids are scared to death when they start, but once they get on the horse and learn to respect it, they don’t want to get off.”

Jason would be a part of that group, saying he was sad the camp was over.

“I could hardly sleep the Sunday before camp. I wish they could’ve continued the camp one more week,” he said.

As campers were lining up to receive their Livestock and Horses T-shirts, counselor Brittany Carr said that in the end, she’d been able to learn from the kids.

“It’s really easy to take our (ranching) lifestyle for granted, but to see these kids be timid or excited to see the horses reminds me of how special (the horses) are,” she said.