Camp Crucis Horsemanship Program

The goals of this program are...

1. To understand that the horse's qualities we admire come from our loving God and that as we get to know about our horses, we will get to know about their creator too.
2. To relate our relationship of loving and caring for our horses to God's relationship with us.
3. To present and reinforce the idea of stewardship and our responsibility to take care of God's creatures.
4. To teach the children about the value of the horse and how to safely work and ride him.

The horse program at Camp Crucis is a rewarding part of many young people's summer camp experience. For one week, a camper has the opportunity to ride and help care for a horse that is matched to his or her abilities. This experience builds self-confidence as the camper learns how to communicate and work as a partner with this large, powerful animal. The horse is an honest creature, which responds directly to the way it is treated and can be used as an example in moral, spiritual or character building lessons. The camper learns the value of qualities such as gentleness, patience, consistency, persistence, affection and optimism, which build trust, not only with a horse but people as well.

When God gave us dominion over the animals, we were charged with caring for God's creatures - not only providing for essentials, but also providing training to give these animals a happy, useful life. We teach this to our campers through our Christian based program of both horsemanship lessons and horse camps.