21/08/2025
Wild Meadows Equestrian Center
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Creating a more natural horse boarding experience using lessons from wild horses.
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3959 Mt. Carmel Church Road
30655
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Why “normal” didn’t work for me
It all started with horse camp. My oldest daughter Evelyn, 6 years old at the time, attended a horse camp at a local barn. What was suppose to be a quick drop-off in the morning turned into me standing in the middle of a group of campers, learning right along with them. Each morning, I waited until it became awkward being the oldest one in camp by 30 years before leaving each day.
I had typical kid dreams of owning a horse. In my “All About Me” book from when I was 7, I listed that I wanted to be a “horse trainer” when I grew up. Having a horse hobby wasn’t in the budget for our family. That dreamed passed as I moved on to my next hobby...dog training (we all know how that story ends...Pawtropolis).
After another summer, and another horse camp for Evelyn, I decided to take lessons myself. I was to “catch” my horse from the paddock, bring straight in to groom and saddle, then head to the arena for a 45 minute lesson. Next, un-tack, brush, and then walk the horse back to the paddock. I definitely needed to learn how to ride, but I wanted more. I wanted to spend time with the horse. I wanted to teach it, to have it excited when I came to the paddock. I wanted to build a relationship. This was a novel idea at a barn whose focus was on competitive horseback riding. As I watched my daughter take lessons and as I took lessons, I realized that I didn’t want us to become horse “riders”, I wanted us to become “horsemen”, and I knew that couldn’t be done in a 1-hour riding lesson. Finally having the time and the financial resources to own a horse, we went on the search. That’s when Athena joined our family.
The plan? For us to pay to have Athena board at a local barn. There are so many wonderful options in and near Athens. We visited many, looked a web pages, got recommendations, etc. I decided to go with the barn that was the closest to our home. My relationship with Athena began.
