A Stable Introduction: Part 2

A few weeks ago, we introduced the leader of the Camp Balcones Springs Horseback Department, Tiffany Janke, and told of her journey from childhood horse girl to experienced equestrian and animal nutritionist. This week, we are introducing a few of Tiffany’s most important co-workers – the CBS horses themselves!

Belle

Belle is a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Mustang who used to roam the ranges in Southwest Wyoming. In 2010, Belle and her mother were brought to a BLM management facility. Once she was old enough to be weaned from her mom, Belle was put up for adoption. In August of 2011, Tiffany adopted Belle as a yearling (1-year-hold animal) and moved her to Texas. At this point, Tiffany began working with her and teaching her what it meant to be a domesticated horse.

From the very beginning, Belle has taken to children. When Tiffany worked at her previous camp, she would tie Belle up along the fence to greet all of the campers. Belle would put her head through the fence and soak up all the attention – she absolutely adored saying hi to all the people!

In February, Tiffany took Belle to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo for demonstrations in the Horse Discovery Center. During the meet-and-greet portion after the demonstration, a little girl came up to the fence to meet Belle. She was so excited and could not wait to touch Belle. The only tricky part was that this little girl was wheelchair-bound, and the fence panel separating her from the horses made it impossible for her to reach Belle on her own. Tiffany began racking her brain trying to think of a way to convince Belle to put her head through the fence to say hello to this little girl. However, before Tiffany even had a chance to try anything, Belle lowered her head as low as it could go, inserted it through the fence, and laid her head in the little girl’s lap. Belle stayed there for probably five minutes as the little girl laughed and hugged her nose. The smile on the little girl’s face was worth a million dollars. Tiffany couldn’t believe Belle’s intuition and felt the moment displayed the personality she has come to recognize is true to Belle’s character.

Belle has come a long way since leaving the wilderness in 2010 and is now one of the most trustworthy, friendly, and experienced horses on the CBS trails!

Dally

Dally is an American Quarter Horse. She was born in April of 2018 and is a young-gun compared to Belle! Dally also belongs to Tiffany. Like Belle, she has the kindest heart and loves EVERYONE! During the summer of 2020, Dally couldn’t get enough attention from campers. Children would paint Dally and braid her hair, and she soaked up every minute of it.

In August of 2020, Dally started her training to become a saddle horse and trail rider. She has more personality than probably any horse in the herd. If Dally had it her way, she would be free to roam around like the camp dogs, begging for attention and bananas as a snack!

Dally is learning her new role as saddle horse well, but she has a lot of growing and learning to do before she will be a go-to horse for guests and campers. Just recently, Tiffany did a trail ride with her cousin. During the trail ride, Dally was allowed to follow along without a rider. Dally enjoyed the freedom of coming along at her own chosen speed, stopping for snacks along the way, and just overall having fun like a big kid.

This summer, Dally is looking forward to meeting more campers and finding out what new crazy hairdos she will be given. Tiffany and the Horseback staff are looking forward to the day Dally becomes a saddle horse, as her friendly personality and extreme comfort with humans should make her an ideal horse for both young and inexperienced campers as well as novice guests.