The following is a letter we received from The Kranzler’s in Plentywood, Montana. They are hosting Firdavs, a CCI Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) student from Tajikistan, who has a prosthetic leg.
I just wanted to send you a quick note and some new photos of Phili (Firdavs). He likes being called Phil or Phili, so, I call him Phili.
[slideshow]
He wants badly to learn to ride, and has been working on it steadily. His prosthetic leg was causing him a tremendous amount of pain when he spread his hips to sit on the horse. It just dug into his hip and thigh. I realized the blasted thing doesn’t even have and ankle or knee joint, so, it’s basically useless for riding as the leg can’t turn so he can put the foot into a stirrup. Well, after much discussion, we decided to try riding without it, and, it made all the difference in the world. He is having a bit of a struggle finding his center of balance, and has fallen off once, but, he just jumped right back on like a little trouper! The funny thing is, the horse kept gently putting his nose around to his right flank and touching it. Del told Phili that he was probably just trying to get rid of a fly or bug. The horse just kept doing it though, and with a flash of real insight, Phili said, “He’s looking for my leg!” He was absolutely right. Neither of us experienced horse people had even thought of that! The horse just knew something was different and kept trying to figure out what it was. Horses are extremely sensitive to balance issues.
Judy, this boy is a blessing, and, a real inspiration! His courage in trying to do such difficult things is just amazing, and, I am humbled.
Hope you enjoy the photos, and, feel free to pass them along to anyone who might be interested in seeing them.
Thanks for everything, and take care.
Joy
Such a inspiration to us all…. Sometimes we forget about that growing up a horse person… I know that horses are sensitive and tell him this story. My sister and I were supposed to be doing pick up where one person stands on the barrel and the other one rides out there to pick the other one up. Well I was standing on the barrel and got picked up . However, I kicked the horse in the flank and it started bucking. Dad said we did well until the horse quit bucking then we fell off.
What a remarkable young man and what a loving host family. This story serves as a great reminder for what should be celebrated; courage and strength of character. Thanks for sharing!
[…] August 6, we told the story of Firdavs, a CCI FLEX exchange student from Tajikistan, who has a prosthetic leg and was learning to ride a […]