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Our Staff at Stone Fox Farm:
Stone Fox or "STONEY" is of unknown lineage and age.
He has not set records in the show ring. However, he has set unprecedented
records in the State of Ohio in the field of equine assisted growth and learning.
Stoney has helped humans deal with problems that range from addictions to victimizations
issues. He's entered school buildings to teach leadership skills to high school students,
he's ventured from Stone Fox Farm to Ohio State University and other locations in Columbus
on several occasions to teach educational consultants, therapists,
program directors and horse professionals the basics of equine assisted therapy.
He's assisted with countless team development sessions, bringing dysfunctional work
environments together as a team. He is the center of attention when Linda and he
work with graduate and undergraduate students at Ohio State University. But, most
importantly, Stoney works to bring meaning and direction to the lives of adjudicated
youth in Geauga County. Stoney was placed in the professional division
of Ohio's Animal Hall of Fame in 2003 and was also named as EAGALA's Outstanding EAP Horse of
the year in 2003. Our farm is named after him, he is the cornerstone of our programs here and
with good reason. Our clients have called him "Dr. Stoney" and we feel he's earned that honor.
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Okies Mega Money, or "Okie"
was donated to us by author Ann Lloyd. Okie is a foundation
bred quarter horse who was competitive in reining. When no longer on
the 'show circuit', he was used on a cattle ranch and is skilled at
cutting cows. His lineage looks like the "who's who" in the quarter
horse world, but Okie has no idea how special he is. He's the type of
horse that we can pair even the smallest child with. His favorite
speed is 'fast' and yet when working with clients or children, he's
exceptionally gentle and kind. Okie is one of those sensitive souls
who works hard to please and yet, like Stoney, is a skilled therapist
providing just the right amount of resistance to make an exercise
meaningful to the participants. Okie and Stoney have both traveled to
numerous workshops, conferences and classrooms to 
teach others the finer points of equine assisted growth and learning.
Once a stallion, Okie has offspring that continue his bloodline.
Never wanting to be without the King, Leo and Okie Leo bloodlines,
we sought out and purchased his great grandson when he was only 3 1/2
months old. Uncertain as to whether this former stallion could be
trusted with a weanling so small, we were hesitant to put the two
together but it was love at first sight.
Our former stallion became an outstanding babysitter and a loving but firm disciplinarian, teaching our baby the "Okie"
way. And that's just fine with us! The photo to the right is of grandpa & grandson. We think there is a strong family resemblance there, what do you think?
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'Lil Misty Dun It or "Misty" ,
is the diva here at Stone Fox Farm. She's beautiful to look at and knows it. She
demands her spot as the center of attention and was on the farm less than 24 hours
when she established herself as a dominant herd member. Misty is a foundation bred
quarter horse with the Hollywood Dun It bloodlines. Bred and trained to be a world
class reining prospect, Misty lacks the "spark" necessary to 
make it big in the reining world but she's an exceptional horse with personality
plus. Our Misty has an opinion about almost everything and is quick to share it
with clients. She's forward, assertive and firm which makes her an excellent
therapist for adolescents. She's also attentive and affectionate and has won her
way into the hearts of all of us here at Stone Fox Farm. When using horses in therapy,
there is always room for a horse that will challenge a client and
require them to be their best in order to get the desired outcome and
Misty fits that bill. To the right is a photo of Misty working with
therapists and horse specialists during a two day workshop here at Stone Fox
Farm in August of 2006.
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Okies Carbon Leo or "OJ" is the newest
member of our family and staff. No matter how big he gets (and he's growing at
warp speed) he'll always be our baby. Never having raised a weanling before, OJ
was an adventure for us from the moment he got here. Weaned abruptly, we ended up
with a depressed baby who wasn't interested in food. Force feeding a defiant and resistant weanling with a modified turkey baster is a challenge we don't care to repeat anytime soon.  Our vet gave us a fluorescent pink vitamin supplement (to stimulate OJ's appetite) that does not wash out of human clothing. We ended up wearing more than OJ ingested, but somehow we must have gotten the job done because he's matured into a very healthy yearling. Our clients taught OJ how to lead and have taught him many of his social skills. In return, OJ taught clients by example how horses form relationships and about the hierarchy of the equine herd and how that pertains to human relationships. Our littlest equine is very attentive, he comes when called (most of the time) and is fascinated by the horse/human activities that take place here on the farm. The photos on the left show OJ following a group of adults through the pasture fascinated by their activity and finally taking a hula hoop to entertain us with.
OJ has legends such as Okie Leo, King, Leo and Poco Bueno (to name a few) in his
lineage. With reining and cutting in his bloodlines, we hope that we have a performance
horse in the making, but whatever the outcome, we want him to be a safe and fun horse to
work with whether mounted or on the ground. If he's half the horse that his great grandpa
Okie is, we'll be delighted. We love our little guy and have enjoyed watching him grow.
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