In 2006, Kress-Griffin founded Touching Smiles Equine Therapy, a not-for-profit organization that works with needy children and adults, especially those with physical, emotional or mental challenges.
Her herd of five tiny horses — the tallest is only about 34 inches tall — is boarded at the Aledos Riverside Ranch in Random Lake. She formed a not-for-profit organization, Touching Smiles Equine Therapy, and invites strangers to visit and to interact with the animals, an accepted form of therapy that she offers free of charge.
“A lot of the people who come here have disabilities and they say they do not feel welcome elsewhere,” said Kress-Griffin, who feels so passionately about the work that, aside from small fundraising efforts, she has mostly funded the venture privately.
“We don’t charge because, for us, it is tzedakah, not just an obligation to give to others but a charitable way of life.”
“I do feel that my family is behind me on this because it is a part of our way of life. The Jewish religion teaches us to perform this mitzvah. Though I would not consider us to be ‘religious,’ this value is ingrained nonetheless,” she said.
The project is indeed a family affair. Kress-Griffin’s sister-in-law Laurie Moeckler is a medical social worker and psychotherapist with a special interest in autism and animal assisted therapy.
“When she heard about what I was doing, she wanted to be part of it,” said Kress-Griffin.
Seeing the impact the animals have on the lives of others is a rich reward, she said.
Take the story of Danyel, an 8-year-old from Ukraine, who lived with Dalyn and Alan Derzon for five months before another family adopted him. Danyel did not talk to the Derzons, the 10 other adopted children in the home or Dalyn’s two adult daughters. He suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and had difficulty connecting with anyone.
Dalyn took her foster son to the 40-plus acre ranch owned by Larry and Robin Geiser where Kress-Griffin boards her miniature horses and a 12-year-old pony named Taz.
“When he was with the horses, he talked nonstop,” said Kress-Griffin of Danyel. “It was really amazing how he opened up.”
Dalyn said the experience with the horses was a turning point for Danyel.
“With the horses, he’d talk about life in the orphanage in Ukraine and ask questions,” Dalyn said. “After that, he bonded with my son Alexi and now he has bonded with his new family.”
Danyel needed the volume of his life turned down, Dalyn said. He is now homeschooled in another state by his adoptive parents, who operate a dog shelter. He even has a dog of his own.
Kress-Griffin said she sees children and adults opening up to her horses all the time.
From the time she was a child in Brookfield, Kress-Griffin was horse crazy. When she got her nursing degree, the first thing she did was buy a horse, a full-size Arabian.
Kress-Griffin, who now lives in Fredonia, sold the horse after she got busy raising her four children. She acquired her first miniature, Blaze, in 2005, when her then 12-year-old daughter, Kaelyn, developed an interest in horses.
A nurse at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Milwaukee, Kress-Griffin began to learn about the use of animals, particularly horses, in therapy.
She added four more horses, some of which were rescued from neglect, to the herd — Bambi, Renegade, Half Pint and Dottie. Taz, a larger Pony of the Americas, was added later.
The miniatures range from 29 to 34 inches tall but they can weigh 200 to 300 pounds. Show-quality miniatures are proportioned exactly like their larger cousins but Kress-Griffin noted that hers are not show-quality.
“I think Renegade looks like a baby hippo,” Kress-Griffin said. “He was raised with goats and because he didn’t get along with the goats very well, he was cooped up in a pen all the time and fed corn. He was horribly obese by the time we got him.”
Renegade has another peculiar habit acquired in his early days: Most horses will turn and kick with their rear legs when threatened; Renegade lowers his head and charges, just like a goat.
“He lived with the goats so long that he thinks he is a goat,” Kress-Griffin said.
The other little horses have their own personalities as well: Blaze is in charge and calms the others down; Half Pint is easy going; Bambi is the attention hog.
Dottie, a rescued horse from northern Wisconsin, is skittish around people but coming around. For the time being, she does not work as a therapy horse but has another job — she is the companion to a Dixie, a full-size mare, who is blind.
“Dottie can stand underneath Dixie,” Kress-Griffin said.
Dottie is passive enough to ride in a mini van. Kress-Griffin tried transporting Blaze in her van with less than perfect results.
“He was climbing over the seats, trying to get up front with me,” Kress-Griffin recalled. “It didn’t work at all.”
Kress-Griffin said she would like to be able to take the miniatures to nursing homes for visits but cannot until she can afford transportation for the animals. She also is trying to raise money to pay for a fence to keep the animals from wandering off too far.
“Dottie wanders all of the time,” Kress-Griffin said. “She gets into the hay and doesn’t know when to stop eating. She also wandered into a swampy area and got stuck.”
For more information visit www.touchingsmilesequinetherapy.org.
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