By Nicole Heubusch
Lex is a 7-year-old girl in Oklahoma who has Cerebral Palsy. She loves horses and loves getting mail, so her mother, Wathena Sievert, came up with the idea of seeing if artists could draw pictures of horses for Lex. Sievert messaged artist Travis Barker who not only drew Lex a picture, but asked some of his fellow artists to draw pictures as well. Barker got permission from Lex’s parents to create a Facebook page for her to keep track of everyone that wanted to help. People from all over the world started to send Lex pictures of horses they drew for her and some pictures even included Lex and a horse.
The Horses for Lex Facebook page circulated all over the internet, and Barker was contacted by a woman in Florida, Becky Ross, who wanted to give a horse to Lex. The horse had been abused earlier in life and was a rescue. The horse, Snickerdoodle, had experience working with children with Cerebral Palsy after his rescue, and Lex had done some physical therapy with horses before so it was a perfect match.
Lex’s family kept it a secret that she was getting her own horse; she just thought she was traveling to Florida to meet a horse. Once Lex discovered the horse would be hers, she was thrilled.
“They got along perfectly from the moment that they met. You could tell that there was an instant bond of understanding between the two,” said Barker.
The next step in the process was getting Snickerdoodle back to Oklahoma. Both RVR Horse Rescue and Tammy Morningstar of MorningStar Electric had big parts in helping out. RVR contributed artwork and donations as well as getting the community involved. Morningstar helped find a place to host the get- together last month in Florida so that Lex and Snickerdoodle and everyone involved in this journey could meet. Morningstar Electric also donated money to help pay for the food at the meeting.
“It’s all a breath of fresh air to see so many people that don’t even know each other come together with only one goal, to make one very special little girl smile,” Barker said.
For more information and updates on Lex and Snickerdoodle, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Horses-for-Lex/306787619495434.
