Librarian Kristina Knox said these kinds of visits encourage confidence and reinforce positive student behavior.

By Rachel McReynolds

Reading is so fun at Spears Elementary School, even the horses are doing it.

Librarian Kristina Knox recently invited miniature horses from Joyful Hooves to Spears, a visit organized in partnership with counselor Kim Padilla and assistant principal Tara Gruber.

The goal was to give students a calm, pressure-free space to practice reading skills — with gentle, well-trained furry friends by their side.

Cricket and Stanley visit senior living facilities, schools and community events. At Spears, the horses stood calmly in the gazebo as pairs of students slowly and carefully read their books, reaching out to pet the horses every now and then.

Such visits help students “work on fluency and a positive attitude toward reading, and grow in empathy and compassion,” Knox said. “They learn to be calm and control their actions and emotions around the animals to help them feel safe.”

Fifth grader Finnley read a book about NBA superstar LeBron James to Cricket, a 5-year-old golden brown mini horse. When the book was done, he told Spears staff and students about sports facts he had just learned, demonstrating his retention of the reading he had done.

Then he bent down to look in Cricket’s eyes, noticing they were two different colors, “just like my husky!”

A few feet away, another reader had an equally attentive audience. Nearby, 21-year-old white mini horse Stanley was learning about “Bugs on the Menu” from first grader Lincoln. Stanley was so relaxed as Lincoln read, his eyes were closed.

“Stanley’s falling asleep!” the librarian said. “He’s enjoying that.”

When the groups switched horses, Lincoln put his “Bugs” book aside and picked another one.

“I already read this to Stanley — he can tell Cricket about it!” he said.

Knox’s goal of fostering a love of reading is working, and as a bonus, Spears students and staff got to spend some time with sweet, calm animals.

“I want students to fall in love with reading,” Knox said. “These visits encourage them to feel more confident, and confidence grows them as readers.”