| Borrowing Freedom |
| Tracie & Bob Lytle 440 Lytle Road; Glen Richey, PA 16837 Farm Phone: (814) 236-0803; Tracie's cell # (814) 590-9146 Email: lytles_farm@yahoo.com We are 6 miles South of Clearfield |
| Family Picture taken Christmas 2009 Top from left to right Bob & Tracie Lytle; Tracie's Boys: Jay & Gary Murgash; Bob's Daughters: Maylenn & Ashlenn Lytle |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Hi my name is Tracie Lytle (Marshall) and on this page I'm going to tell you a bit about myself and how Borrowing Freedom got started. (It is sort of long, but it is my story (in pink) and you are welcome to skip it, but I prefer you didn't). First let me say that my experience with horses has been since I was 2 years old when I rode my first horse which was a race horse with a blanket saddle, I climbed on and took off through the pasture at a fast gallop and jumped a ditch, my mom was terrified that I might get hurt and was screaming in the background, my dad on the other hand was telling my mom I would be fine and not to worry, he knew I was a natural. I came back to where my mom and dad were and I was hooked on horses and have been ever since. We had several horses and ponies through-out my child hood until I was 15 and had to sell my 17.5 hands Tennessee Walker/American Saddle Bred horse because my dad had passed on and my mom got remarried and we were moving to the golf course in Eagle, Idaho. My mom didn't want to pay board for my horse and I sort of was into cars as I got my drivers license when I was 13 and had a job at the local hamburger joint. As I got older, moved to Los Angeles, went to college, got married, had 2 boys, I introduced horses to them from various horse riding places, Jay was 16 months and Gary was around 22 months when they both rode for the first time. Later I moved to PA, divorced and then one day... |
| “Life has so many restrictions and duties; such as being a parent, a spouse, a companion, and other care-taker duties, People have work, school, and homework, run errands, pay bills etc… So, when a rider gets on a horse they are Borrowing Freedom for a short time so they can forget all about their life situations, complaints, responsibilities, etc… and be FREE!” In the sense...you "Borrow some Freedom" for a little while... |
In October of 1999, My sons brought home a flyer from school from Special Kids
Network. On the bottom of the flyer it mentioned different services they offered and
one of them was Equestrian Therapy, I said to myself, I know that has to do with horses,
so I called them. They sent me a list of places where one might go for Equestrian therapy,
of course all were too far away. So I decided to do some research. I subscribed to an
equestrian therapy list on the internet and gained a world of knowledge, the members
suggested I enroll in college and take Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy or Speech
Therapy. I enrolled at Penn State - DuBois in January 2000. I started out in
Occupational Therapy, I made it through about 2 semesters when I decided to take a
course at Wilson College for Equestrian Therapy in Chambersburg, PA., while still
attending Penn State - Dubois. While taking the second course of Equestrian Therapy, I
learned that Equestrian Therapy can be used for Youth @ risk individuals too. Hense, I
changed my major to Human Development and Family Studies as this degree has more
flexibility. A therapist can work with disabilities/handicaps, MH/MR, autism, and of
course work with individuals that have emotional and behavioral issues. Also while
attending my 1st semester of college, I filed for a fictitious business name, and wrote
bylaws and had a board of directors, as I was planning on being non-profit. While
attending college and writing most of my research papers on Equestrian therapy, I do not
have to be non-profit for equestrian therapy, but I decided to stay non-profit.
I love horses and love to work with children, so I figured what better way then to...Put
the two (horses and children) together.
I was single until August 2002 when I met Bob Lytle and we hit it off great and to top it
off he liked horses too. I moved to Glen Richey with Bob in September 2003,
after we decided to be Partners in Borrowing Freedom, Inc. We bought our first 2 horses
in May 2003 and continued buying until we now have 23 horses (November 2007).
We opened January of 2004 with our Grand Opening at Tractor Supply in Clearfield
giving horse and pony rides, and the rest is history and maybe sometime soon I will add
some more items of interest. By the way we sold a few horses here and there, we only have
15 now, and that includes our babies and ponies too.
Bob and I are got Married September 19th, 2009
Network. On the bottom of the flyer it mentioned different services they offered and
one of them was Equestrian Therapy, I said to myself, I know that has to do with horses,
so I called them. They sent me a list of places where one might go for Equestrian therapy,
of course all were too far away. So I decided to do some research. I subscribed to an
equestrian therapy list on the internet and gained a world of knowledge, the members
suggested I enroll in college and take Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy or Speech
Therapy. I enrolled at Penn State - DuBois in January 2000. I started out in
Occupational Therapy, I made it through about 2 semesters when I decided to take a
course at Wilson College for Equestrian Therapy in Chambersburg, PA., while still
attending Penn State - Dubois. While taking the second course of Equestrian Therapy, I
learned that Equestrian Therapy can be used for Youth @ risk individuals too. Hense, I
changed my major to Human Development and Family Studies as this degree has more
flexibility. A therapist can work with disabilities/handicaps, MH/MR, autism, and of
course work with individuals that have emotional and behavioral issues. Also while
attending my 1st semester of college, I filed for a fictitious business name, and wrote
bylaws and had a board of directors, as I was planning on being non-profit. While
attending college and writing most of my research papers on Equestrian therapy, I do not
have to be non-profit for equestrian therapy, but I decided to stay non-profit.
I love horses and love to work with children, so I figured what better way then to...Put
the two (horses and children) together.
I was single until August 2002 when I met Bob Lytle and we hit it off great and to top it
off he liked horses too. I moved to Glen Richey with Bob in September 2003,
after we decided to be Partners in Borrowing Freedom, Inc. We bought our first 2 horses
in May 2003 and continued buying until we now have 23 horses (November 2007).
We opened January of 2004 with our Grand Opening at Tractor Supply in Clearfield
giving horse and pony rides, and the rest is history and maybe sometime soon I will add
some more items of interest. By the way we sold a few horses here and there, we only have
15 now, and that includes our babies and ponies too.
Bob and I are got Married September 19th, 2009
What makes us special is that we are the only (as far as we know) Trail riding place within at least 50
miles of Clearfield. (Glendale Stables near Altoona and Cook’s Forest in Sigel/Clarion.) We “offer”
riding helmets for all our riders, we do a basic riding lesson for all riders before we leave on a trail
ride, we make sure the horse and rider are a good match as sometimes there are personality
clashes, (not very often though), We also make sure the saddle stirrups fit the rider, if that is
impossible, as sometimes it is with our work horse Tom (an adult with short legs), there is no need
to be alarmed, because our horses are calm, spook free and we walk the trail. We don’t trot, canter,
or gallop the trails, even if rider is experienced, because we feel the trail ride is for the enjoyment
of the outdoors, seeing and hearing nature. If riders are going fast, how can they concentrate on
nature and really enjoy themselves?
We have also been told that we are special because the rider has to steer our horses, as they are
not the type that are nose to tail trail horses, they wander off and on the trail, checking to see if
the rider is awake. The riders can ride side by side, be the leader or follow, which ever they prefer
or whatever the horse prefers. The riders have also told us that they like us because we educate
them along the trail, and chit chat about whatever, be it the weather, the horses, what the rider
does for a living, their goals in life, school etc… you name it; its talked about, never a dull moment
the riders say.
When giving Riding Lessons, the parents have told us that they think we are special because we are
not the type to make their kids be perfect riders (post perfect, feet perfect, sit perfect, holding
of reins perfect etc…) before they even know the basics of riding.
Riding lessons consist of: go catch the horse in the field, (have to know the tricks), leading them to
barn, grooming them, we point out everything that may affect the horse as we are grooming it,
scratch and/or bite marks, hoof cracks, rain rot, tangled mane and tail, spunkiness, tiredness,
attitudes of the horse, we tell the rider what can be done if they ever get a horse and they
experience something that our horses might be facing, this is education time.
We have been told that our farm is a real farm; lots of horses and cows that sometimes get out and
are roaming the corn and/or hay field, and occasionally some pigs or baby calves running around
outside on our dirt road, we chase them back into the fenced area (the dogs help). We have tame
barn cats that tell you they are your best friend and may sneak into your car and have a nap in the
baby’s car seat while you are out riding or watching a riding lesson. We are not fancy, with brand new
construction or really clean horse stalls. We are a working beef-cattle and horse farm and
everything that it may entail including making hay and corn and harvesting it.
miles of Clearfield. (Glendale Stables near Altoona and Cook’s Forest in Sigel/Clarion.) We “offer”
riding helmets for all our riders, we do a basic riding lesson for all riders before we leave on a trail
ride, we make sure the horse and rider are a good match as sometimes there are personality
clashes, (not very often though), We also make sure the saddle stirrups fit the rider, if that is
impossible, as sometimes it is with our work horse Tom (an adult with short legs), there is no need
to be alarmed, because our horses are calm, spook free and we walk the trail. We don’t trot, canter,
or gallop the trails, even if rider is experienced, because we feel the trail ride is for the enjoyment
of the outdoors, seeing and hearing nature. If riders are going fast, how can they concentrate on
nature and really enjoy themselves?
We have also been told that we are special because the rider has to steer our horses, as they are
not the type that are nose to tail trail horses, they wander off and on the trail, checking to see if
the rider is awake. The riders can ride side by side, be the leader or follow, which ever they prefer
or whatever the horse prefers. The riders have also told us that they like us because we educate
them along the trail, and chit chat about whatever, be it the weather, the horses, what the rider
does for a living, their goals in life, school etc… you name it; its talked about, never a dull moment
the riders say.
When giving Riding Lessons, the parents have told us that they think we are special because we are
not the type to make their kids be perfect riders (post perfect, feet perfect, sit perfect, holding
of reins perfect etc…) before they even know the basics of riding.
Riding lessons consist of: go catch the horse in the field, (have to know the tricks), leading them to
barn, grooming them, we point out everything that may affect the horse as we are grooming it,
scratch and/or bite marks, hoof cracks, rain rot, tangled mane and tail, spunkiness, tiredness,
attitudes of the horse, we tell the rider what can be done if they ever get a horse and they
experience something that our horses might be facing, this is education time.
We have been told that our farm is a real farm; lots of horses and cows that sometimes get out and
are roaming the corn and/or hay field, and occasionally some pigs or baby calves running around
outside on our dirt road, we chase them back into the fenced area (the dogs help). We have tame
barn cats that tell you they are your best friend and may sneak into your car and have a nap in the
baby’s car seat while you are out riding or watching a riding lesson. We are not fancy, with brand new
construction or really clean horse stalls. We are a working beef-cattle and horse farm and
everything that it may entail including making hay and corn and harvesting it.
