Learning on the hoof
Miniature therapy horses are helping children through a special summer literacy program.
Jorge Garcia-Bengochea lets children pet 10-year-old miniature horse “Sweetheart” during the Gentle Carousel’s Reading With Horses event held by Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses at Midtown Station in Ocala, Fla. on Thursday, June 25, 2026. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026.
The sprawling Midtown Station complex that overlooks Tuscawilla Park was filled with curious children on June 25 who were there for the Reading with Horses summer literacy program.
Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses is an award-winning nonprofit that is celebrating 29 years of service this year. Its Reading with Horses program kicked off June 4 and will run through July 9, with sessions beginning at 10 a.m. each Thursday at Midtown Station, located at 235 NE Watula Ave., Ocala. This year’s theme is “Kindness.”
Each week features a book and the equine character from that book. Reading with Horses is free to the public, including summer schools and preschools. Children in attendance may select a new free book to take home each week.
“Individual Gentle Carousel therapy horses are featured in many books by different authors and publishers. After we read a book, the actual character from the story will visit to bring the book to life,” explained Debbie Garcia-Bengochea, education director for Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses.
“It was great to have the Florida Museum of Natural History with us this week. We try to do something different each week,” she added.
The books and horses are:
- Therapy horse Moonshadow, “High Paw Super Sebastian”
- Therapy horse Sundance, “Second Chance Horses”
- Therapy horse Sparkle, “Mini Horse, Mighty Hope”
- Therapy horse Mercury, “Mercury and Sirius”
- Therapy horse Circus, “Spots”
- Therapy horse Sweetheart, “Big Horse, Small Horse”
“We love encouraging summer reading. Children without a summer reading routine can lose one to three months of the reading skills they spent the previous school year building. We also love bringing horses to people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to spend time with them,” Garcia-Bengochea noted.
To learn more, call (352) 226-9009, go to gentlecarouseltherapyhorses.com and find the organization on social media.
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