Dakota Help Me See the Light

When Gavin wakes up every day his world has no light - hes been blind since birth and struggles daily with his balance sense of place and fears about things his parents assure him are not to be feared. But how does a blind child cope with being unable to see for himself? One sunny Saturday Gavins mother suggests that they visit an equine therapy ranch in their area of Northeast Florida. Despite his fears he climbs into the car with his mother. The first things he notices when they arrive are the strange noises (horses snorting) and smells (horse and manure). When he meets his instructor he senses she is kind and trustworthy but is still fearful of these new experiences - especially being placed way up in the air on an animal that must be tall enough to reach the clouds! As Gavin relaxes and learns to trust his instructor more he also meets another rider Jonathan who is older than he - and one who has been at the ranch for a while. As they talk Gavin learns they have many things in common and by the end of the day he has learned to identify a brand new world one that is less frightening than it had been in the morning. Dakotas calm smooth manner with Gavin allowed the boy to feel the sunshine on his face and body in an entirely new way and he learns to see with his body though he cannot with his eyes. Hes taken important steps towards building emotional as well as physical balance in a world that hes learned is now full of warmth and light not only the darkness hes been focused on.