REEDSVILLE —Halloween is right around the corner, and soon kids all over the country will be knocking on doors and filling their bags with candy. At the J.W. Ruby Research Farm in Reedsville kids got a jumpstart on the Halloween event, but with a twist. The West Virginia University Collegiate Horsemen’s Association hosted Halloween with the Horses Saturday evening.
Crystal Smith, teaching associate professor of animal and nutritional sciences said they held the trick-or-treat event last year while their new facilities were under construction. This year, the new building equipped with new stalls was definitely a better fit for the kids.
“This year we were able to keep everything under one roof and stage the people under one roof so nobody would have to wait out in the rain if the weather was inclement. Which it was, so we’re definitely happy to be in this building for this year,” she said.
Smith said the WVU Collegiate Horseman’s Association was really the spearhead of putting the fun day together for the kids. It’s an activity the group wanted to do for a number of years, and last year they finally had everything in place to pull it off.
“They just really liked the fact that we could offer a family friendly trick-or-treating experience in a rural area where kids don’t always have trunk-or-treats or things like that to participate in,” she said.
She also mentioned that many kids might not get the opportunity to interact with horses. Though some kids were a little standoffish at first, most kids were very excited to meet the four-legged friends.
“Most of them come through and they’re super eager to be around the horses and pet them. Every once in a while you’ll find one that’s a little intimidated by their size but all of these guys are so good that it’s a good way to get them around horses in a safe environment,” she said.
As children and their families filtered into the building Saturday, they were greeted by the Mountainteer, WVU’s mascot. Kids then got to meet Lexi, who was dressed like a skeleton, Cash who came as Harry Potter, Marty as a minion and Fat Boy and Waylon who came as superheroes.
One might think dressing a horse would prove difficult but Smith said that’s not the case with their well-behaved bunch.
“They typically don’t really care,” she said.
There were also games, refreshments, and a balloon twister for kids to enjoy. Also a plethora of candy was available to fill their bags. Later on in the evening, there was a costume contest. One little one even showed up dressed as a horse.
Smith said she thinks a lot of kids are disconnected from agriculture in general. If they weren’t raised on a farm or if they never had an opportunity to be on a farm they might not have an understanding of farm animals.
“I think it’s an important aspect for them to know and understand and horses tend to be a really easy way to introduce kids into more traditional agricultural fields, because, you know, most people love horses,” she said.
