Livestock Programs

How do you learn to appreciate the blessings of a roof over your head, getting plenty of exercise, and having plenty of food on the table when you’re hungry?  One of the best ways is responsibility for the care of another living being.  So it is with our boys’ animal projects.  By being responsible for the daily care of a calf, a pig, or a horse, our boys come to understand the commitment and discipline that it takes to care for another being.

Boys at Westview are encouraged to participate in any of several animal programs.  They can participate in the horse program on the south campus, and they can be a part of the calf or pig programs on the north campus.  In the pig and calf programs, boys raise the animals to show in local, county and state shows, and receive financial and trophy rewards as a consequence.  

Calf program

The day of a boy with a calf is a long one.  His morning begins at 5:00 a.m. with the morning feeding, and in the cold of winter, breaking the ice in the water trough.  Before leaving for school a couple of hours later, the boys lead their calves into the cooling house where the animals spend their day.  At noon, their houseparents bed the calves down for the afternoon.  After school, the boys wash and brush their calves, taking care to blow the hair dry when done.  Then it is time to clean the cooling house, feed, and check the water troughs.  This is lot of hard and routine work, but it develops discipline in our boys that leads to success in the livestock shows, and in life in a broader sense.

Pig program

More than one boy has discovered the importance of responsibility and the thrill of success through our on-campus pig program.  The boys with pigs regularly wash, brush, and walk their swine.  They feed and water them every day, and see to the cleaning of all of the pens.  They also practice showing the animals, so that at show time they have experience moving with the pig in the show pen under the watchful eyes of a judge.  When they boys are past all of their livestock shows, the pigs continue to be important to our boys as they become the ham, bacon, and sausage on their dinner table.

Horse program

Goals of the horse program

• To teach each child responsibility by allowing him to provide and care for a horse.
• To provide the child with the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to properly care for, ride, and train horses.
• To offer the child recreational enjoyment by being able to properly ride a horse.
• To give the child a sense of confidence while working with large animals in several environments.
• To give the child the experience of working with horses on trail rides,parades, and rodeos.

Participants in the horse program include

• Any boy who shows the necessary maturity through good behavior while living at Saunders House may be involved with the horse program if he desires to do so, and has the houseparent’s permission.
• Any boy who is willing and able to work with a horse approximately an hour a day.
• All those who are working with the horse program must complete the necessary training and tasks with their horse.  This is an ongoing process.
• Each boy in the program will be assigned a horse along with tack, saddle, and training tools.
• Any boy in the horse program must be physically able to carry his own saddle and place it on the horse.