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Brenda Johnson often takes her miniature horse, JuneBug, to schools and nursing homes. Johnson and JuneBug provide Equine Assisted Learning, and they can also do one-on-one sessions with clients.

BERTRAND — When Brenda Johnson learned the miniature Palomino was named June, she knew she was the horse for her.

Johnson had grown up around horses. Her grandparents had horses, and she showed the animals throughout her younger years in 4-H. Johnson continued to own horses until 22 years ago when her family moved into the town of Bertrand.

“We got rid of the horses, and that’s something I’ve missed. I didn’t realize it until about the time I was selling the store,” Johnson said.

The store was Countryside Market, now known as Cross Country Market in Bertrand. Johnson and her husband, Jerry, owned and operated the grocery store from 2008 until 2020 when they sold the business. Johnson had attended a conference that helped her realize how her hobbies had fallen to the wayside while she focused on her career.

Brenda Johnson purchased her miniature horse, JuneBug, to rekindle her love for horses and to benefit others as well.

“One of the speakers said, ‘What do you do for fun? What are your hobbies? What do you like to do?’ I couldn’t come up with anything. Nothing at that point. I had put my heart and soul into the store and eliminated basically everything I like to do fun. And so from then on, I kind of did a bunch of soul searching and had some help with that even, and the horses were kind of on the top of the list,” Johnson explained.

Johnson loves all types of horses, but she was particularly fond of miniature horses and Clydesdales. She began following mini horse Facebook pages, and she reached out to see if there were any available in the central United States.

A woman from Kansas messaged her about the 8-month-old Palomino named June, who is more commonly referred to as JuneBug. June just happened to be the name of Johnson’s grandmother, and her grandparents had a Palomino horse when Johnson was a child. She knew it was meant to be.

“I bought her without being there, and I picked her up and the rest is history,” Johnson said.

As a miniature horse, JuneBug is smaller than a pony. She was born at just 18 inches tall. She is now over two years old and stands at 29 inches tall. Along with reconnecting with her love for the animals, Johnson was also interested in sharing the benefits of her horse with others.

At just 29 inches tall, JuneBug is a miniature horse. She will often come indoors, and her owner, Brenda Johnson, buys her shoes meant for Build-A-Bear stuffed animals to wear on slick floors.

“Being in the store, I saw there was a need for things for kids. And at that point, I didn’t know what it was or what direction I should go, and so this just ended up coming together,” she said.

She originally intended to bring JuneBug to visit schools, nursing homes and take part in other volunteer opportunities, but she continued to research options for equine therapy. She attended Strides to Success, a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International accredited facility, to receive training in Equine Assisted Learning.

As part of her business, Prairie Equine Experience, Johnson offers one-on-one sessions for all ages, as well as group sessions and birthday party appearances.

In a session, clients will walk JuneBug through an obstacle course, learn to communicate with her and to be patient. They also focus on grooming JuneBug and doing fun activities, such as painting JuneBug’s coat with washable finger paint or having JuneBug play her toy piano with her nose.

Johnson recently added a fresh air meditation class for women. The class begins with a meditation in the round pen with the horse, and the horse is then invited into each person’s space at the end of the session.

Johnson had one participant who had tension in her shoulder. When JuneBug was brought into the space, she rested her head on the woman’s shoulder, helping relieve some of the tension.

Along with providing Equine Assisted Learning, Brenda Johnson often brings her miniature horse, JuneBug, to brighten the people’s days by dressing her up.

“She was much more relaxed. And as she said, the meditation itself does that as well. The horse just enhances that,” Johnson noted.

Along with helping with stress, working with June can help foster leadership development, self-confidence, communication, respect, responsibility, kindness and much more.

JuneBug has always had a docile personality, and Johnson does all she can to expose her to different environments. She brings her to Orschelns in Holdrege, and she recently took her to the F. Johnson building in Holdrege to ride the elevator.

“If we ever go to a hospital or something that has an elevator, we had to make sure that she could do the elevator,” explained Johnson.

The Prairie Equine Experience offers one-on-one sessions for ages, as well as group sessions and birthday party/event appearances.

Johnson hopes to eventually acquire another mini and full-sized horse for not only the business and herself but for JuneBug.

“We need to get her another one. They are herd animals. They are very social. ... It just hasn’t been the right timing yet. It will happen,” she said.

For Johnson, JuneBug has helped her not only forge a new career path but also reignited her passion for horses and the great outdoors.

“The connection of the horse and the outdoors, there is something about nature that is very therapeutic,” she said.

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Brenda Johnson often takes her miniature horse, JuneBug, to schools and nursing homes. Johnson and JuneBug provide Equine Assisted Learning, and they can also do one-on-one sessions with clients.

Brenda Johnson purchased her miniature horse, JuneBug, to rekindle her love for horses and to benefit others as well.

At just 29 inches tall, JuneBug is a miniature horse. She will often come indoors, and her owner, Brenda Johnson, buys her shoes meant for Build-A-Bear stuffed animals to wear on slick floors.

Along with providing Equine Assisted Learning, Brenda Johnson often brings her miniature horse, JuneBug, to brighten the people’s days by dressing her up.

The Prairie Equine Experience offers one-on-one sessions for ages, as well as group sessions and birthday party/event appearances.

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