MIdwest Horse Fair Pictures

Morgan on "Grif" or Fleur de Mal

and Carol Williams with her beloved equine soul mate on lead line

Orphan foal in barn 11 through 2nd Chance Horse Rescue

Victory Buck and Kathleen De Master - ballerinas

Fleur de Mal with friend Lexi at Midwest Horse Fair

Pistol Pete N and Ray Hubert

Rachel Wellman on Janimal

Lexi De Garmo on Lakehills Texas

Ray and Pete

Mary Ellen Miller and Tyler's Tanya in royal purple costume

Alice Hubert and Mini Happy Times

Boasts and Bummers

Hi!

Wanted to share we are back from horse fair and are pooped! I will send pictures soon.....in the meantime I will let you know that Precious KC continues to improve steadily and her eye is now completely open. The oozing has stopped out of the injury sites and she is eating her Uniprim in her feed and taking her bute well. She is one tough horse. Stylish Sharon, the aged mare dropped here last week, appears listless and depressed. I put her out in a pasture by herself yesterday and she only occasionally ate grass. She whinnies for Precious (they have stalls near each other in the barn) when I separate them. She IS eating....but definitely does not have a voracious appetite. The vet recommended iodine bath after return from horse fair, so I did that this morning. She really acted as if it stung when I applied it. I felt badly for her - she even made a face and wanted to rub her head on something at one point! I do see baby hairs growing out of some areas on her bare skin so am hopeful between the powder and the bath we have made progress. Thanks to those of you who have sent money to help these horses. We could not do it without you!

I have very sad news. Ashlea Newburn, the girl who donated money to sponsor Precious KC, died Saturday night at 11 pm. I found out because I went to http://www.caringbridge.com/ and I typed in her name (you can go to it too, but don't leave a space between her first and last name in order to log in)................there were announcements for her visitation and funeral and I immediately began sobbing. For those of you who do not know, Ashlea had an inoperable brain tumor. It had gone into remission but returned and despite her courageous fight to hang on, she lost the battle. Please remember her family in your prayers. Ashlea's mom had shared with me last night that Ashlea had Precious' picture in a frame by her bed. It means much to know Precious was so loved by such a special girl who loved so much.

I also lost my kitty, Velcro, on Thurday prior to leaving for Madison for the horse fair. Velcro was 15 1/2 years old. She was mother to Raffi, my cat who is disabled. WE also called her "Little Little" because she was oh so small her whole life. Velcro tried to tell me something was very wrong on Wednesday, and I put her out in the sunshine to feel the warmth of the day and she wandered and almost got stomped on by Cricket as she zig-zagged down in the pasture towards the creek. I ran to get her and scooped her up before Cricket could do anything and brought her back up and put her in a kennel cab to keep her safe. She wouldn't eat. The next morning I called the vet and was ready to go and get more medication. Velcro was giving me that deep, throaty MEOW that comes when something is very wrong. I tucked her into bed but when I came out to prepare to leave I realized she was gone. I went to the indoor arena to cry and remember the long and many years we shared together. I had no one to share my sorrow with until I met up with relatives and friends later on, but I don't think anyone can really understand what she meant to me and all of the things we have been through together. I am happy she is in a better place and out of pain!

Thanks to Sandee Wellman, my wonderful mother in law, and Lisa De Garmo, my neighbor and friend, for all of their help and support at horse fair. Because of them (and Rachel and Zachary and Nick) it was the best the horses had ever looked for demo!!!! Pictures later.

Love

Susan

Need Financial Help for Two Horses

I am sorry to have to ask, but I want to show you pictures of two horses who need financial support right now.

One of our sanctuary horses sustained a head injury while we were away on vacation. We have had vet consultations and ordered medications that are given orally and topically and one injectable. Another horse was dropped off today....a return from an adopter who had her for less than two years. This older mare is covered with lice. I am showing pictures and don't mean to shock you..............but it speaks of the severity of what we are caring for right now.........and whatever you can send via Paypal or check...in any way...would be appreciated. We also are needing finances for transport of an ASAP horse coming to us next week, and we owe one very kind volunteer gas money for jockeying several ASAP horses from adoptive homes to foster homes, some going as far as 400 miles. Please, if you can, help! We have just completed Iowa Horse Fair and we want to thank the Legacy Fund, Mary Lou Lawless, and Iowa harness horsemen and women for sponsoring our trip. They paid stall fees and completely covered all motel rooms. Thank you thank you everyone!

News from ASAP

I'm back!!!!

I must admit it is difficult to readjust after basking in the sun under the palm trees with birds a-singing......as well as roller coaster rides and sticking my toes in the sand on the gulf side on the way home.......but I'll bore you with pictures later!

I want to thank the UW-La Crosse Equestrian Team and De Soto Strivers 4-H club for holding the fort down and taking full advantage of our wonderful horses this past weekend. The equestrian team showed the 4-H'ers a lot of things that were educational and fun, and Sheba, Chief, Janimal, Tex, and Remmie were the star lesson horses. I want to make a correction that on Saturday for the coggins clinic it was not Dr. Jacobs of Viroqua Vet Clinic that came out to show the youth about EIA testing, but Dr. Solverson of Westby - OOOPS! Sorry for that! Thank you to Dr. Solverson.

Now usually while we are away, things happen. Naturally, that very same thing occurred this time. Precious KC decided to lie down outside of the barn and could not get herself up. She was in the large stall area with outside turnout, but the rain started and despite the entire neighborhood's attempts, Precious laid there until she could muster the strength herself. As a result, she suffered a head injury and scraped herself up. Now looking at Precious one would assume that she should be put down. Try to tell her that!!! Penicillin, bute, banamine, nitrofurazone, hydrogen peroxide all seem to bother her more than her injury. She runs away and almost gets viscious when we come to doctor her! If she could run away at full speed she would. So.......her will to live is voracious. She also is eating like crazy. So........what do we do?

The swelling in her leg has come down and the swelling on one side of her face is down, but the pus continues to ooze out of the injury above her eye. Please say a prayer for this girl - she has had so much to contend with in her life!!!

I am happy to say that the neighbors may be ready to rent us the ten acres of pasture we have been praying for. Add to this the 90 acres that my mother gave us after my father passed away, and we just may convert a portion of this into sanctuary land for the horses. Also we are thankful to Ursula for her donation of what seems like 50 acres of pasture we have access to yearly in June. We have a lot to be grateful for in terms of future care of incoming horses. We still cannot the people who have been so helpful in the past, such as Tim and Patty, Marie, Bonnie, Angie, Jackie, Michelle (our newest and very active chapter near Springfield IL!), and

Kim, Carmen, Trudy, Lori, who have I left out? Seems like just a beginning!!!! With so many people involved we are able to cover a lot of ground in terms of serving horses waiting at the tracks and beyond. And our childrens programs seem to be growing and thriving.

I am also happy to report that as of next week I will be working just one day a week for the time being. This will give me time to pursue more meetings with racing administration and officials and people involved with ASAP. It is well-deserved time to focus as I think about my life work and where it will lead me next (aside from the charity).

I want to thank my mother in law for being here for us while we were on vacation. And of course Ethan. My mother in law stayed by Precious' side and rallied help from Lisa (I thank you too for being there for Precious!) and Patty and Kelly (all neighbors). Their goal was to keep Precious alive until we got home and they did a good job! Thanks to Sandee for cleaning my house on Saturday, and to Brittany my neice for helping, too. All was a labor of love!

Gear up for this weekend - Iowa Horse Fair in Des Moines! We will join the Iowa Harness Horseman's Association for two days of demos, then on to Midwest Horse Fair where we will be in barn 11 (don't forget!)...I think you will like our demos there too!

After the next two weekends I'll probably collapse for awhile, but it is always fun to see the people who have given great homes to so many horses. I can hardly wait to see you! Pictures tomorrow? Hopefully so!

Love

Susan