We want to sincerely welcome Alyssa W. to the ASAP farm and Wellman family! Alyssa is a student who will be attending Kirkwood College in Iowa in the fall, and wants to intern at a horse farm or with a rescue or adoption group. Alyssa brings experience in horsemanship and training, and we look forward to a full summer with lots of adventure. Alyssa will assist with day camps, lessons, refining saddle training on ASAP horses, and more. Her week is busy already, working with Cricket, Timesareachanging, and Taser Gun to name a few. This weekend she will travel with us to 4-H horse camp in Trempealeau, WI. She will assist three gals from our area and their horses! We are happy to have her on board with ASAP.
Earlier in the year ASAP served as a place for Globe University students to come to complete clinicals in certain areas related to veterinary technology. We are pleased that the community and beyond finds ASAP as a welcoming place to learn and grow.
We'll be giving shots this week thanks to the donation from Lori H. W. of Iowa. Lori, you are a saint to make this possible!
Thanks to Ms. Dudkowski for her recent donation of $500! What a gift! And to think that we will also receive a matching grant from her place of employment. We are excited to meet her later this year when she and her boyfriend come to spend a few days with the horses.
We had another blessing when I responded to a bulletin board ad on the internet offering to pick up unwanted items and even junk that people don't want. Art and his wife Robin came down last Monday and looked through our donations of horse tack and supplies and took home a huge tote full of new bits and spurs - and all of our old worn out saddle blankets - and left us a check for almost $200! Sometimes things just go so well for ASAP - we count it all blessing.
To top it all off, when we were so grateful, yet another GREAT thing has happened! A group from Wisconsin who have been watching ASAP's activities and even paid a surprise visit to the ASAP farm unannounced when we were not home, sent us a large donation today. It arrived in the mail and Craig asked me if I was sitting down - with this gifting we are able to care for larger numbers of horses who may come to the farm - we can vaccinate, trim hooves, and purchase adequate GOOD hay for the horses for an extended period! Thank you Jan! Thank you Lisa!
This is amazing, unexpected, but very much appreciated. We want you to come back and meet us and spend time with the horses!
So our summer begins. There must have been 15 people in our yard both Saturday and Sunday. Most of the ASAP horses are being ridden on a regular basis by people who happen by the farm. No one is paying to ride - and we have not, thus far, charged to ride. HOWEVER, with the numbers growing, we feel we need to ask for donations from families who come to ride on a regular basis. Remmie, Chief, Honey Fitz, Lakehills Texas, King's Royal Fella are all getting regular workouts. Many beginner riders are riding well-seasoned and well-trained horses, but this could also be a real problem if allowed to continue regularly. We'll let you know how our revision of riding policies pans out shortly.
Sponsorships available:
Brandy - has side bone and requires wedge shoes on her fronts to keep her from rocking back on her heels
Arne- old racing injury resulted in rear hock whose scar tissue is the size of a baseball or larger. He is growing progressively weaker on his good leg that is compensating for the big hock. He also is developing a roached back. We would love to get him more comfortable with massage therapy and/or orthopedic supports. Need $$$ to do this.
Bob Cook - old racing injury on front results in a limp on the affected leg. His good foot is taking much more weight than the injured foot - resulting in a hoof which is noticeably larger and more panned out than the other. Bob needs regular hoof care to keep him walking on all four legs.
Strawberry - her hips are sore from having been bred back-to-back for several years before coming to ASAP. She needs supplements to keep her joints as healthy as possible.
Stylish Sharon - needs sponsorship to maintain a good weight during fall and winter months. Although she is looking good now, she will require supplements and extra feed when she no longer has longer supple grass to eat.
Steelin Apples - needs sponsorship for diagnostics to determine where his lameness is coming from. We know he has nerve damage in his front legs as side affect from injections done while racing, but his rear legs have some abnormal things going on that we are not able to determine without going to an advanced equine vet clinic. We have been wishing for $$$ for Apples for over two years to help pay for xrays, tests, but thus far no funds have come in.
I will write more very soon with pictures from this past weekend!
Sue
Thanks to Ursula C. for the donation of a 20+ acre pasture for Bob, Arne, Strawberry, Steelin Apples, Little John, and Stylish Sharon this summer. They think they died and went to heaven!
