BRRRRR..........here
we go again with another winter blast. It's supposed to be nine
degrees tonite - and I wonder whether it is January or March.
Sigh.........out like a lamb, right?
We had to say "so
long" to two great horses last night - Bo Knows Silky Too
and Son of Greek A went off to their new homes in Minnesota.
I am excited for Jill, their new adopter, and equally happy
for their new horses, who will get loads of love and attention!
Thanks to Terry and
Katie, the horses had a ride to Minnesota yesterday. Then the
phone call came...........Terry on the cell phone leaving us
the horrible message that he had just been in an accident and
may have totalled his truck! We called the cell phone as soon
as we got the message, but no one answered. Worry turned to
panic, but after about an hour the phone rang and it was Terry
and he was safe at home. Evidently, a seventy-something year
old woman had pulled out in front of him at an intersection
in La Crosse and he was unable to stop his truck and hit her
broadside, and they both slammed into posts in the median. She
was at fault, probably having difficulty seeing at night and
not paying attention to the signals. Thankfully, she seemed
alright and was transported via ambulance to the hospital. Terry
did not go to emergency but was checked over by our doctor friend
who also came to get the horse trailer out of the road. Needless
to say, Terry was a little shocked over the whole incident,
and we were, too. Thank goodness he was okay!!!!!
The Illinois Horse
Fair in Springfield was a blast. We met two of the nicest people
in the world, Jeff and Irma, who were a tremendous help in arranging
for and setting up stalls for the horses and caring for them
during the weekend. Spect's Solution looked shiny and stunning
in his patriotic attire, and though Irma has had him for only
a few months, he has the most beautiful little canter on him
that you have ever seen. He had more women doting on him Saturday
to get him dolled up for his demo with ISOBA than I have ever
seen!
The comical part
of the horse fair (isn't there always a story to tell?) came
when Rural Route cancelled out due to a family emergency. I
was in full state of worry but with the help of Rhonda in Jacksonville
who is fostering two horses for ASAP, we managed to get Schatzie
Bluegrass up for the demonstration. She was a sweetie - easy
to handle - that is, until you put a halter on her and tried
to go for a "leisurely" walk anywhere at all. That
girl can PULL! Not knowing her a bit, I spent time Friday night
until 2 am on Saturday while decorating the barns and then on
Saturday "practiced" walking like a lady. Lyle came
to tack up Jan's Julie in racing gear, and then Erv Miller's
son and all the grooms came in with their horses. It was show
time. Walking to the demo arena was easy, since Schatzie just
followed the race bikes. Going in the arena was a hoot - as
I was dragged through the dirt in the inner circle showing her
off while Irma did her nice demo with Spect's Solution. Everything
went well, except for Schatzie's strong-headedness. I decided
that on Sunday we would need to RIDE this mare into the arena!!!!!!!!
Sunday morning came, and Irma was nice enough to bring a saddle.
Now, keep in mind that Schatzie had only been ridden once and
is 17 years old..............but with my belief in the Standardbred,
how hard could it be? She took the saddle well and my daughter
Rachel sat in it while we decided on which bridle to use. The
first bridle was an English bridle (too funny with a Western
saddle), but we were willing to go with least restrictrive first.
A guy came along who claimed to be a real cowboy and wanted
up on her first - I agreed to let him try in the outdoor arena.
Well, once up there I realized this guy was not a cowboy, but
off he went, with reins hanging and knees up to his chin, and
Schatzie trotting along taking it all in stride. They went around
and around and around - cowboy bouncing and reins hanging every
which way. It was clear that Schatzie wasn't going to buck!
We just needed to work on getting her to "whoa". Heather,
my precious Heather who is always at horse fairs with us, was
next up on Schatzie. She rides well, and looked good on Schatzie,
who seemed relieved that the bouncing was over. Still no brakes.
The so-called "experts" who don't know Standardbreds
saw how high Schatzie held her head at the trot, and just shook
their heads, saying someone was going to get dumped. I had to
smile to myself....unsolicited advice - imagine that in the
horse world? I knew we needed to find a bridle that could stop
this mare, so after riding her myself and finding her to have
more energy after her workout than before, we set off to the
tack barns to find a good bridle with a shank. I spent $39.00
total on a cheap bridle with chin strap and bit with a shank,
and got on. Wow - what a difference. Schatzie did know how to
stop after all! She was so much more responsive that I knew
we could pull off riding her in the demo. Now, keep in mind
this was only the second time she had been ridden in her life!
Erv Miller got back from Florida so he and his son were ready
to go for the demo (see pictures) and Irma and Spect's Solution
and Heather, Schatzie, and I went along. I think it went rather
well............and wish we could have shared with everyone
that this was only Schatzie's second day of her life (or 3rd)
being ridden but no one knew. Heather and I managed to pull
this off with Schatzie looking pretty darn great!!! So the demo
was good and we once again thank the ISOBA and the Erv Miller
family for letting us be a part of the Illinois Horse Fair again
this year.
I want to especially
thank Dirk Simpson for donating his time and rig to haul Schatzie
back to her foster home in Jacksonville. I tried to give him
gas money but he insisted that he would not accept. So, Dirk
- there's a t-shirt headed your way as a token of our appreciation!
We also want to thank
Sally in Carbondale for her recent $1,000 donation. She has
been a real blessing to our program, and wish all race horse
owners were as faithful in their giving as she is. She has donated
two horses to our program and continues her commitment to seeing
all horses be treated with the best care.
We had a rough winter
- our feed dealer actually had to cut us off for a time due
to our bill being so high and us not being able to keep up with
payments on the feed. We go through 1,300 pounds of sweet feed
every two weeks, and 350 pounds of Profile Senior pelleted feed
every two weeks, five bales of shavings, 300 pounds of cracked
corn, and after awhile this really adds up. If we are not placing
horses, there is not an adequate amount of donations coming
in to cover our bills. An unexpected vet bill throws our program
into a tailspin, and some horses that are hauled here and there
are not hauled out of the goodness of anyone's heart, but require
payment. So, it has been difficult but recently and because
of Sally's help, we were able to get our feed bill paid and
are good to go for awhile again.
We also want to thank
Balmoral Park for the $300 gift we received as a result of a
charity night benefit they held in December. Balmoral is a long-time
advocate for ASAP Inc. and we love you, Sue Fee and Ben Wessels
and Scott Ehrlich and staff!!!!! We will see you again at Balmoral
this month.
I hope you enjoy
all the pictures I took of the horse fair. Off to Midwest Horse
Fair in Madison next, then the Iowa Horse Fair, where the Iowa
Harness Horseman's Association is once again paying our motel
and booth space! Then the Minnesota Horse Fair and a breather
until August.........there are nine horses demonstrating at
the Midwest Horse Fair this year, so be sure to try and get
to Madison to check things out.
And don't forget
that the retraining clinic has been moved to Saturday, March
27 at the ASAP farm. If you are planning on bringing a horse,
don't forget to bring your 2004 coggins and interstate health
certificate.
Until next week,
Susan
