Post by Exceller Fund on Mar 9, 2007 15:28:29 GMT -5
Well, another New Year is almost one-fourth over! Don't forget to set your clocks ahead THIS Sunday as Daylight Saving Times comes early this year. (And it stays later this year too - the clocks don't go back until [November 4, 2007])
We had a little lull in activity, and then it seemed that we got swamped with one thing or another! There has been a lot of activity for our two officers, myself and Darlene. I can't recall if this was included in a previous update, but the Board of Directors has decided that we will have two officers - Bonnie Mizrahi, President, and Darlene Robinette, Vice President & Secretary. The remaining Board Members decided it would be best not to be officers on a day-to-day basis, but they remain "in the loop" on our activities.
APRIL 7, 1997
April 7, 2007 will mark the 10 year anniversary of the day that the champion horse, Exceller, met his death in a slaughterhouse because his owner deemed him to be of no value. At the time of his death, Exceller was 23. www.excellerfund.org/drf.htm
The Exceller Fund was first formed in September 1997, three months after the news of his untimely death was made known in an article in the Daily Racing Forum by Mike Mullaney. The Exceller Fund was started among a group of posters on the original Bloodhorse Forum. These posters were racing fans who all remembered Exceller, and while discussing/debating/arguing the merits of Cigar and Skip Away, all posters realized that Exceller was probably as good or better, considering his record in the shadow of superstars such as Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Alydar, Forego, and Spectacular Bid.
These racing fans sought to start something that would achieve at least two goals - help perpetuate the name of Exceller, a horse often overlooked and forgotten among the decade of superstar champions, and to try to save other Thoroughbreds from meeting his same fate. The Bloodhorse forum is long gone, but The Exceller Fund, and the racing fans who formed it, continue.
As we are poised on this anniversary marking a decade since his death, The Exceller Fund supports one of his daughters, Almata, as a retiree of The Exceller Fund. Just this month, we have also taken in Luckymata (see below), the last foal of Almata, who retired from racing this year. Luckymata suffered a series of injuries that make it unlikely that he will ever be ridable, but in doing so he also set a new course record for 8.5 furlongs, and won 10 out of 37 races. His connections donated him to The Exceller Fund so he would have a safe and secure future.
We also helped another daughter of Exceller by the name of Narrow Escape. Way back in early 2004 when Old Friends was still mainly a concept with some promised paddocks at Afton Farm but no horses as yet, we contacted Michael Blowen to ask if he would foster this daughter of Exceller who was being put up for sale at the Fasig-Tipton sale. Since we had already been successful in having Almata donated to us by the owner, Franks Farms, we were confident that the elderly Narrow Escape would be donated as well, but we did not have an available foster home.
Seeing that we were already over budget on horse care expenses, Michael Blowen made arrangements to have Narrow Escape donated to his newly formed organization, and thus the mare, Narrow Escape, became the first horse for the proposed retirement farm for stallions!
The Exceller Fund is still 100% volunteer, and the officers and board members of The Exceller Fund are expected to cover admin expenses either out of pocket or by making a donation. The Exceller Fund has no paid staff, and we strive to have as much of our donations as possible towards the purchase, transport, board, care, vet and farrier expenses of the horses. If you set aside the donations made by our officers and board members, then 100% of the rest of our donations go to pay for the horses and their needs.
Our budget last year was just over $70,000 which is not a lot when you consider the monthly costs for each horse. I wish to thank all of the original and early days Exceller Fund Members who have stayed with us over the years. When you add together the horses that we have had in our program, the horses outside our program that we have helped, and the horses that found homes through our listing services, we have helped hundreds of horses avoid the death that took Exceller.
HONORARY BOARD
We are in the process of creating an Honorary Board. We have 5 highly respected people in the Thoroughbred and equine world accept our invitation to be an Honorary Board Member. An Honorary Board Member has no official duties although they are invited to attend Board Meetings. Due to our geographic dispersion, the Board Meetings for The Exceller Fund are held via conference call. Our Honorary Board Members are: Steve Haskin, Barbara Livingston, Gary Contessa, Hallie McEvoy, and Lorna Coyle, DVM.
TRIPLE CROWN MAGAZINE
This year, Triple Crown magazine will again run an ad for free for us. I received this e-mail in early January:
With the help of our Board, Catherine Deely, Darlene Robinette, and Melissa Miller and Karla Phaneuf, we wrote an article about The Exceller Fund, and how we worked with CANTER and Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation to secure a new career for Glo Most Hot (now at Chukkar Farms Polo School), and with CANTER and Washington Thoroughbred Transitional Facility to secure the retirement for Cumberland Gap, a horse who ran in 161 RACES through AGE 14!!! Cumberland Gap, or "Joe" has been retired by Darlene at the Washington facility where he enjoys romping in the pasture with other retired Thoroughbreds.
We have a whole new full page ad that was designed by a CANTER volunteer for us. After two months of doing mortgage loan audits, all creativity in my brain is fried, and I simply could not come up with an exciting new design. Please be sure to get a copy of the magazine for the article and the ad!
Here is the information about how you can obtain a copy of this magazine:
NEW WEBSITE
We are working on a complete revamp of our existing website. The new design should be easier to navigate and offer a fresh new look for us. Now that we are almost at 10 years, its time to update our look. It has been a very slow process since we are not using a commercial website company, and we have gone back and forth on design and layout, and then there are times we have had to simply put it to the side and concentrate on emergency issues. I hope we will be able to roll out our website within a month. In the meantime, non-urgent updates to the website are on hold to allow our webmaster time to retro-fit our pages into the new format.
EXCELLER FUND EBAY AUCTIONS - ON NOW
We have 3 Auctions on eBay right now for unopened packages of "1970's Celebrate The Century" stamps from the Post Office. Racing fans lobbied and petitioned for the Post Office to include the great SECRETARIAT and his Triple Crown victory in the 1970's series. Secretariat won the Triple Crown after most horsemen and racing experts concluded that no horse would ever win this series after the last Triple Crown winner Citation had won in 1948. Secretariat broke a 25 year drought bringing a bright spot to a nation beset with the Vietnam War, Watergate and social upheaval.
You can see them at the following links:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270095927767
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270095928471
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270095928708
Or follow all 3 on our "About Me" page on eBay: cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=exceller_fund
Also, since we are registered with Mission Fish, anyone can do an eBay Auction and name The Exceller Fund as beneficiary. At least 10% of the auction proceeds needs to benefit a charity in order to qualify as a "Giving Works" auction which is monitored by Mission Fish. If you would like more information on how to do that, please send an e-mail to mail@excellerfund.org
Please also be sure to check out Pat DeLong's store for her fabulous artwork. She generously donates a portion of sales to The Exceller Fund:
stores.prime-equine.com/StoreFront.bok
UPDATES ON OUR HORSES
Luckymata
Luckymata is now at his new home with Robin Hurst in Missouri. Some of your may recognized Robin as she operates the Out2Pasture farm that fosters horse for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Robin comes highly recommended by many rescue organizations. When we were first contacted about Luckymata, I asked Robin if she would have room for him. Robin was delighted to be able to foster a horse for The Exceller Fund. Robin's specialty is horses that may only be pasture sound, and she receives excellent support form the University of Missouri Equine Ambulatory Program.
The weather in southern Illinois and Missouri was beyond terrible for most of February. Finally, near the end of February, we caught a break and Luckymata was able to be transported to Robin's farm. Luckymata has a variety of injuries from racing including pins in one ankle and the fractured vertebrae in his neck. He will never be ridable, and our best hope is that he can enjoy his retirement without pain.
After arrival, he was taken to the University of Missouri to be gelded. His surgery and recovery went very well, and he is back "home" and settling in to retirement. Here is what Robin has to say about "Lucky":
Ton of Gold and Prospector Sally
Our two "boys" have been moved from Tim Armstrong's place in Southern Illinois to the ranch owned by Diane Templemeyer near Tulsa Oklahoma. Tim has been kind enough to provide free pasture board for us, but the time had come for us to move these two to an area where they have a good chance of being adopted. Diane is an approved foster for Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and has a large ranch and many friends in the local equestrian community. Many of her friends are in their 50's to 70's and are looking for a nice horse to walk along a trail for a couple of times each month. Both Ton of Gold and Prospector Sally were deemed not ridable by ReRun due to their arthritis. However, they have both been moving sound in the pasture at Tim's, and Diane has reported the same since they arrived in February. Her son rode Ton of Gold at walk in the pasture and did not detect any lameness or discomfort.
They will try riding Prospector Sally this weekend. If his manners are nice and he is sound at the walk under saddle, he may have an adoptive home very soon with a woman who is looking for a tall, quiet horse. Keep your fingers crossed that Sal does find his forever home. This poor boy had been on the track, and then he was used as a lesson horse for a few years before being dropped at an auction where he wound up in a "kill" pen in New York. We were alerted to him by our former member Lisa Amarino, and when we got him, he was standing in two feet of mud. He was with ReRun New York for a few months, but did not seem to do well there. When he arrived at Tim's place last year, he was about 100 pounds underweight, and we have not been able to put much back weight on him. Diane will work with some additional supplements, and we may try some ulcer treatment to see if we can improve his appetite (he is a fussy eater), and also control his cribbing. At one point, ReRun advised us that we should consider euthanizing Sal due to his arthritis, so it would be very nice if Sal does find a home "on the range."
Here is Prospector Sally just after he arrived in Oklahoma - You can see he is thin and has some rain rot after going through a very rough winter. Diane is treating it but cannot bath him as the weather is still too cold.
Here is Ton of Gold just after he arrived with Sal. Yes, these two boys were together, and Ton Of Gold looks like he never missed a meal! Diane feels he should find a new home soon! Let's hope she is right. I think Ton Of Gold has been on our "payroll" the longest of any horse that we have been trying to adopt! He NEEDS a home!
Almata and Franchised, and Franconia
Lori Neagle has let us know that both Almata and "Franny" are doing well. Almata can now go barefoot again, and we hope that her foot troubles are behind her. Franny is also recovering from her foot surgery, and the two girls enjoy each other's company in the pasture at Lori's farm. Considering their ages (Almata is 25, and Franchised is 23) both of these gals are doing very well. And then, of course, we have Franconia, also at Lori's farm. She is also 25 but looks (and acts!) much younger. She is the undisputed "Queen" of the pasture, and Almata, Franchised, and the horses that Lori fosters for ReRun, Serendipity and Tall Glass of Water, all recognize her authority!
Lori also believes that these gals will be in Barbara Livingston's soon to be released "Old Friends 2". As soon as I found out for sure, I will let all of you know!
Countontherun
Our newest horse is doing fine in Ohio. He is being cared for at Kevin Chumney's farm in Salem, Ohio. Kevin also boards horses for CANTER, and he is well known to many people involved with Thoroughbreds and rescue in the Ohio/West Virginia area. Kevin thinks that "Count" should find an adoptive home easily. The main problem now is the weather, and not too many people are looking for horses right now. Actually, not too many people are looking at much of anything in the cold and/or snowbound areas of the country!
Midnite Ruckus
Becky believes that Midnite Ruckus will make an awesome dressage horse for someone with experience and patience in dealing with a young horse that does not have a lot of confidence. Here is a photo of "Ruckus" at the trot:
and the taking flight!:
Rich In Dallas
For some reason, Dallas seems to have gone on a writer's strike. I will have to ask Paul if there is something wrong with the computer in Dallas' stall, or why we haven't received a letter lately. Personally, I think he is sulking that not all of his ribbons were wanted by his fans. THERE ARE STILL A FEW RIBBONS LEFT. Please send an e-mail to Treasurendoodle@aol.com if you would like to buy one of Rich In Dallas' show ribbons.
Kelly has been busy with local fundraising projects to help raise money for surgery for Sully's Silver. In February, she had a "Heart" campaign at the local tack shop, and this month Here is what Kelly tells us:
Hello everyone!
New York:
Sully's Silver, Pro On The Road, Handsome Jolly Jim, Winds of Summer, Mad Mac, Wild Eye Bill, Distant Kid, Good And Game, and Our Son RobThis year has brought a very HARSH winter to Oswego County, New York which is where Triple L Stables is located. Record low temperatures and snow levels, not to mention that wind chill factor, has brought one of the worst winters in that area for years. Four of our horses who came off the track this year, Winds of Summer, Mad Mac, Wild Eye Bill and Distant Kid, have been having a tough time with this. They are still adjusting to the metabolic changes after training and racing, but they are not able to go out and exercise on a regular basis. (As an aside, Kevin Chumny told me it is not unusual for a Thoroughbred to drop weight a few months after they leave the track. Not all horses do, but some have a harder time adjusting to the change in routine, diet and exercise. This can also be aggravated if the horse had been given certain steroids while in training.) Between the snow drifts in the fields and the cold temperatures, there is not a whole lot for these guys to do. We have had the vet out and he has conducted health exams on all of our horses. They are all healthy, and we are trying a grain with a higher fat content to see if this will help. Right now, we are all praying for this winter to be over the SUN and the WARMTH to come back!
Our Son Rob had just been adopted in December, but his adoptive owner had a sudden change in a family situation that makes it almost impossible for her to have a horse right now. So, Our Son Rob is back with us and is again available for adoption. Let us all hope that with spring, we get a lot of adopters looking for some nice horses.
Also, we have listed some of our horses in the TRF Thoroughbred Adoption website: www.thoroughbredadoption.com/home.aspx . If you click on SEARCH for a horse, and look for horses in New York, Ohio, or West Virginia, you will find them.
(Continued on Part 2)
We had a little lull in activity, and then it seemed that we got swamped with one thing or another! There has been a lot of activity for our two officers, myself and Darlene. I can't recall if this was included in a previous update, but the Board of Directors has decided that we will have two officers - Bonnie Mizrahi, President, and Darlene Robinette, Vice President & Secretary. The remaining Board Members decided it would be best not to be officers on a day-to-day basis, but they remain "in the loop" on our activities.
APRIL 7, 1997
April 7, 2007 will mark the 10 year anniversary of the day that the champion horse, Exceller, met his death in a slaughterhouse because his owner deemed him to be of no value. At the time of his death, Exceller was 23. www.excellerfund.org/drf.htm
The Exceller Fund was first formed in September 1997, three months after the news of his untimely death was made known in an article in the Daily Racing Forum by Mike Mullaney. The Exceller Fund was started among a group of posters on the original Bloodhorse Forum. These posters were racing fans who all remembered Exceller, and while discussing/debating/arguing the merits of Cigar and Skip Away, all posters realized that Exceller was probably as good or better, considering his record in the shadow of superstars such as Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Alydar, Forego, and Spectacular Bid.
These racing fans sought to start something that would achieve at least two goals - help perpetuate the name of Exceller, a horse often overlooked and forgotten among the decade of superstar champions, and to try to save other Thoroughbreds from meeting his same fate. The Bloodhorse forum is long gone, but The Exceller Fund, and the racing fans who formed it, continue.
As we are poised on this anniversary marking a decade since his death, The Exceller Fund supports one of his daughters, Almata, as a retiree of The Exceller Fund. Just this month, we have also taken in Luckymata (see below), the last foal of Almata, who retired from racing this year. Luckymata suffered a series of injuries that make it unlikely that he will ever be ridable, but in doing so he also set a new course record for 8.5 furlongs, and won 10 out of 37 races. His connections donated him to The Exceller Fund so he would have a safe and secure future.
We also helped another daughter of Exceller by the name of Narrow Escape. Way back in early 2004 when Old Friends was still mainly a concept with some promised paddocks at Afton Farm but no horses as yet, we contacted Michael Blowen to ask if he would foster this daughter of Exceller who was being put up for sale at the Fasig-Tipton sale. Since we had already been successful in having Almata donated to us by the owner, Franks Farms, we were confident that the elderly Narrow Escape would be donated as well, but we did not have an available foster home.
Seeing that we were already over budget on horse care expenses, Michael Blowen made arrangements to have Narrow Escape donated to his newly formed organization, and thus the mare, Narrow Escape, became the first horse for the proposed retirement farm for stallions!
The Exceller Fund is still 100% volunteer, and the officers and board members of The Exceller Fund are expected to cover admin expenses either out of pocket or by making a donation. The Exceller Fund has no paid staff, and we strive to have as much of our donations as possible towards the purchase, transport, board, care, vet and farrier expenses of the horses. If you set aside the donations made by our officers and board members, then 100% of the rest of our donations go to pay for the horses and their needs.
Our budget last year was just over $70,000 which is not a lot when you consider the monthly costs for each horse. I wish to thank all of the original and early days Exceller Fund Members who have stayed with us over the years. When you add together the horses that we have had in our program, the horses outside our program that we have helped, and the horses that found homes through our listing services, we have helped hundreds of horses avoid the death that took Exceller.
HONORARY BOARD
We are in the process of creating an Honorary Board. We have 5 highly respected people in the Thoroughbred and equine world accept our invitation to be an Honorary Board Member. An Honorary Board Member has no official duties although they are invited to attend Board Meetings. Due to our geographic dispersion, the Board Meetings for The Exceller Fund are held via conference call. Our Honorary Board Members are: Steve Haskin, Barbara Livingston, Gary Contessa, Hallie McEvoy, and Lorna Coyle, DVM.
TRIPLE CROWN MAGAZINE
This year, Triple Crown magazine will again run an ad for free for us. I received this e-mail in early January:
We are already working on our TC 07 magazine and I would like to know if you are interested in participating on it this year too. If so, this is what I can offer you: a full page ad in exchange for an article about horse racing charities and the future of horses after their racing career is over.
With the help of our Board, Catherine Deely, Darlene Robinette, and Melissa Miller and Karla Phaneuf, we wrote an article about The Exceller Fund, and how we worked with CANTER and Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation to secure a new career for Glo Most Hot (now at Chukkar Farms Polo School), and with CANTER and Washington Thoroughbred Transitional Facility to secure the retirement for Cumberland Gap, a horse who ran in 161 RACES through AGE 14!!! Cumberland Gap, or "Joe" has been retired by Darlene at the Washington facility where he enjoys romping in the pasture with other retired Thoroughbreds.
We have a whole new full page ad that was designed by a CANTER volunteer for us. After two months of doing mortgage loan audits, all creativity in my brain is fried, and I simply could not come up with an exciting new design. Please be sure to get a copy of the magazine for the article and the ad!
Here is the information about how you can obtain a copy of this magazine:
The magazine is mailed around April 20th, planning on people having it before May 5th (Derby day). We don’t sell the magazine; we just send it via direct mail to our subscribers. Tell the people who are interested to subscribe to the following site: www.horsebettingguides.com and that way they will be able to receive it. Thanks!
NEW WEBSITE
We are working on a complete revamp of our existing website. The new design should be easier to navigate and offer a fresh new look for us. Now that we are almost at 10 years, its time to update our look. It has been a very slow process since we are not using a commercial website company, and we have gone back and forth on design and layout, and then there are times we have had to simply put it to the side and concentrate on emergency issues. I hope we will be able to roll out our website within a month. In the meantime, non-urgent updates to the website are on hold to allow our webmaster time to retro-fit our pages into the new format.
EXCELLER FUND EBAY AUCTIONS - ON NOW
We have 3 Auctions on eBay right now for unopened packages of "1970's Celebrate The Century" stamps from the Post Office. Racing fans lobbied and petitioned for the Post Office to include the great SECRETARIAT and his Triple Crown victory in the 1970's series. Secretariat won the Triple Crown after most horsemen and racing experts concluded that no horse would ever win this series after the last Triple Crown winner Citation had won in 1948. Secretariat broke a 25 year drought bringing a bright spot to a nation beset with the Vietnam War, Watergate and social upheaval.
You can see them at the following links:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270095927767
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270095928471
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270095928708
Or follow all 3 on our "About Me" page on eBay: cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=exceller_fund
Also, since we are registered with Mission Fish, anyone can do an eBay Auction and name The Exceller Fund as beneficiary. At least 10% of the auction proceeds needs to benefit a charity in order to qualify as a "Giving Works" auction which is monitored by Mission Fish. If you would like more information on how to do that, please send an e-mail to mail@excellerfund.org
Please also be sure to check out Pat DeLong's store for her fabulous artwork. She generously donates a portion of sales to The Exceller Fund:
stores.prime-equine.com/StoreFront.bok
UPDATES ON OUR HORSES
Luckymata
Luckymata is now at his new home with Robin Hurst in Missouri. Some of your may recognized Robin as she operates the Out2Pasture farm that fosters horse for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Robin comes highly recommended by many rescue organizations. When we were first contacted about Luckymata, I asked Robin if she would have room for him. Robin was delighted to be able to foster a horse for The Exceller Fund. Robin's specialty is horses that may only be pasture sound, and she receives excellent support form the University of Missouri Equine Ambulatory Program.
The weather in southern Illinois and Missouri was beyond terrible for most of February. Finally, near the end of February, we caught a break and Luckymata was able to be transported to Robin's farm. Luckymata has a variety of injuries from racing including pins in one ankle and the fractured vertebrae in his neck. He will never be ridable, and our best hope is that he can enjoy his retirement without pain.
After arrival, he was taken to the University of Missouri to be gelded. His surgery and recovery went very well, and he is back "home" and settling in to retirement. Here is what Robin has to say about "Lucky":
I believe I rated him as a 4 when I first emailed Bonnie, but I believe that was overly optimistic and he is more like a 3. This was a sad day and I think what little flesh we see on him is from his fur standing on end from a cool ride from ILL. Note the stance he has and the light had really gone from his eyes. He was listless. The first week, he had the following done: full exam (day 2),teeth floated, started on gastro guard for his ulcers, de-wormed, castrated (no issues), placed on bute, replaced by Devil's Claw, oral HA, surpass on ankle. He is given daily massages and we do leg stretches to loosen him up so he can bend better. Meals are: all the alfalfa he can eat (we eased him on this), soaked beet pulp with molasses available at all times, 2 x daily grain with coca Soya, oral HA applied. He has had no intestinal distress.
The next set of 3 pics were taken day 5- 1week. Note he is standing better; more relaxed. Oh, sorry that he is "dressed" in rags; this blanket is my old mare's; she is long gone, but I kept her blanket and Lucky is so malnourished that it is the only blanket he doesn't swim in. Ha. Ha. So, although he is dressed like a pauper, he truly is a king.
(This next one is GORGEOUS - You can see his grand-daddy Exceller - shining through!)
I have to admit that I was very concerned about Lucky coming as a stallion. I kept stressing to Bonnie that we had all gimps here and the herd he would need to (eventually) be placed in (bc of his condition) is a herd of 3 mares: one blind, one 28 with no teeth, one who walks sideways (EPM). To make a long story short, I believe I really rushed the castration, given his condition, although now that has been well over a week and all went smoothly, it worked out. What I wanted you all to know is, as seen in the last few pictures, Lucky has no issues being in with these mares--I hadn't planned on integrating him for awhile, given his fragile condition and well as hormones still circulating; however, once we built up to him being let out a couple times a day, he would gradually get closer and closer to the girls and never made any attempt to display. Our oldest would give him the stink eye, and he'd just turn and walk away. Finally, he won the old girl over with his submissiveness (and this from a horse who has only been gelded for 2 weeks), and is the constant companion of our blind mare, Mya. Mya is the horse you see with Lucky in the pics. She is a blind, 20 year-old TB who showed up at a nasty sale in OK. A lovely lady named Diane bought her for $10 and TRF sent her here. Mya was a 2 on the scale when she arrived; her story is a tear jerker and I cannot tell you how delighted I am that she and Lucky are inseparable: they actually eat out of the same bucket; sometimes both heads in at the same time. I really do waste away hours just watching them; so trusting of each other. Lucky often hides behind Mya when our old girl looks around and tries to give him the stink eye trick. I guess I feel a little foolish about how I feared Lucky would be an issue, no being gelded, when he got here. However, the reality is that he is becoming a vital link in this family web of "the girls" who can't be in with any other horses bc of their own health issues.
To finish, Lucky is a gift; a gift of pure joy. He is loved greatly by me and my Dad (he helps me with all the horses). It is so fun watching Lucky come out of his shell. Dad describes him as "nosey in a good way". Meaning: he is curious; he wants to be loved. Now that his pain is subsiding, he is really coming into his own.
Lucky is so worth loving; so deserving of the best in life. I will try my very best to provide that for him. Please know that anyone associated with Exceller Fund has an open invitation to come visit Lucky and stay with us. We have lots of room and no kids (just lots of dependent dogs, cats, etc.) Ha. Ha. If anyone has any questions or care concerns/recommendations, please feel free to let me know. Much Fondness, Robin
The next set of 3 pics were taken day 5- 1week. Note he is standing better; more relaxed. Oh, sorry that he is "dressed" in rags; this blanket is my old mare's; she is long gone, but I kept her blanket and Lucky is so malnourished that it is the only blanket he doesn't swim in. Ha. Ha. So, although he is dressed like a pauper, he truly is a king.
(This next one is GORGEOUS - You can see his grand-daddy Exceller - shining through!)
I have to admit that I was very concerned about Lucky coming as a stallion. I kept stressing to Bonnie that we had all gimps here and the herd he would need to (eventually) be placed in (bc of his condition) is a herd of 3 mares: one blind, one 28 with no teeth, one who walks sideways (EPM). To make a long story short, I believe I really rushed the castration, given his condition, although now that has been well over a week and all went smoothly, it worked out. What I wanted you all to know is, as seen in the last few pictures, Lucky has no issues being in with these mares--I hadn't planned on integrating him for awhile, given his fragile condition and well as hormones still circulating; however, once we built up to him being let out a couple times a day, he would gradually get closer and closer to the girls and never made any attempt to display. Our oldest would give him the stink eye, and he'd just turn and walk away. Finally, he won the old girl over with his submissiveness (and this from a horse who has only been gelded for 2 weeks), and is the constant companion of our blind mare, Mya. Mya is the horse you see with Lucky in the pics. She is a blind, 20 year-old TB who showed up at a nasty sale in OK. A lovely lady named Diane bought her for $10 and TRF sent her here. Mya was a 2 on the scale when she arrived; her story is a tear jerker and I cannot tell you how delighted I am that she and Lucky are inseparable: they actually eat out of the same bucket; sometimes both heads in at the same time. I really do waste away hours just watching them; so trusting of each other. Lucky often hides behind Mya when our old girl looks around and tries to give him the stink eye trick. I guess I feel a little foolish about how I feared Lucky would be an issue, no being gelded, when he got here. However, the reality is that he is becoming a vital link in this family web of "the girls" who can't be in with any other horses bc of their own health issues.
To finish, Lucky is a gift; a gift of pure joy. He is loved greatly by me and my Dad (he helps me with all the horses). It is so fun watching Lucky come out of his shell. Dad describes him as "nosey in a good way". Meaning: he is curious; he wants to be loved. Now that his pain is subsiding, he is really coming into his own.
Lucky is so worth loving; so deserving of the best in life. I will try my very best to provide that for him. Please know that anyone associated with Exceller Fund has an open invitation to come visit Lucky and stay with us. We have lots of room and no kids (just lots of dependent dogs, cats, etc.) Ha. Ha. If anyone has any questions or care concerns/recommendations, please feel free to let me know. Much Fondness, Robin
Ton of Gold and Prospector Sally
Our two "boys" have been moved from Tim Armstrong's place in Southern Illinois to the ranch owned by Diane Templemeyer near Tulsa Oklahoma. Tim has been kind enough to provide free pasture board for us, but the time had come for us to move these two to an area where they have a good chance of being adopted. Diane is an approved foster for Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, and has a large ranch and many friends in the local equestrian community. Many of her friends are in their 50's to 70's and are looking for a nice horse to walk along a trail for a couple of times each month. Both Ton of Gold and Prospector Sally were deemed not ridable by ReRun due to their arthritis. However, they have both been moving sound in the pasture at Tim's, and Diane has reported the same since they arrived in February. Her son rode Ton of Gold at walk in the pasture and did not detect any lameness or discomfort.
They will try riding Prospector Sally this weekend. If his manners are nice and he is sound at the walk under saddle, he may have an adoptive home very soon with a woman who is looking for a tall, quiet horse. Keep your fingers crossed that Sal does find his forever home. This poor boy had been on the track, and then he was used as a lesson horse for a few years before being dropped at an auction where he wound up in a "kill" pen in New York. We were alerted to him by our former member Lisa Amarino, and when we got him, he was standing in two feet of mud. He was with ReRun New York for a few months, but did not seem to do well there. When he arrived at Tim's place last year, he was about 100 pounds underweight, and we have not been able to put much back weight on him. Diane will work with some additional supplements, and we may try some ulcer treatment to see if we can improve his appetite (he is a fussy eater), and also control his cribbing. At one point, ReRun advised us that we should consider euthanizing Sal due to his arthritis, so it would be very nice if Sal does find a home "on the range."
Here is Prospector Sally just after he arrived in Oklahoma - You can see he is thin and has some rain rot after going through a very rough winter. Diane is treating it but cannot bath him as the weather is still too cold.
Here is Ton of Gold just after he arrived with Sal. Yes, these two boys were together, and Ton Of Gold looks like he never missed a meal! Diane feels he should find a new home soon! Let's hope she is right. I think Ton Of Gold has been on our "payroll" the longest of any horse that we have been trying to adopt! He NEEDS a home!
Almata and Franchised, and Franconia
Lori Neagle has let us know that both Almata and "Franny" are doing well. Almata can now go barefoot again, and we hope that her foot troubles are behind her. Franny is also recovering from her foot surgery, and the two girls enjoy each other's company in the pasture at Lori's farm. Considering their ages (Almata is 25, and Franchised is 23) both of these gals are doing very well. And then, of course, we have Franconia, also at Lori's farm. She is also 25 but looks (and acts!) much younger. She is the undisputed "Queen" of the pasture, and Almata, Franchised, and the horses that Lori fosters for ReRun, Serendipity and Tall Glass of Water, all recognize her authority!
Lori also believes that these gals will be in Barbara Livingston's soon to be released "Old Friends 2". As soon as I found out for sure, I will let all of you know!
Countontherun
Our newest horse is doing fine in Ohio. He is being cared for at Kevin Chumney's farm in Salem, Ohio. Kevin also boards horses for CANTER, and he is well known to many people involved with Thoroughbreds and rescue in the Ohio/West Virginia area. Kevin thinks that "Count" should find an adoptive home easily. The main problem now is the weather, and not too many people are looking for horses right now. Actually, not too many people are looking at much of anything in the cold and/or snowbound areas of the country!
Midnite Ruckus
Becky believes that Midnite Ruckus will make an awesome dressage horse for someone with experience and patience in dealing with a young horse that does not have a lot of confidence. Here is a photo of "Ruckus" at the trot:
and the taking flight!:
Rich In Dallas
For some reason, Dallas seems to have gone on a writer's strike. I will have to ask Paul if there is something wrong with the computer in Dallas' stall, or why we haven't received a letter lately. Personally, I think he is sulking that not all of his ribbons were wanted by his fans. THERE ARE STILL A FEW RIBBONS LEFT. Please send an e-mail to Treasurendoodle@aol.com if you would like to buy one of Rich In Dallas' show ribbons.
Kelly has been busy with local fundraising projects to help raise money for surgery for Sully's Silver. In February, she had a "Heart" campaign at the local tack shop, and this month Here is what Kelly tells us:
Hello everyone!
In mid-february (I had alot going on, so I was late) I started the HEARTS campaign at the local tack shop. Red and Pink construction paper hearts could be purchased for $1 each and a message written on them. They were hung above the checkout area, and a sign promised a drawing for Feb. 28th to one lucky person of a $10 gift certificate to the store.
I dropped by to count the hearts and we sold 10. Purchased the $10 gift certificate, and it was a wash. HOWEVER, while I was changing the sign and setting up the construction paper shamrocks for March, we sold 4 in just one day! Yahoo!
I am hoping that we just had a slow start. The girls who work at the store asked lots of questions about TEF, and we visited some of the horses online. They were very excited and promised to tell all the customers about the shamrocks!
I dropped by to count the hearts and we sold 10. Purchased the $10 gift certificate, and it was a wash. HOWEVER, while I was changing the sign and setting up the construction paper shamrocks for March, we sold 4 in just one day! Yahoo!
I am hoping that we just had a slow start. The girls who work at the store asked lots of questions about TEF, and we visited some of the horses online. They were very excited and promised to tell all the customers about the shamrocks!
New York:
Sully's Silver, Pro On The Road, Handsome Jolly Jim, Winds of Summer, Mad Mac, Wild Eye Bill, Distant Kid, Good And Game, and Our Son RobThis year has brought a very HARSH winter to Oswego County, New York which is where Triple L Stables is located. Record low temperatures and snow levels, not to mention that wind chill factor, has brought one of the worst winters in that area for years. Four of our horses who came off the track this year, Winds of Summer, Mad Mac, Wild Eye Bill and Distant Kid, have been having a tough time with this. They are still adjusting to the metabolic changes after training and racing, but they are not able to go out and exercise on a regular basis. (As an aside, Kevin Chumny told me it is not unusual for a Thoroughbred to drop weight a few months after they leave the track. Not all horses do, but some have a harder time adjusting to the change in routine, diet and exercise. This can also be aggravated if the horse had been given certain steroids while in training.) Between the snow drifts in the fields and the cold temperatures, there is not a whole lot for these guys to do. We have had the vet out and he has conducted health exams on all of our horses. They are all healthy, and we are trying a grain with a higher fat content to see if this will help. Right now, we are all praying for this winter to be over the SUN and the WARMTH to come back!
Our Son Rob had just been adopted in December, but his adoptive owner had a sudden change in a family situation that makes it almost impossible for her to have a horse right now. So, Our Son Rob is back with us and is again available for adoption. Let us all hope that with spring, we get a lot of adopters looking for some nice horses.
Also, we have listed some of our horses in the TRF Thoroughbred Adoption website: www.thoroughbredadoption.com/home.aspx . If you click on SEARCH for a horse, and look for horses in New York, Ohio, or West Virginia, you will find them.
(Continued on Part 2)