Dear Animal Loving Angels,
I hope this edition finds you enjoying the sunshine and looking forward to many memorable summer adventures!
It is hard to believe we have been at the new ResqRanch location for over 6 months. In that time it feels like we have gotten years worth of projects done in only such a short time! I am so grateful to my contractor and his crew who have been at the property weekly throughout the winter, making sure everything is clean, safe and secure for people and animals.
And now, it’s time to share this magical place with the community.
We have been hard at work filling up our summer schedule with fun programs and opportunities to come and enjoy the horses and the outdoors. This being our first year in full operation at our new place, we are offering a variety of shorter classes as we figure out what programs are important to the community.
Fun Fact: Did you know we are officially zoned a petting farm? Which is fantastic news considering as a Positive Reinforcement Education Center, riding horses is not a priority for us. What is important is the animal’s having a choice in everything that happens to them here. Which is why, although we are an official petting farm, the horses still get to choose if and when they interact with visitors. The last thing we want is for the animals to dread or be scared of guests. We want it to be fun for them, too!
And the easiest way for us to make that happen, is to have a staff of well-trained Positive Reinforcement, or R+, trained horse trainers, to guide all the interactions. So far we have had several applications for folks interested in joining us for my summer train-the-trainer program. This is basically a hands-on way to practice everything I teach in my Horse Training Masterclass, which can be purchased here https://www.digibrand.online/drqmasterclass/. We still could use more volunteer horse trainers, so if this is something you have been thinking about, please send us an email with your letter of intent so that we can train you, and you can in turn help us spread the message of R+ horse training throughout the world. If the days and times we are offering the program are not good for you (please see our event calendar here https://www.resqranch.org/events) please email us anyway with days and times that might work for you, and we will see if we can make it work.
We are also looking to partner with organizations in the community that would like to expand and offer horse programs. If you are an organization hoping to add non-riding horse therapy as one of your offerings, please let us know. We want to partner with you!
Additionally, we are still looking for donors, and sponsors, so that we can rescue more horses in need. Those 7 horses we have been trying to adopt since the beginning of the year are still tied up in the legal system. Please pray we will be able to get all 7 of those dear creatures out of the holding facility they are in and where they can live back together as one big family. We will need a bigger barn to accommodate them. We are accepting donations now so we are ready before winter arrives again. And this bigger barn will allow us to offer even more kids camps, and training classes for kids and adults on how to use positive reinforcement horse training, the most compassionate way to train any animal, to do anything! Please help us make this dream a reality!
Contribute to animal care here.
We have a lot of classes in the works that we need teachers for, as well. For example, we would like to have a very simple conversational German class for beginners, with horses, a simple fun percussion music class, with horses, and someone to teach simple roping techniques, to name a few. So if you have time and talent to spare, and would like to share your gifts, connect with others in the community, and be around horses, then we want you!
Fridays throughout the month of June I will be teaching a Patio-Polite Dog Training class at the Parkside Cafe starting at 3 pm. Plan to bring your dog on a leash, where we will start with a short walk at the park across the street, and end with fun conversation about dogs and dog training while sitting on the outdoor patio and give our dogs a chance to practice polite social skills. It should be really fun and just in time for patio season!
We are still looking for a Scout Troop or just volunteers to help us build a trail around the property. In this way we can have a nice path for families with small children, and everyone else to enjoy.
And don’t forget we plan to celebrate the three full moons of the summer with a drum circle, and an opportunity to leave the past behind and find spiritual community and rebirth. Please reach out to us if you are moved to be a leader for this gathering.
As far as the animals are concerned, they are fully enjoying their life at our new facility. When the weather was rainy day and night for days on end, we brought them to nice cozy stalls at night to relax and eat dinner out of the weather. When the weather is nice, they get to roam the entire 10 acres where they are doing a great job keeping the grass trimmed while enjoying fresh food. They spend their nights safe in their corral with free choice grass hay to enjoy. None of them currently need any special supplements or grain, and all of them are holding their weight naturally, just the way a horse should live. They all look great, are relaxed, and are really enjoying their natural life! Of course it costs a small fortune to allow horses to eat all they want. So your donations are deeply appreciated! Thank you! https://resqranch-powered-by-the-prince-of-flame-fund.networkforgood.com/projects/115706-the -resqranch
Thank you so much to all the donors and supporters who have helped us get here, and stay here on this very special property! Phase one was just getting the place cleaned up and safe for animals and people. Phase two is building a bigger barn with 20 stalls (we are zoned for 20 horses) and an indoor and outdoor arena. Just imagine what kind of classes and programs we can offer then!
The first Sunday of the month throughout the summer will be more of an open house where you can just come and visit, and learn more about us, what we do, and how we do it. We will have little mini camps for kids. Once we have that group of trained trainers, we will be able to offer longer summer camps for kids.
Please just keep in mind for the safety and security of our animals, we are open by appointment only, so please email us if you plan to attend our events, so we know you are coming. Even the last minute is fine, otherwise the gate may be locked and you may have wasted a chance, and we don’t want that, we want this to become a community happy place!
If you have not done so yet, please take a moment right now and subscribe to our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@The1DrQ. And while you are there leave us a comment about what training videos you would like to see!
Be on the lookout for many more educational materials becoming available, including my Positive Reinforcement handbook for dogs and cats, and ResqRanch branded merchandise, the proceeds for all of which go back into helping us do even more, for YOU.
Thank you for reading, God bless, and hope to see you soon at one of our many summer events!
- DrQ and the Crew of Aspen Park Vet Hospital and the ResqRanch