By now you are all likely in the full swing of the holiday spirit, thinking of gifts, parties, and then New Year’s Resolutions. The time has seemed to fly by, am I right?
I speak for the entire team when I say it sure has gone quickly for us here at Aspen Park Vet hospital, and even faster for the ResqRanch.
Why? The ResqRanch, it’s the nation’s premiere positive reinforcement animal sanctuary. We are busy every day teaching people how to train horses, caring for rescue horses, and hosting community events to bring all animal and nature lovers together. Besides rescuing 3 more horses, our biggest achievement in 2024 was securing a $15,000 grant for our Veteran’s Pathways Project, which will allow us to have people of all abilities come to the ranch, and enjoy the wonderful world of horses.
If your new year’s resolution happens to include getting horses into your life, and/or giving back to an impactful non-profit in your community, then we need you! We need help with promoting and organizing events, cleaning and organizing tack for our equine thrift store the Tack Shack, podcasts, TikTok, and even board members.
The easiest way to help is eat at BeauJo’s Pizza in downtowhttp://www.petsresqme/Santapicsn Evergreen anytime on Saturday December 7th. That day they have generously agreed to donate 20% of the profits for the day to the ResqRanch to help us buy hay for the horses, isn’t that great! Please help us get the word out, and come on down that day. Feed yourself and feed a horse, and let’s face it who doesn’t love pizza!
The next way you can be a part of the ResqRanch community is by coming to one of our Pet Pictures with Santa events. We do this annually at Aspen Park Vet Hospital in Conifer, which happens December 14th, Saturday, from 12-2. Yet the exciting news is that for the first time ever, we will be holding it at the Ranch too! We will be having Pet Pictures at the ResqRanch the following day on December 15th, Sunday, 12-3pm. I mean who doesn’t want to get to see Santa, get a picture with the whole family, and if you're lucky get to get up close and personal with some beautiful horses too, wow! We expect a lot of people this year, so we could really use some “Elves” to help us with parking, gathering donation items for the gift bags, decorating for the event, being a ball squeaker behind the camera, etc. And if you just want to attend the event with your family, for either or both days, just please sign up at www.PetsResqMe/Santapics, we can’t wait to see you all there!
And of course for those of you who want to actually work with us in our weekly training sessions with the rescue horses directly, we need you, too! We are always in need of amazing people to help us care for and train the animals in our sanctuary, and further the message of Positive Reinforcement (R+) Training for all animals. With that in mind, and considering the therapy and training that each horse progresses through daily, we do hold our volunteers and trainers to a higher standard of understanding and ability to apply the principles of R+ training. Therefore, we require all volunteers who wish to do hands-on with the horses to complete Dr. Q’s online Horse Training Master Class, before they are approved to handle the animals. This is true for any experience level even Olympic riders unless you are already well versed in how to use R+. This helps to not only ensure your safety and the safety of our rescue animals, but it also ensures that you and the other volunteers are prepared to support each animal’s development and rehabilitation as part of a coordinated team effort with shared goals and benchmarks. You can find more information on that course on our website https://www.resqranch.org/horse-training-masterclass
As you can tell, we have been very busy and plan to grow even more in 2025. Want to be a part of it? Tell us about your amazing talent and what you can contribute. We welcome all the help we can get! We always need help with things around the ranch, clean-up days, rebuilding fences, and wildfire mitigation, or, perhaps you are a social media, event planning, or non-profit supporting whiz, then please help us with that as well! All are welcome! Thanks in advance for believing in our being a part of furthering our mission: through education, end the need for horse rescues, in the first place, and our vision: through positive reinforcement or R+ animal training, help people and animals, live happier, and healthier, longer!
Happy holidays, Merry Christmas and many blessings to you all for a wondrous 2025, and beyond!!
DrQ and the Crew of Aspen Park Vet Hospital and the ResqRanch