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Skipper says, "Please adopt me."
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WINONA HERD UPDATE
On January 8th, we shared the story of the Winona Herd for the first time. If you missed our January 2019 e-newsletter and if you don't follow The Pegasus Project on Facebook, you may have missed this story. If so, please click
HERE to familiarize yourself before proceeding with this article.
In just one month, we managed to adopt out all of the horses on Pegasus' list, with the exception of just three mares and one gelding! Our adoption campaign is succeeding beyond our wildest dreams. It's nothing short of a miracle! Our sincere, heartfelt thanks to all who stepped up and welcomed these beautiful horses into their lives. Our adopters are the finest quality people with the kindest hearts, and for that we are so grateful. Special thanks to Sandi Walker of Second Chance Farm in Granbury, Texas for taking the two blind mares, Shadow and Freckles Jewel, and to Carolyn Houston for adopting the blind stallion, Chico's Bartime Cowboy. We were the most worried about these special needs horses, but these wonderful women stepped up and provided them safe, loving, forever homes.
Many thanks to those of you who have donated funds to help us provide the care the entire herd needs. Grace LaPlante of New Hampshire conducted a chocolate and wine basket raffle, thereby raising $600 for the herd. Sandra and Larry James of Winona, Texas not only adopted two mares but contributed funds and endless amounts of their time doing whatever Pegasus needed day in and day out for the past three months. We are so grateful to all of you for sharing this story and keeping it alive. DON'T STOP NOW! Please read my note in the right column for a description of the four remaining horses. These deserving beauties are in desperate need of forever homes, and so please SHARE this story and help us get these precious babies placed as soon as possible!
Fortunately, only six of the mares from the Winona Herd have been confirmed pregnant. Five have not been tested by their adopters, but all other mares were tested and are not in foal. Pegasus has submitted DNA samples to the American Paint Horse Association of the three potential sires (Whiskey, Poco and Cool) so that the foals may be registered after they are born.
Pegasus took possession of the five 12-year-old stallions (Mucho, Poco, Cool, Whisky, and Playboy), had them castrated, and are seeing them through their recovery. Deborah & Mike Tansley, the owners and operators of Circle Star Pet Resort in Murchison, Texas, graciously agreed to allow us to house the stallions at their facility during the castration and healing process. In addition to opening up their wonderful barn to us at no cost, the Tansleys, at their own expense, have provided all feed, hay and shavings during the horses' 4-6 week stay at Circle Star! Their generosity literally brings tears to our eyes! We cannot begin to thank them sufficiently.
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he ex-stallions are now almost three weeks post-castration, and it's time for them to learn how to live like horses should. Sandra and Larry James are allowing us to move them to the James' beautiful ranch in Winona to adjust to gelding life in a 100+ acre pasture. After they learn to co-habitate peacefully, Sandra and Larry are adopting Mucho and will provide for his training. The remaining four horses will come to Pegasus to continue their educational development with our trainers, Bruce Logan and Anthony LaSpina. We anticipate that each will spend approximately four months at Bruce Logan's ranch before returning to Pegasus to continue their training. Once they are going nicely, we will offer them for adoption under standard Pegasus adoption protocol. Please read the article below about how YOU can sponsor Poco, Whiskey, Cool or Playboy on their journey to a forever home!
The last three months have been a whirlwind for us. When we were initially contacted about this disaster-in-the-making, we were not at all confident that we could accomplish what needed to be done to bring these horses and their unborn foals to safety. Because of our amazing staff, donors and supporters, we actually did it! We are eternally grateful to all of you for your ongoing assistance. Please keep in mind that we are not yet done. We still have four horses to place and four former stallions to train and adopt out. Your continued financial support is crucial to our success. It truly does take a village.
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~Mark Your Calendars~
April 20, 2019
Our biggest fundraiser of the year is just around the corner!
Wings Over Pegasus is our annual airplane extravaganza held at the Pegasus ranch. Each year our guests enjoy all things equine and aviation, as well as an art station, games, paint-a-horse, a raffle drawing for two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, photo opportunities with horses, airplanes & "Pegasito" the winged-donkey, and a breathtaking airshow by the "Raptor." The day will be a casual, carnival atmosphere that is tons of fun for the entire family.
Come hungry because we will have cotton candy, popcorn, sweets and delicious offerings from a variety of food trucks. You do not want to miss this event!
All proceeds benefit the horses of The Pegasus Project.
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BE A HERO!!
~Sponsor a Former Winona Herd Stallion~
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Poco
We need your help to support the training of the Winona stallions! Read below to see how you can contribute to turning their lives around.
When we first learned of the Winona Herd debacle, our immediate thought was, we must get the stallions out of there! NO MORE BREEDING! We were relieved when the owner agreed to relinquish all the 12-year-old stallions to Pegasus. While the mares and geldings were safe to adopt out "as is," we did not feel that it would be responsible to adopt out newly castrated stallions without professional handling and training. As a result, we have taken them into the Pegasus training program to prepare them for adoption under our standard protocols.
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Training freshly castrated 12-year-old horses takes experience and skill. It is also costly. Many horse rescues would never invest the time, effort and funds required to transform studs of this age into trained, adoptable geldings. But Pegasus firmly believes that every horse deserves that opportunity. Fortunately, all of these horses (Mucho, Poco, Cool, Whiskey and Playboy) are good-minded, well-bred and willing to learn. Our plan is to allow them to adjust to their new lives as geldings through the end of March. For the first time in many years, they will be released from their stallion pens and will be turned out together on more than 100 acres to enjoy being horses. It is our understanding that these guys shared space as young stud colts but were separated to live in their own individual stalls at about the age of three or four. As a result, they have not had contact with one another, freedom of movement, or friendships with other horses for more than eight years. We are going to change that!
Once these former stallions have adjusted to life as geldings, Sandra and Larry James are adopting Mucho and will see to his professional training. The other four will return to Pegasus and receive their training from Anthony LaSpina and Bruce Logan. We are hoping that each will spend about four months at Bruce Logan's ranch to get a solid foundation. They will then come to Pegasus to continue their education and be put up for adoption once they are going nicely.
We are seeking sponsors to help support the training expenses for each of these beautiful horses. Our costs will be approximately $3800/month for the four of them. One time donations designated for their training are welcome. We are also seeking monthly donations made in a horse's name to be applied directly to the horse's training bill. Our goal is to raise $15,000 between now and July 31st specifically for the training of Poco, Whiskey, Cool and Playboy. No donation is too large or too small!
All sponsors will be recognized in our upcoming e-newsletters, on our website, and at Wings Over Pegasus on April 20th. Please partner with Pegasus to give these four gorgeous boys the new lives that they deserve. If you have questions on how to become a sponsor, please contact us at allyson@mypegasusproject.org.
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A Note from Allyson
Only Four Winona Horses
Still Need Homes!
If at any time in the past you had told me I would be asked to feed more than 60 horses and place 40 of them into quality, forever homes in less than two months, I would have said it couldn't be done. And I would have been WRONG! Just goes to show that you never know what can be accomplished until you are faced with it. The Winona Herd has made a true believer out of me.
When we published the Winona Herd link on January 8, 2019, the sky opened up, and love and kindness rained down. High quality adopters requesting these lovely horses flooded my inbox. I could barely keep up with all the requests. We were updating the link daily to keep track of the rapid adoptions. In just one month's time, we had the stallions safely in our care and all horses and donkeys adopted, with the exception of just four. These four exquisite horses are highlighted in this note so that we can find them the loving homes they so deserve.
The remaining horses include Skipper & Sinnamon (Winona Nos. 52 & 17), a bonded pair that must be adopted together. They are never apart and find great comfort in each other. Both are shy and tender and in need of a loving, kind hand. They fear that you will harm them, but once they realize that you will not, they are easy to manage. They are low in the herd pecking order and avoid conflict at all cost.
Skipper has damage to his larynx from an injury 18 years ago that causes him to have labored breath. Dr. Rob Thoni did a surgery recently to help open his airway. While Skipper still sounds a bit wheezy, it does not affect his health. He and Sinnamon are both in good flesh and otherwise healthy.
The final two mares are Stormy and Lilly (Winona Nos. 14 & 11). They are more confident with people than Skipper and Sinnamon but likely fairly low in the herd order when more horses are around. Both are stunningly beautiful, healthy and easy to manage. Lilly can be a bit tricky to catch in a large area, but once haltered, she is very agreeable. These mares are friends, and it would be nice if they were adopted together, but it is not a requirement.
All four horses are currently at the Pegasus ranch. They have been vaccinated, Coggins drawn, de-wormed and feet trimmed. All will need their teeth floated once they are adopted. None are pregnant. None are rideable. They range in age from 17 to 21 years old. They are all sweet and need to have a forever home soon with a person who just wants to love them.
To read more about each horse, click the link below and then click the link for each individual horse:
Please read the link fully and follow the instructions for submitting your application. Once you have read everything, feel free to contact me with any additional questions.
Allyson DeCanio
President, The Pegasus Project
allyson@mypegasusproject.org
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February 18 - Pegasus Partner Happy Hour @ 1836 Texas Kitchen
March 16 - Open House
March 21, 22, 23 & 24 - Bruce Logan Horsemanship Clinic
April 20 - 5th Annual
Wings Over Pegasus
September 19 - North Texas Giving Day
November 2 - 8th Annual
Ride for a Rescue
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PEGASUS PARTNERS
Monday, February 18th
6:00pm
1836 Texas Kitchen
2467 Crow Road
Tyler, TX
Monthly, fun,
information-packed meetings for
Pegasus supporters at various locations throughout the year. All Pegasus Partners at the $25/month level and higher are Happy Hour members. Membership includes a car decal, a Pegasus hat or t-shirt, a Pegasus logo wine glass and an open invitation
to every meeting!
Discuss the latest Pegasus news and connect with other like-minded horse fans. (Your wine glass is free, but the wine isn't! We know how much you drink!)
Click here to join:
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DO YOU LOVE
WHAT WE DO? BECOME A PEGASUS PARTNER!
Did you know Pegasus relies entirely on private donations? Our regular monthly donors, known as
Pegasus Partners
, are our most treasured assets. For as little as $10/month you can help provide us with a predictable source of income at a much lower cost than any other fundraising method.
While we are very
appreciative of
one-time donations, the monthly donations of our Pegasus Partners
allow us to plan ahead.
Our ability to save these helpless horses, donkeys and mules depends on YOUR donations!
We cannot do this without you! Please consider making a monthly donation so we may continue to rescue horses that have no future without us.
Click here to join:
PEGASUS PARTNERS
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