Aspen's Wish "El Ungido"

Meet Aspen, he is a young ex racehorse who has touched the lives of countless people. was rescued 5 years ago. His Jockey Club registered name is "El Ungido" . He was foaled February 25, 2003 and is out of Lady Janell by Trippi. He had 22 starts and in those 3 first place finished. During his short career he earned almost $40,000 for his owners. He had raced shortly after Christmas and losing his last race, the barn shipped him off to slaughter. We picked him up at a gas station in January 2008 with his racing shoes still on. When I got him, he was a skeleton of a horse with fungus hidden under a poor winter coat. No one gave him any notice. They thought he wasn't worth the price to keep. Through lots of hard work and love he is now a beautiful, plump Thoroughbred gelding who can jump the moon. He will give you all his heart can give, and has the talent to do so. He has given pony rides to the neighborhood kids (these children are still asking when they can ride Aspen again), lessons to a couple special needs children (mainly with emotional problems) over the years, and taught many students to ride and jump at Shippensburg and at home, he also was the pioneer horse for the Shippensburg Equestrian Club. We are currently located in , and he has traveled back and forth with me to college at . Everyday he inspires me to be a better person. He is one of the Lord's angels on earth and brings a smile to those who meet him. Shortly after Thanksgiving he came up with an injury, x-rays have revealed it to be a fracture to his back hock, which requires a special surgery that together with his months of layup care will be 5,000 dollars or more. The surgery will be to remove a bone that has chipped off his hock joint from the original fracture site. The surgery itself was estimated from New Bolton to run $3,500-$4,000 as long as there are no complications, other facilities have estimated $2000-$2500 but worry about him hurting himself coming out of the anesthesia. His aftercare has to be with someone familiar with post operative care and luckily I have found a lovely woman affiliated with Blauner Vet and associates in who will offer me the layup board at $520/month, which is almost $500 cheaper than any other layup facility. With the surgery his prognosis is great and he can have a completely normal pain free life. I am asking for your help to pay off the surgery and his vet bills. This horse deserves the world after all he has given, and his only wish is to run again. He has brought joy to many people. Without donations like yours, will not be able to have the care he needs to live his life. Please help continue to spread his joy by donating towards his surgery fund. You can change the lives of many through your donation. For any questions or if you'd like to meet and donate in person please email [email redacted]. Thank you for caring and all your generosity.
Aspen's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Aspensfund


ASPEN HAD HIS SURGERY 2/22/13 AT NEW BOLTON
The surgery went well but we still have a lot to raise to pay off his bill almost $2500. He came through the procedure great and sutures came out on 3/4/13, however a few days later infection creeped into the joint. Now we are looking at $1000 more in vet bills. He currently is having his joint flushed every 2 days, along with antibiotics injected into his joint. He is also on antibiotic tablets twice daily, and given an I.V. injection of antibiotics and is back on complete stall rest. We are trying to stay strong. Please continue to share his story and donate. Your generosity and caring nature have gotten him this far, we can cross this finish line.

We now are focused on battling the swelling. The infection is under control as the bills continue to pile up. Aspen is worth every penny. He is released back into daily hand-walking and is enjoying his daily outings. I cannot wait till the day we all can see him running through the fields. There is no creature as majestic or with as much heart as an ex racehorse.


MIDWEST THOROUGHBREDS INC STEPS UP TO HELP!!!! 4/3/2013
This wonderful Thoroughbred racing and breeding operation across the United State; who are amazing supporters of racing industry charities and retirement facilities has stepped up and donated to help Aspen's vet bills from the surgery, and infection. With this being said I cannot express the amount of gratitude, that myself and everyone working closely with Aspen has for this operation. They have been a lifesaver. Jim Miller manager of Midwest has been very caring and helpful during the whole process. Aspen has had a miracle. Now that we can breathe again any donations made thus forth will be put towards his layup costs. Donations will go towards the layup board, therapy, supplements, and farrier bills. Your help and caring hearts have been a huge support through all of this. We will be making some items in honor of Aspen's battle and huge heart to sell, all proceeds from the sales will go towards helping other private OTTB's in need, either individually owned or by groups trying to save from Auctions. I know that Aspen was a lucky horse, and I hope from his story more awareness is brought to the plight of OTTB's and we can raise money to help even more!


UPDATE 5/10/2013:
Aspen is fairing very well, he is improving every week it seems. He has now been able to be turned out all night in a roundpen. This is the first time he has been allowed out for an extended period in over 5 months. I can't imagine how he feels to be able to begin to move again, without pain. There is stiffness and we are working diligently on retraining his muscles. Because of the injury and his body compensating for that injured side his opposite side is all tight and contorted. We have been having an equine massage therapist come out weekly to help him. The sessions are helping him along. They will be costly though, and this is where donations still coming in go to. Not only does he benefit greatly from these therapy sessions but we are also starting to fundraise to get him aquapacer therapy. These sessions will run $100/session which is where everyones hard work comes into play again. We've saved this horse, lets get him all healed up!! The therapy is essential as even though we overcame the hurdle and saved his life by obtaining the surgery, without getting his body back to the right positioning and range of motion, more problems will develop for him in the long run causes other injuries and other pains. Between the aquapacer and the massage we should be able to retrain his muscles and body to where they are supposed to be and in turn give him full motion, and flexibility back. A simple concept used greatly in human physical therapy but of course with Aspen being just over 1000 lbs it runs a bit more expensive. Thank you for everyone to continue checking in and for those who have come out to meet him. He enjoys every minute of it, and definitely is greatful for your opened hearts and continued prayers!