Far Son is an Arabian gelding who was owned by the same family for most of his life until they experienced some severe health challenges. At a loss with how to care for their two aging horses, Far Son, and Sonata, they worked with Sunrise for an extended period until an appropriate foster home opened so that the horses could stay together. 

Seven years old, Chance was found in dire circumstances with little hope of improvement. Alone in a small stall with minimal food, he was severely emaciated. However, he is a small horse with a big spirit and has almost completely recovered from his experience.

Wanting to remove Sugar from the risky situation and knowing that a bonded companion would reduce stress from the move for her, we brought Spice in with her.

Jake came to Sunrise when his owners, who had him for years after giving him a home when they saw he was significantly underweight, were finding it hard to care for their animals as they aged. They lived in a high, remote area in the Sierra foothills of Northern California, beyond the range of veterinary and farrier care.

Arthur is an Andalusian horse, and he came to us on an emergency basis without a name in December 2022. Given to a friend when his owner left the country, the friend had him for 18 months before finding that he could no longer use the pasture Arthur was on. He had to have a new place for his horse by the following day, and he knew that a horse offered for free often goes to auction or is put at risk in a home that might misuse him.

Sailor is a quarterhorse who came under Sunrise’s care from a local trail riding operation in December 2020. Sailor’s severe seasonal allergies caused him distress while out on rides. With the help of a generous foster care organization, we set Sailor to UC Davis to learn about the optimum he needed for his future.

Raven was abandoned by her owner with a neighbor in Napa. She lived with the neighbor for 2 years, alone in a small pen most of the time. The neighbor realized that the owner was not returning and it was not sustainable to keep her.

Apollo is a quarterhorse who was born with congenital cataracts, leaving him blind since he was very young.

Sweet-natured Dreamer was born in 1996 and is a retired Arabian brood mare and was closely bonded to Sun-E when they came to Sunrise. Along with Sun-E, Dreamer was taken in by a kind couple who kept both the closely bonded mares together for eight years.

Eddy is an Off the Track Thoroughbred born in 2005. Eddy spent his recent years as a trail horse and came to Sunrise Horse Rescue when back issues made it painful for him to carry a rider. Although he can no longer be ridden, he has many more years of love to give.

Mini-Moo is a miniature horse and was born in 2011. She is the young mom to Ronnie and as such, she is fiercely protective. Some might say she is a bit of a helicopter parent, although she is learning to let her baby have some independence. The lively mini is very close to her baby, and they never stray too far from each other.

Ronnie is a miniature horse that was born in 2016 to her mom Mini Moo. She is youngest of our herd and is up for anything anytime. She closely investigates everything and doesn’t hesitate to stick her nose in your pocket in search of treats. This bad habit qualifies her for the “No Hand Feeding” rule, although she will do her best to get visitors to break it. She is responding well to halter training and will happily follow her leg rehabilitation exercises as long as there is the promise of a low-carb cookie.

Louie is a 24-year-old Quarterhorse/Thoroughbred cross. He came to Sunrise in September 2022. His owner of 15 years had to move out of state and Louie was just too big and too old to make the trip.

Willow and her mother, Rosemary, were abandoned at a stable in Walnut Creek, CA. They shared a small paddock together for 5 years. They came to Sunrise together in August 2022.

Rosemary and her daughter, Willow, were abandoned at a stable in Walnut Creek, CA. They shared a small paddock together for 5 years. They came to Sunrise together in August 2022.

Pace is a Quarter Horse cross that was born in 1991. He was a packhorse in Supai, Arizona, used to carry tourists gear in and out of the Grand Canyon under unspeakable conditions of abuse and starvation. Two friends of Sunrise were on vacation when they witnessed this, and worked tirelessly to rescue Pace and raise awareness about the abuse of Havasupai pack animals, which has been occurring for over 40 years.

Hank is a Quarter Horse cross who was born in 1995 .This handsome, polite gentleman worked for a few years as a lesson horse in the Napa area. As Hank got older, his recurrent lameness meant he could no longer fulfill that role.

Blue, born in 1996, is officially a buckskin paint, but his coloration is subtle — in some lights, he almost looks white, with shadow-like markings on parts of his body. But it’s his eyes — one of which is brown and the other a startling blue — that earned him his name.

Shaq is a quarter horse who was abandoned by the 2015 Valley Fire in Lake County, CA. He was rescued by individuals, but he required extra care for lameness issues which left him unrideable. Sunrise was contacted because Shaq’s rescuers could no longer care for him.

Reggie is a thoroughbred: he was born in 2003 and raced on the track. He then went on to have a private owner and to be ridden as a 3 day event horse. When his owner could not ride anymore due to time and financial constraints, Reggie was kept in a pasture, alone.

We teamed up with two other horse rescue organizations to save Donya and two of her pasture mates from terrible neglect and starvation. When we found them, they were eating rotten vegetables, some of which were toxic for horses, they had limited access to water, and were covered in ticks. Despite over two months of extraordinary efforts by veterinarians and dedicated volunteers, two of the three horses we rescued that day were not able to recover from their severe maltreatment.