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.
Roxy came to us in 2015 after being diagnosed with narcolepsy. She was a lesson horse, but had become increasingly unsafe to be ridden due to her condition. Lesson programs typically cannot afford to keep horses that can't be ridden, a system that we hope will be changed one day to be more humane.
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.
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.
Mickey is a Quarter Horse/ Thoroughbred cross that was born in 1999. He was slaughter-house bound when a friend of Sunrise bought him at an auction to spare him that cruel fate. While it appeared that he would make a good riding horse for someone and would be easy to re-home, it became obvious that this would not be possible due to his overall unsoundness resulting from unknown causes in his past.
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.
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.
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.
Sunrise Horse Rescue is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization, # 42-1746834
