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.
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.
Sonny was a quarter horse and former riding horse who lived in Lake County for 13 years prior to coming to Sunrise. Their owner was no longer able to care for Sonny and his herdmate, Tink, and had appealed to Sunrise for help. When they were threatened by the LNU Lightning Complex Fire of 2020, Sunrise evacuated and sheltered Sonny and Tink at our Calistoga facility.
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.
A 28-year-old Arabian, shy but sweet-natured Sun-E served for many years as a brood mare before coming to Sunrise to live out her last years. When she grew too old for the job, she and her good friend Dreamer were taken in by a compassionate couple who kept them for eight years. But when those owners lost the lease on their land, both mares needed to find a new home quickly. At Sunrise, Sun-E lived with her long-time companion and was cared for lovingly until she reached a peaceful end of her days.
Wal-E was a much-loved little Morgan who was brought to Sunrise because the medications he needed for metabolic condition were too expensive for his owner. He was the resident goofball who always brought a smile to everyone’s face with his sweet, silly antics. After many years of quality love and care, Wal-E was humanely euthanized after a lost battle with colic. He is sorely missed.
Rain was a loving, sweet Arabian mare who was near starvation when she found us. After a life of being over-used as a brood mare and then cast aside when she was too old for the job, she spent the last year of her life grazing in the vineyards and being doted on by many young volunteers at the rescue before she took herself on her last vineyard stroll and was defeated by cancer.
Quincy was a beautiful Paso Fino Mare in her late 20's who was a show pony. She came to Sunrise when her previous owner could no longer care for her and her best buddy Ged. Due to her severe arthritis she could no longer be ridden or re-homed, so rescue was her only option. Quincy was comforted around the clock by our dedicated volunteers until she was humanely euthanized due to colic.
Pippin, a 29 year old Welsh Pony, was a championship show jumping pony for many years but the pressures of training and competing got to be too much for him and he had a nervous breakdown. When he arrived at Sunrise, Pippin couldn’t be approached by men without attempting to bolt for safety. It took many years and his special friendship with Cupcake for him to learn to trust people.
In California alone, 186 horses died in racing related accidents in 2012. In the US, 24 Thoroughbreds die every single week on the race track. Had Richie not been rescued after fracturing his fetlock (ankle) he would have been one of these sad statistics. Richie was a Thoroughbred that was born in 1998 and although his injuries prevented him from ever racing or being ridden again, he still had many years of quality life left. He was a sweet and gentle horse who loved to be loved and enjoyed hanging out with his good friend Mickey.
Spirit was a Mustang in his late 20's. He was neglected for 10 years at his previous home and came to Sunrise with severe arthritis in his front legs and hoofs that were in horrible shape. He was not trusting of humans when he first came to Sunrise, but he made a lot of progress because of the love, time and attention he was given by some very dedicated volunteers. He was often called "Spirit the Wonder Horse" by some of his closest friends. We will all miss him dearly.
Star was a 29 year old Thoroughbred who was abandoned when her owner was deported from Napa. Our veterinarian gave her a body score of 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 using the Henneke horse body condition scoring system (1 being extremely emaciated). Despite her poor condition, she had an extremely sweet disposition and has made a full recovery at Sunrise.
Sunrise Horse Rescue is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization, # 42-1746834
