Darling Bonnie
The good people at Horse Sanctuary at Finn Farms rescued Bonnie at the Dawson Creek auction along with her friend Rosie, whose story we shared earlier this year. Both girls came from the same farm where they had been for the past eight years. Both had been pasture bred to the same stallion. Both hadn’t been handled in years and had gone a long time without proper care. They were infested with worms, covered in ticks and scars. They lived hard lives, fighting for survival out on the range. They were scared, hungry, pregnant, in poor condition and much older than what the auction papers stated.
With good care and proper nutrition their rescuers hoped they would be able to carry their babies to term. They did and Bonnie had a beautiful baby boy on April 16 named Benny.
But the pregnancy was hard on her. Bonnie had suffered a serious injury to her right hind leg a couple years ago after getting caught in some bailing twine. Instead of arranging for vet care, the owner “doctored it” herself and continued to breed her. Bonnie's rescuers suspected that the injury may have severed her deep digital flexor tendon as her right hind foot flipped up as she walked. That meant her hoof wasn't been able to naturally wear downlike the others. It became very overgrown, causing her to walk on the back of her heel, further straining her tendons and ligaments. Bonnie also suffered with DSLD, likely made worse by inadequate nutrition, being over bred and a lack of vet and farrier care. Her rescuers hoped to keep her stable and pain free so she would be able to raise Benny and slowly wean him. They knew she likely would not make it until winter but they wanted to let her enjoy a few good months before then.
One day, while tending to Benny, they found Bonnie hobbling out of their shelter. She was terribly lame and suffering. They quickly realized her ‘good’ tendon had let go. The dreams of enjoying retirement, however brief, were suddenly cut short. The emergency vet came and the only thing they could do was give her the Last Act of Kindness. Thanks to our donors we were able to provide them with our Humane Euthanasia Grant.
Benny lost his dam prematurely but thankfully he has the support of the herd and a new "mum" to watch over him. We like to imagine that Bonnie and Rosie are back together again, running pain free in the fields past the rainbow bridge.
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