Hanaeleh Horse Rescue and Advocacy

a non-profit horse rescue working with abandoned, neglected and abused horses. Stop horse slaughter NOW!

      
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RIP Bonnie (Haven)

June 1, 2020 By ezarkos

We are very saddened to announce that we have had to euthanize Bonnie (She was originally named Haven, but the volunteers at her foster home had begun calling her “Bonnie” and her friend “Clyde”). She seemed fine in the morning when she was fed, but later that day one of the volunteers realized there was something “off” with her in the arena. Kelley investigated and realized that Bonnie was very unsteady on her hind end, and had difficulty walking. One of our vets was on the property on a separate call, but came over immediately to determine what was wrong with her. After an examination, it was obvious that Bonnie had experienced some sort of fatal issue, probably either a heart attack or a stroke. Her blood pressure was very low and the vet noticed some heart palpitations as well.

There was little we could do at that point besides help Bonnie leave this earth peacefully. It was obvious from the examination that her internal systems were beginning to shut down, and while she may not have passed that afternoon, we did not want her to pass later that evening, alone, and in pain from a secondary issue, like a colic. There was also the issue that if she went down it was very unlikely that she would be able to get back up, which would have scared her.

We took off one of the panels from the arena so Bonnie didn’t have very far to walk, and she was calm and quiet when we took her over to the little grassy area next to the driveway. It was incredibly sad, but she was surrounded by people who loved her and cared for her. We were only able to give her four months of love, but everyday she was with us she had plenty of food and kindness. Her previous owner offered her only starvation and a bullet, but because of our generous supporters who helped to rescue her, and our kind volunteers who cared for her and Clyde everyday, we were able to give her an end with love and dignity.


We took Clyde (Cullen) over so he could say goodbye to Bonnie; horses need to know that their friends are gone as it helps with the grieving process. He was OK at first- he called out a few times as if asking us to fix her, but, of course, there was nothing we could do. He seemed to be accepting of her loss, but when we put him back into his stall he went to the back to look at the last place he saw her, and began neighing and calling for her. We finally put a little pony next to him to give him a buddy, and that might have been enough, but the pony was sad because we took her away from her other friends, so she began calling for her boyfriend next door (who called right back for her), which then set Clyde back to calling. We discovered that if we gave the pony some food she was more accepting of her new situation, but by then Clyde had gotten himself very upset, so we gave him a sedative to help him calm down. After about an hour he settled and began eating, and that evening he was much calmer. By the next day he seemed to be closer to normal and ate without any issues. He seems content enough with his new pony friend, and the pony has decided that Clyde can be another one of her boyfriends.

Pony and Clyde

We are so very sad, and Bonnie’s passing is bittersweet, but we are at least contented with the knowledge that we did everything we could for her, and from the time she came to us to the time she left our care, she was surrounded by loving hands.

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Hanaeleh

Call of the Wild July 1 2025

Call of the Wild Day of Action for America’s Wild Horses and Burros (and Public Land!)

June 30, 2025 By ezarkos

This is an urgent alert for every organization and individual who cares about the protection, preservation, and survival of America’s Wild Horses and Burros and our precious Public Lands. We must all act together on One Massive National Call-In Day of Protest. We are asking you to spend just 10 … [Read More...]

Southern California: 8 yr old Thoroughbred Gelding Needs Home!

June 23, 2025 By ezarkos

We were contacted by a woman who has been trying to find a home for her beautiful 17hh, 8 yr old (4/12/17) dappled grey Thoroughbred gelding, Argento (means silver). Argento raced when he was younger, and his registered named is Little Cairo. He is a descendent of American Pharaoh, and was sold as a … [Read More...]

Help “Spirit” 9 y/o Buckskin Quarter Horse Gelding Find a New Home (Norco CA)

June 17, 2025 By ezarkos

We were contacted by one of our supporters who had rescued a nine year-old buckskin Quarter Horse gelding from auction. He was shut down at first, but she has done quite a bit of work with him on the ground and he is starting to come around and be more sociable. Sadly, Spirit has navicular, and … [Read More...]

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