The Pony That Wouldn’t Give Up {VIDEO}

I'd be lying if I told you this weekend wasn't super stressful. It was... Thank God for great friends and amazing veterinarians. I wish I was a better writer. This is as close as I can come to adequately conveying how scared we were for our Sunny girl this weekend with out rambling all over the place. As you might know, between my mother and I, we have seven horses. Each one of them is special in their own way and they each have distinctive personalities. It's clear now, our little Sunny is a first class fighter! We got Sunrise aka Sunny a few years ago. My mom just liked the looks of her. It took her a second to get with the program... But that was okay, it takes a while to gain real trust with horses as well as people. Since then, she's become a part of our family. In the last few months, we placed Sunny in training with Amanda Zimmerman. She comes out to ride her twice a week and Sunny has been progressing by leaps and bounds and has turned into the biggest sweetie with the constant attention.  We had planned to enter her in her first shows in March... Hunters at the Pony Club show and Dressage at the first TSDS show of the year the following weekend. Saturday, those hopes were dashed. My intent was to go out for a leisurely ride around the farm since the arena was still wet. But, as I was tacking up my big guy, Paisano, I saw Sunny get down and roll in her stall. I laughed, figuring since she had just been groomed, she had a itchy spot that needed extra attention. Little did I know, this was going to turn in to one of the scariest days I've ever had with one of my horses. We checked her out, and she just wasn't 'right.' Get the cell phone, it's time to call the vet.

Without going into too much detail for the non 'horsey' set, we had two separate farm calls within hours before calling our friend Lori to please bring her trailer. As soon as she got there, we knew it was time to load up. We hauled to Haughton Animal Hospital where Dr. Moore told us it wasn't looking good. Imagine our surprise... what we had also thought was a 'routine' colic was turning into a nightmare. I mean, just two weeks prior before all of the crazy weather came again we had ridden all over Bodcau. It was time to load her up again and take her to Benton. We met Dr. Andrew Lewis at Red River Equine. He wasn't hopeful either after her exam and ultra sound. When we left Sunny in his care, I have to be honest, we thought that was it. Imagine our surprise when the phone rang bright and early Sunday morning saying that not only had Sunny made it through the night, she was doing MUCH better! We were elated!!! How could you not be when you had basically already written her off. I know that's horrible, but it truly was that serious. When we got back to the barn late Saturday night, it was almost like our other horses even knew. They were hanging close, ignoring their hay and looking for comfort.

I went to see Sunny this morning before work. If you ignore the shaved patches and IV tubing sutured to her neck, you'll see a horse who just wasn't ready to go. She's a fighter!!! Oh yeah, and she is sooo ready to go home. Doc says maybe as soon as tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed! Thanks to all of our friends and family who pitched in to help this weekend. You have no idea how much you're appreciated. It's hard sometimes when you're a private stable without a staff. You never know, you might see Sunny in a show ring soon strutting her stuff. Clearly, she's not going to let anything hold her down. I'm just so glad we didn't have to do surgery! It really is already a great Valentine's Day... It's fitting that she's 'red."