At Sunrise Sanctuary, we strive to give every precious soul that finds his or her way to us a wonderful life and the best of care we can provide well into their golden years.  Age can bring about some health issues and we work hard with a variety of professionals to help our equine navigate these challenges and have the best quality of life possible.

 

As you can imagine, many of the babies that come to Sunrise have had a difficult past and each has challenges to overcome.  Some physical, some emotional.  The plan of care for each is unique and tailored to help ensure they thrive. 

 

We want to highlight the care provided to the equine, as they tend to be the most expensive to care for and where much of our budget is allocated.

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Each spring we do our annual equine wellness vet visit, in which the horses get vaccinated against diseases (such as those carried by mosquitoes), get their vitals checked, and have their very important dental check-up and dental exams (floating of the teeth and/or extractions) as needed.  This spring, the cost for this routine care was just over $2,600.  

 

On an ongoing basis, we provide our horses and donkeys with high quality nutrition, joint and other nutrient dense supplements to help with their arthritis and overall well being. Their food, specialized treats and supplements average over $5,000 each year.  This does not include the hay, which we test for low sugar and to ensure it is high quality hay.  The entire Sunrise family including everyone goes through about 1,500 bales each year.

 

Preacher and Alice receive chiropractic adjustments as needed given by their equine vet at OSU, Dr. Parkinson.  Several of our babies receive MagnaWave therapy bodywork provided by Taylored Equine Bodywork (on average of 3 times a month at an approximate annual cost of over $5,000) They all receive specialized hoof care from our amazing farrier, Joey’s Farrier Service, including synthetic shoes for Alice and Preacher with specialized orthotic boots when they are not in their shoes.  The specialized hoof care and regular trims average over $7,000 each year. Several of our babies are on equinox and Prascend on a regular basis, on average we spend just shy of $5,000 each year on these two meds alone.  We also do hoof radiographs and bloodwork at least annually and more often as needed.  

 

Of course there are all of the extras they need (enrichment, fly control, etc.).  The cost of caring for our precious equine babies is staggering, ranging from $25,000 to $35,000 each year and we could not do what we do without you.  We need your help to ensure we are able to continue to provide this enhanced level of care to these precious souls.  Will you help us give our equine the best life possible by donating to their care?  Your donations mean the seven equines at Sunrise, Preacher, Alice, JJ, Strawberry, Daisy, Willie and Danica will continue to receive the best care we can provide.

 

All of our equine and their stories can be found here.  Two of these precious babies are highlighted below.

 

Preacher is a beautiful 29 year old gelding who was saved in 2019 from the kill floor at auction by a wonderful organization.  He couldn’t be adopted out as a riding horse and was facing euthanasia.  They knew he was a gentle soul who deserved better and posted to see if anyone could take him in as a pasture horse.  We were very full, but felt he belonged here.  He and Alice are best friends.  He came with very bad hooves and severe arthritis,  The enhanced care has helped tremendously to give him a much better quality of life.

 

Alice is such a beautiful girl. Her transformation is truly something heartwarming. Alice came to us from a Humane Society back in 2017  due to serious neglect. Her previous owners didn't care for Alice much, so she was confined to a stall and neglected. On her rescue, she was extremely underweight and not in the best shape. Sunrise was happy to welcome her in. She is such a loving girl and we are so happy she found her home with us.  She is a thoroughbred and it is believed she was raced too young by the joint damage she has.  We do our very best to keep her as comfortable and happy as possible.

 

Between today and July 15th, we are trying to raise $10,000 to help offset the enormous cost of caring for these precious souls. No amount is too small, we gratefully appreciated anything you can give to help us help our Sunrise equine family live their best lives possible.