Plains Sugar Babe is her registered name, she is now 25 years old. She was once a beautiful, thriving young mare, born in Loma, Colorado to a Miss Leo Royal and Mr. Plains Bar. Sugar Babe has been through six owners since her birth in 1983. Some treated her like royalty and others forgot to care or worked her so hard she nearly fell over.
Sugar Babe was sold as a children's horse to previous home. The child was to take care of this horse, feed her, ride her, provide for her. Well that child found other interests and Sugar Babe was not one of them. Parents, before you purchase or adopt an animal for your children, make sure that the entire family understands that this is a lifetime commitment, not just a few years or couple of months until the fad wears off. This is a living, breathing, sentient being that is going to rely on ALL of the family to help care for them. There is a lot of money involved in veterinary care, the cost of feeding, and time in working with an animal. If the care stops, you are all responsible. All it takes is to put yourself into the shoes that animal is standing in. For Sugar Babe this meant alone, standing in a small fenced area staring at that door to your house where she knows you come out of that door to feed her, waiting for days and watching you walk right past her to get in the car and go grocery shopping or to a friends house. Her water is low, she has to ration it, survival kicks in as she realizes that nobody is going to care for her, she has been forgotten. She sheds a silent tear. How would you feel?
Friday night, Sugar Babe came to our Sanctuary, her current caretaker fulfilling a promise to her previous owner never to run her through the kill sale. That did not protect her from starvation or an injury that festered for four months, a puncture from a t-post into her rear hip. Sugar Babe's hooves and lower legs along with her right side were covered in horse manure, a sure sign that her stall was not cleaned. She hardly lifted her head all last night and into today from her hay and senior grain. Finally, this afternoon she stopped to take a look at her surroundings. She found a wonderful friend in Michelle, one of our incredible volunteers who helped to give Sugar Babe a bath and scrub the manure from her sides and hooves. She immediately perked up, listening, hearing the other horses, though she has to stay separated for now for the special care she is receiving. She is alive again and she needs your help to begin to thrive.
Please consider making a donation towards Sugar Babe and the care she is receiving here at our Sanctuary. This is made possible because of you and your support. Visit our website to make a contribution: www.denkaisanctuary.org
