BEHS 055 – Sundancer

Sundancer arrived in Bluebonnet in 2005 - the 55th horse into the organization. Unlike some of the horses who find their way to BEHS, Sunny had had a good life. She had been ridden and loved, but her owner could no longer keep her and gave her to Bluebonnet. She moved in with Ralph and Loretta and took over their small farm - bossing all of the other horses around. You see, Sunny was not shy or reserved - she knew what she wanted. And she wanted to be in charge. After a little while with Ralph and Loretta, Sunny moved on to live with Julie Bradley. She was still a cranky old gal, but at the age of nearly 25, she had earned the right to be cranky. BEHS horse Logan ignored her - but Geronimo adored Sunny. Since Sundancer was so dominant and good at putting horses in their place, I sent my mare Freckles to live at Julie's a while - so she could get put in her place. Well, it wasn't long before it became clear that Freckles and Sunny were cut of the same mold. Sunny let Freckles eat with her, and the two of them rule the pasture together. If you walked out into the pasture and either Freckles or Sunny saw you - they would take off at top speed with the rest following and playing a game called ""Catch me if you can"". They always beat the humans at that game! If 2006, Sunny found an adopter - and we were excited. All old guys and gals need a home of their own. However apparently this wasn't what Sunny had in mind - she was extra-crotchety and hard to get along with and her adopter returned her. She moved into another foster home where she settled back into the routine. She made the rounds, visiting several foster homes: Denise Crosthwait, Jennifer Oliver, Christa Bass. She seemed to like being a Bluebonnet horse - although people put in their applications for Sunny, she just didn't find her home until late last year. Once again, though, Sunny didn't want to be adopted. This time, she began picking on the other horses in her adoptive home and her adopter returned her to Bluebonnet. This mare was determined to be a BEHS foster horse! And she was until the last.... Today, Sunny ended her life as a Bluebonnet foster horse. She had gone quickly downhill and her foster ""mom"" Julie had the vet scheduled this afternoon. Julie and I planned to be there for Sunny as she crossed the Rainbow bridge. Last night, I went to visit her and whispered in her ear. I told her it was ok to go whenever she wanted. I told her many horses waited for her on the other side - horses who needed to be bossed around. She waited until she was back ""home"" in foster care, and she waited until her foster ""mom"" left home, and she laid down and crossed the bridge. I fully expect she's up there bossing around the horses who we've lost before. After 10 years in rescue, my rescue herd up there is pretty big but I have no doubt that Sunny is in charge. And she always will be.