Breeze the orphaned foal proves that it isn’t just humans who need comfort.
It comes as no surprise that humans need comfort and love stuffed animals, but most people wouldn’t expect the same to be said of horses. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Just look at the story of Breeze, a poor foal who was found without his mother and taken in by a rescue.
According to the Huffington Post, Breeze was found just a few hours after his birth, in shock and dehydrated. A farmer in Devon County, England, found him, and he was quickly rescued by the Mare and Foal Sanctuary.
At the time, the foal had been so desperate that he was trying to suckle from several other mares. In the Mare and Foal Sanctuary’s official statement, they described that:
“When members of the Sanctuary’s team arrived at the scene, Breeze collapsed and was in a state of severe shock and dehydration.”
The staff didn’t waste any time, quickly working to warm up Breeze and bring him to the sanctuary.
Once there, Breeze, a Dartmoor Hill pony, faced a range of challenges.
In this inspiring video, Tracy from the Mare and Foal Sanctuary introduces us to Breeze and his early struggles.
In the video, Tracy explains that because Breeze “didn’t have his mum, he’s been doing very very poorly.” Most importantly, he hadn’t had the chance to get colostrum, which his mother would have provided. That colostrum contains antibodies as well as nutrients.
Even without colostrum, Breeze was in good hands. At the time of the video, he’d already been checked by a veterinarian and was being cared for by staff at the sanctuary 24 hours a day.
While the team at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary could provide veterinary care, they knew Breeze needed something more.
Tracy explains that they “appealed for teddy bears for him” as a way to provide comfort and warmth whenever Breeze needed it.
This way, he has something to “cuddle up to at night. And sort of a replacement of his mum.” The sanctuary knows how well this method works with orphaned foals from experience and tries to keep stuffed animals on hand. Breeze, however, arrived at the wrong time, as all the current bears were already with foals.
Soon, though, donations arrived, including a 4-foot-tall teddy bear that would be named Buttons. Just the addition of the bear made a huge difference in Breeze’s attitude. Seeing him cuddling with it at 0:49 is perhaps the cutest thing you will see all day. According to Tracy:
“He’s feeling much brighter and a lot happier.”
Today, Breeze is doing very well, showing off the amazing care the sanctuary has given him. He even earned a spot in its 2017 calendar.
Breeze hasn’t needed the bear, Buttons, in years. According to the Mare and Foal blog:
“Buttons the Bear is still at the Sanctuary and has been helping other orphaned foals.”
Even though Breeze no longer needs Buttons, he still shows an appreciation for him. The blog went onto describe Breeze’s reaction when he was recently reunited with Buttons.
“Breeze had a fantastic time carrying the bear around his stable, and then settled down for a snooze with his old friend snuggled up by his side.”
Luckily, sanctuary staff snapped a few photos of the reunion for us to enjoy.
In that late-2016 blog post, the sanctuary said that Breeze loves the open areas in North Devon and plays with other young horses.
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