Bear was purchased years ago by a woman for her grandson to grow up with. Once her grandson was older, Bear was rehomed to some family friends who had younger kids. The new family fed him but let him fall behind on other important care like dental and farrier visits.

A few years later, the new family decided that they no longer wanted Bear and planned to sell him. His original owner stepped up and offered to let Bear come live out his years with her. Unfortunately, soon after Bear was returned to his original owner, he choked on hay and needed emergency medical treatment. The vet recommended that the owner stop feeding Bear hay and switch him to a pelleted diet that was easier to chew. In addition, Bear needed antibiotics daily for two weeks to make sure he did not develop aspiration pneumonia after the choke.

His owner realized that she was not capable of taking care of Bear. She planned to have him live with her other two horses that eat hay, and now that was not a possibility. It was also difficult for her to administer the daily antibiotics.

At the same time, the owner was dealing with a hospitalized family member and needed to travel back east for a family emergency. She reached out to Redwings desperate for help with Bear.

We were able to arrange to pick up Bear the next day. Once back at Redwings, we quickly got the farrier out to provide much-needed hoof care and the veterinarian out to recheck Bear to make sure he was healing from his choking incident and to give him some much-needed dental care.
Bear has settled into his new routine at Redwings and seems very happy. Once he finishes his quarantine period, he will be introduced to our other three minis — Little Bit, Sriracha, and June.