Written by Frank Peebles
Citizen staff
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Thursday, 19 February 2009 |
Nicola Hoiland of Prince George Equine Rescue stands with Sunny, left, and Belle, the two horses that were rescued from certain death on Renshaw Mountain near McBride earlier this winter. They have been recovering at her facility in Prince George and are about to be moved to their respective adoptive families. (Citizen photo by Frank Peebles)
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The two horses became famous when a motley crew of Robson Valley residents brought shovels and dedicated hearts up the steep mountain and dug the trapped animals a trench to freedom. They had been left there by Frank MacKay, an Edmonton lawyer who got them stuck in boggy, unfamiliar terrain last fall on a backcountry excursion. He came back to retrieve the the two pack horses, he said in media reports, but felt they were too far-gone to save, and didn't believe anyone in nearby McBride would help him anyway.
He was wrong. Many volunteers joined the dig. The snow trench they dug was six-feet deep and a kilometre long, but they freed the bedraggled horses on Christmas Eve. They were sent to a secret location pending the SPCA's legal process to seize Sunny and Belle permanently from MacKay.
Now that that is done, it can be revealed that they are convalescing at Prince George Equine Rescue, the North's premier horse-recovery centre located on West Beaverly Road.
"They are doing really good. They will have a complete recovery," said proprietor Nicola Hoiland, who currently has 15 rescued horses in her care, plus five of her own, three she borders for other people, and she also has four more rescued equines in foster care nearby.
Sunny (short for Sundance) the gelding, and Belle the mare, were of particular concern when they arrived. They had combinations of gaping foot sores, huge patches of missing hair frozen off their bodies, malnourishment and other near-fatal effects of their three months wasting away alone on the mountain.
"The mare was thin, underweight; he was completely emaciated," Hoiland said. "They are lucky they are young. A senior horse sometimes can't make it through that and they just give out and die. We have had that."
These two are very slowly getting their spirit back. They both have friendly, curious dispositions and like the company of people. Although adoptions have been arranged for both of them by the SPCA, they still aren't out of the woods.
"I keep them blanketed so they spend their energy healing, putting on weight, not just staying warm," Hoiland said. "She's actually a good weight now. He's still got a long ways to go. Some people wanted to know if they were rideable, but they have been too weak to even try. So, right now I'm just letting them be horses and get healthy before I even try to climb up."
Sunny will be moving soon to Kamloops, while Belle will be staying in Prince George. Hoiland said she thinks Sunny is physically strong enough to make the trip and he'll be on his way in a matter of days. She does not know whom he has been placed with, only that the SPCA found a good home.
Hoiland knows the family with whom Belle will live. They have taken in foster horses before.
"She'll just be a pleasure horse. She's going to have a good life. I really didn't want to see them go as pack horses again, or end up having a hard life. They've already done enough, right? They'll have an easy time from here on in."
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 February 2009 )
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