This sweet mare caught the attention of many when she first landed at Longmeadow in April 2022 as part of an investigation. You could say she hit some turbulence upon arrival – she was malnourished and underweight, with a horrible abscess in her frog that caused a lot of pain and swelling in her leg. On top of that, she had elevated liver enzyme levels that we believed (at the time) were caused by the consumption of a toxic plant. She was on pain medications and under constant watch by vets and staff alike – we were unsure if she would make it. Our dedicated staff spent days carefully soaking and wrapping the foot until the abscess finally started to heal. Slowly but surely, she was able to put more weight on that leg. Before we knew it, her abscess was gone, and her lameness issues vanished!

With her abscess healed, Bonanza wasn’t out of the storm yet – her liver enzyme levels were still elevated and she wasn’t putting on the weight she needed. Luckily, Longmeadow has an incredible network of vets who were able to help us start Bonanza on the runway toward better health. We gave her the medications she needed and the food to improve her weight. Before we knew it, her weight started increasing! Then, during one of many vet visits, we found the cause of her elevated enzyme levels: gallstones! Did you know horses can have gallstones even though they don’t have a gallbladder? These animals love to keep us on our toes! We were able to quickly get her health under control after this diagnosis. Before we knew it, Bonanza’s health had improved immensely, and she was ready for her forever home in December!

Compared to her arrival, Bonanza’s departure from Longmeadow was as smooth as ever. She found an incredible home with a great family, and we are so happy to see her take off from Longmeadow happy and healthy, the way she deserves.