“We didn’t think she was going to make it,” Kelsey later told Central Illinois Proud, a local news station. ”We just felt so bad for her, just overwhelming sadness.“ One look at the horse and it was obvious she was hurting and had suffered abuse at the hands of humans. But who would do such a thing?
Cara understood her daughter’s refusal to leave the horse and agreed to take her home to get their horse trailer. This way, they could bring her somewhere to get help. Unfortunately, when they returned, the abused youngster wouldn’t get in to take the ride. She had tired herself out and collapsed into the ditch.
The poor foal had given up but Kelsey refused to give up on her. Both she and her mother knew that the weak, hungry horse would die in just a matter of hours if they left her. Kelsey decided there wasn’t any other way to get her home. She had to walk, but 9 miles was a long way for a dying animal…
Kelsey and the horse she named Sunny must have had an angel watching them on their long trip home, because after four long, grueling hours, they made it back to the family farm alive.
With help from friends, Kelsey and her mother determined that the mere six month old horse likely belonged to someone in the area. Surely the baby would die without her mother. But where could she be?