Racehorse Sonny went to post 104 times and retired at 9 years old. However, his biggest wins have been off the track.
Sonny (now age 30) has been providing many personal wins for students at Nipper Knolls Equine Facility, Inc. But, Sonny’s journey to Nipper Knolls was not smooth. For ten years following his racing career, Sonny was a trail horse. After his pasture mate died, he was alone and depressed.
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He became part of a larger herd and he was unable to fend for himself. He fell through the cracks and became severely underweight, depressed, and sullen. His owner voluntarily surrendered him to a horse rescue, in hopes of finding a forever home at 22 years of age.
Easy Street Barnyard Rescue contacted the founders of Nipper Knolls Equine Center. Sonny was in need of special care, but one look into Sonny’s soft eyes and he was on their trailer. Sonny was accepted into the small herd of therapy horses and quickly started to thrive.
By July 2015, Sonny was fit to start training. Sonny was under saddle several times a week and It was soon determined that Sonny was a great fit for the program. Sonny is a wise, intelligent horse with a kind soul who contributes to positively changing the lives of young people. It is an honor and a privilege to have him in our program. He is the epitome of the even greater accomplishments racehorses can make after the track.
– A. Hoffer
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