It was a typical Saturday several months ago when 19-year-old Kaitlyn Bonis completed a dressage workout with Sunny, her 24-year-old Arabian horse. But the next day, her family received a call from Sunny's barn that he didn't appear well, and the veterinarian was on his way. The horse Kaitlyn had owned since she was 11 was fighting for his life.
Sunny's primary veterinarian performed a colic work-up, but the horse showed no improvement. He felt this was beyond a colic episode and knew there was nothing more he could do locally. The best option would be to get Sunny to the UC Davis veterinary hospital's Large Animal Clinic. He called ahead to make the referral as the Bonis family loaded up Sunny for the 2-hour drive from Chico to Davis.
Kaitlyn and Sunny have always had a special bond. Throughout their six years of competing together, their harmony was often noted by judges.
“As our special bond has gotten even stronger over the years, our hearts beat as one at practice and in the show ring,” Kaitlyn told United States Dressage Federation's YourDressage publication in July 2021.
The two began their journey together competing at hunter-jumper events in 2016, with varying results. It wasn't until their trainer suggested moving to dressage, however, that Sunny truly found his calling. They won their first dressage competition at the Training Level, as the overall high point champion both days.
“Sunny turned out to have been born for dressage, and I loved the challenge of the discipline equally,” said Kaitlyn. “We have never looked back.”
The team moved quickly through the levels, and Kaitlyn earned her USDF Bronze Medal on Sunny. The pair won four regional championships at Second and Third Levels on the Arabian circuit, and reserve national champion at Second Level.
Had Sunny been younger, Kaitlyn feels he could've succeeded at Fourth Level and maybe beyond. But in 2022, at age 23, Sunny semi-retired from competition.
Kaitlyn's mother, Andrea Bonis, describes Sunny as the kind of horse who doesn't come along very often – Kaitlyn's “horse of a lifetime.”
It is clear they were willing to do whatever it took to save Sunny.
Upon arrival at UC Davis, Sunny was immediately examined by an extensive team of faculty critical care and surgery specialists, residents, technicians, and students. He appeared uncomfortable and showed signs of colic with a distended abdomen. A belly tap revealed peritoneal fluid with signs of septic peritonitis, a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the abdominal cavity.
Due to Sunny's persistent pain, an exploratory colic surgery was performed. Faculty member Dr. Isabelle Kilcoyne, assisted by surgery residents Drs. Bridget Ratliff and Mitja Miklavcic and intern Dr. Marta Horna, discovered a lipoma, a fatty abdominal tumor. More common in older horses like Sunny, lipomas strangulate the intestine, cutting off the blood supply until the tissue dies. In Sunny's case, the lipoma had strangulated eight feet of his small intestine, which had to be removed if he was to be saved.
“Due to the seriousness of his condition, the anesthesiologists maintaining Sunny under general anesthesia had to work extremely hard to keep him alive while we performed the surgery,” said Kilcoyne, chief of the Equine Surgical Emergency and Critical Care Service. “Drs. Harriet Flynn and Manuel Fernades-Barrientos did a tremendous job in helping to save Sunny's life.”
The surgeons successfully removed the 8-foot section in the middle of Sunny's small intestine, connecting the healthy ends together. A horse's small intestine can be up to 70 feet in length, so Sunny can survive normally without the 8-foot section.
Following surgery, Sunny received around-the-clock care in the Equine Intensive Care Unit and remained at UC Davis for 10 days until he was well enough to return home.
In the first month of recovery, he was kept on strict stall rest, with only short hand-walking after two weeks. During his second month, Sunny was allowed access to a small. In the third month, he gained access to a large paddock. He completed all levels of recovery without complications.
“He's our miracle horse, and we owe this to the UC Davis team – he couldn't have been in better hands,” said Andrea. “Everybody was very kind, understanding, and professional, and they all took excellent care of our little boy. For a horse who was given a 10 percent chance to make it, you'd never know by looking at him now what an ordeal he underwent.”
Sunny recently celebrated his 25th birthday, and Kaitlyn is riding him once again. She hopes to enjoy Sunny as a pleasure horse for many years to come.
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