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Anna Says Goodbye to Her Beloved Horse Sunny

March 16, 2016 by Shelley Paulson 5 Comments

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Anna and Sunny grew up together and were the best of friends. They had spent 21 years by each other’s side galloping through fields, exploring their world, and learning the true meaning of friendship. They knew each other as they knew themselves.

Anna’s family bought Sunny as a yearling. He was to be shared between her and her sister. When Anna was 12, Sunny became all hers. They spent nearly every day together and Anna’s life revolved around Sunny. He would come whenever she called his name and give her a sad look when she would say goodnight to him. He knew her secrets, he was her life.

But as Sunny grew older, he developed a terrible lung condition called “heaves” which made it increasingly more difficult for him to breathe. Last summer, they came a point where there was no longer any treatment options to keep Sunny healthy and breathing comfortably. It was time to do the right thing for Sunny, even though it meant Anna would be the one finding it hard to breathe for awhile.

Anna’s last day with Sunny was filled with hugs, kisses, tears and sunlit fields bursting with golden flowers. I had the privilege of being there to give Anna the gift of memories in the form of photographs with her sweet boy.

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Filed Under: Portraits, Remember Tagged With: Equestrian Photographer, Equestrian Photography, Equine Photographer, Equine Photography, Equine Portraits, Horse Photographer, Minnesota Equestrian Photographer, Minnesota Equine Photographer, Minnesota Equine Portrait Photographer, Minnesota Horse Photographer, Minnesota Photographer, Minnesota Portrait Photographer, Natural Light Photography, photography, Photos, Twin Cities Equestrian Photographer, Twin Cities Equine Photographer, Twin Cities Equine Portrait Photographer, Twin Cities Equine Portraits, Twin Cities Horse Photographer, Twin Cities Photographer

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. krissy says

    March 16, 2016 at 5:28 pm

    Beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Danette says

    March 16, 2016 at 5:34 pm

    Wow, that brought back some sad feelings. You did a beautiful job captuing that special love between them.
    Thanks,
    Anna’s Mom

    Reply
  3. Ani says

    March 16, 2016 at 9:15 pm

    with tears in my eyes, I say…how beautiful!

    Reply
  4. Anna says

    March 17, 2016 at 6:17 am

    Wonderful pictures of a wondeful person and horse. So great that she will have these beautiful memories. I hope to get something like this before my horse has too much trouble breathing as well.

    Another Anna.

    Reply
  5. Debby says

    April 1, 2016 at 7:06 pm

    I love horses,ever since I was about 12 yrs old.

    This is a very touching and Heart breaking story.
    I wish that I could own one,but it is just a dream for me
    My heart goes out to this young lady,that no longer has
    her best friend by her side.

    Reply

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About

Shelley Paulson is an equestrian photographer and filmmaker based in Minnesota. Her work is known for its emotional impact, captivating use of light, thoughtful compositions and rich color.

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