24 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By April Leonard
“The barn is on fre and they can’t fnd our horses.” Answering
the phone to these words is a horse owners’ worst nightmare.
For Frances Wade-Whittaker of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, this
nightmare came true on July 9, 2009. When a fellow boarder
called around midnight to say that their horses’ home - Pink Star
Equestrian Center - was on fre. Fran was fear-stricken for her
beloved Oldenburg mare, Suki.
Eventually, Fran’s nine year old horse was found in a feld not
far from the burning stable. Burns covered over 70% of Suki’s
body and her eyes were so swollen from the burning that she
couldn’t see at all. Suki had heard the sound of another horse
breaking a fence to escape the fre and had followed that horse
away from the scene into a nearby feld. A vet was immediately
called to examine the horses where they stood.
Suki had suffered the most intense damage out of every horse
that had been at Pink Star Equestrian Center. Upon hearing the
news, Fran asked the vet the unavoidable question, “Should Suki
be put down?” The vet replied, “No, the mare may still have a
chance.” Fran was later told that it might have been a blessing
rather than a curse that she was unable to see Suki immediately
after the fre, because hardly anyone who saw Suki that night
would have ever guessed the mare would live.
Suki was taken straight to New Bolton Center in Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania. According to Dr. Kelly Kalf, the veterinarian who
admitted Suki into New Bolton, the most immediate concern was
that Suki’s airways would close due to the severe swelling in her
face. “When she arrived, she was severely depressed, in shock
and likely in a great deal of pain. Her head was hanging very low,
her eyes were swollen shut and it was obvious that her head had
taken the brunt of the burn injuries,” Dr. Kalf said. Suki also had
awful burns covering her back, a cut on her leg and ulcers in both
eyes.
Suki’s barn burning, July 2009 – every horse owner’s worst
nightmare.
Photo by Exeter Township Fire Department
This photo of Suki was taken in early spring 2012. The amazing
mare with the will to survive now helps human burn victims.
Photo by Jennifer Curry Bandura.
Suki, in the summer of 2012, shows off her pretty trot and her
remarkable spirit.
Photo by Jennifer Curry Bandura
The Will to Survive