His life could have ended at sunrise… But a miracle happened.
Yesterday morning, on the shores of Shackleford Banks, a compassionate visitor noticed a tiny foal — alone, weak, and dehydrated, lying motionless in the sand. His mother was nowhere in sight. He was barely breathing.
She didn’t walk away.
She called Cape Lookout National Seashore and spoke with Wild Horse Biologist Dr. Sue Stuska. Dr. Sue asked if she would be willing to stay nearby — at a safe distance — to keep watch, just in case the mare returned. Because sometimes, though rarely, miracles do happen.
But not this time.
When it became clear the foal had been abandoned, the park team and veterinary experts made the hard but only right decision — to intervene. He was gently transported to Park headquarters, assessed, and then rushed to the vet hospital.
There, Dr. Kim Ipock confirmed the colt was less than 24 hours old. He had never stood. Never nursed. Hadn’t received any colostrum — the first essential milk of life.
By all odds, he shouldn’t have survived.
But he did.
He was given plasma, IV fluids, and a feeding tube. And then — against all expectations — he stood for a few minutes. Wobbly. Fragile. But standing.
This is just the beginning of his long road ahead. A road that will not be easy — or cheap.
But he is alive. Because someone cared. Because someone stopped. Because someone acted.
🤍
Sometimes, to change an entire world, all it takes is simply not turning away.
(illustrative photo)
