Abandoned Pony Misses His Mom, Finds Comfort in an Unbelievable Best Friend

(Illustration - Mikhail Blajenov/Shutterstock)

From the archives: This story was last updated in May 2019.

Meet the adorable pair—Breeze the Pony, and Buttons, the teddy bear. Abandoned just hours after his birth, Breeze was found and nursed back to health by rescuers in Dartmoor National Park. Special thanks to Buttons too, who offered his furry lap for Breeze’s comfort during the rehabilitation process. Breeze and Button are good friends now.

Breeze, the orphaned foal, was found wandering alone in 2013, trying to suckle mares merely a few hours after his birth at Dartmoor National Park in England.

Apparently, the poor foal had been abandoned by his mother at only a few hours old. When the rescuers arrived, Breeze collapsed in a critical state of dehydration, malnutrition, and shock. He was subsequently sent to the Mare and Foal Sanctuary in Devon to be taken care of.

At 3 days old, Breeze was weak and sickly. And by the fourth day, the abandoned foal was beside himself with grief at the sanctuary. He was missing his mom. To comfort Breeze’s depressed soul and lack of tenderness, he was given a giant 4-foot furry teddy bear, called Buttons, to snuggle up to.

“It’s been wonderful to see Breeze interacting with his new teddies and cuddling up to them when he goes to sleep. They are great company for him and provide comfort to him during the brief periods when his carers are not present,” said Syra Bowden, executive director at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary.

Ten-day-old Breeze lived with the giant teddy bear, Buttons, in his stable. He loved cuddling Buttons, even giving him a kiss—so adorable!

Thenceforth, Buttons has become Breeze’s best friend. Breeze treated Buttons almost like his surrogate mom and would cuddle up to the teddy bear, nestling and sleeping on his furry lap. Buttons offered warmth and comfort to the despaired Breeze and helped the small, sickly pony recover more speedily.

At 3 weeks old, Breeze was well and happy again with the help of the sanctuary’s caretakers, and Buttons. Three years later in 2016, 3-year-old Breeze was reunited with Buttons once again at the Mare and Foal Sanctuary.

Although Breeze had grown up, he still recognized Buttons the teddy bear, who accompanied him during his youth, offering him comfort. He enjoyed a little cuddle with Buttons after being separated for such a long time!

“When we reunited Breeze with Buttons we could see how pleased he was, there was a lot of sniffing and licking, then Breeze decided to give Buttons a tour of his new stable and carried him around by his ear,” wrote the Mare and Foal Sanctuary in a Facebook post. “They then snuggled up together and Breeze snoozed the afternoon away.”