Shamelessly Cute Baby Horse Snuggles His Giant Teddy Bear

Shamelessly Cute Baby Horse Snuggles His Giant Teddy Bear (VIDEO)

An orphaned foal was given a large teddy bear as a ‘cuddle buddy’ to help him sleep at night.

Breeze and his buddy, Buttons the Bear, get ready to tuck in for the night. (Photo: The Foal and Mare Sanctuary)

June 08, 2013 By Andri Antoniades

A Bay Area native, Andri Antoniades has previously worked as a fashion industry journalist and a medical writer.

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Yes, it's a baby horse—sleeping with a teddy bear. And it's real. But this isn't simply an attempt to rack up page views. This little foal comes with a story. And as expected, it's shamelessly adorable.

This one-week-old horse is an orphan, who was found severely dehydrated and in a state of shock, wandering through Devon County, England.
With his mother nowhere to be found, the Mare and Foal Sanctuary took him in and have been providing the foal—whose new name is Breeze—with around-the-clock care ever since.
Breeze is still obviously new to the world, and like other young creatures, he needs to be snuggled, especially at night. Without a mother to provide for him, Breeze's caretakers found him the favorite choice of human toddlers everywhere—the teddy bear.
Sanctuary staff solicited the public with requests for large stuffed animals to serve as cuddle replacements in order to comfort Breeze at night.

Breeze is also the proud owner of two stuffed dogs. (Photo: Foal and Mare Sanctuary)

It's a tactic the sanctuary has used in the past, but due to a recent influx of orphaned foals, the staff was freshly out of giant stuffed animals.
Fortunately for Breeze, a handful of Good Samaritans picked up the slack and now he's got some plush company to see him through those long and lonely nights.
Domestic animals like cats and dogs are most often thought of as the types to make use of stuffed animals as toys, but using them as sleeping companions for wild foals has proven to be successful, according to sanctuary staff.
Syra Bowden, the sanctuary's executive director, said in her public statement, "It's been wonderful to see Breeze interacting with his new teddies and cuddling up to them when he goes to sleep," she said. "They are great company for him and provide comfort during the brief periods when his carers are not present."