During the first three seasons of Little House on the Prairie, episodes often featured Laura and her horse Bunny, which was a colt from Pet & Patty in the pilot episode. Laura traded Bunny for a stove for her mother one Christmas, which later results in Nellie pretending to be paralyzed after falling off Bunny.
In season 3, Laura was showing off to her grandfather how well she could ride Bunny when she runs into a wire fence she did not see in time. Bunny was severely injured and her father is forced to end Bunny’s life as she was suffering too much and would not be able to heal from the extent of her injuries.
Laura was extremely distraught over Bunny’s death and blames her grandfather for the accident (Season 3 episode Journey into the Spring).