Pet Memorial Peternity Blog

The Tragic Industry of Nurse Mare Foals

I want to bring awareness to "another" tragic practice that is occurring in the horse racing world. The abuse of nurse mare foals.

Nurse mare foals are unfortunate foals born to mares that are bred solely for milk production. Nurse mare farmers use mares of varying breeds but often times the larger breeds, such as drafts, to breed nurse mare foals.

After foaling, the breeders lease the mares out to a farm, usually a farm involved with the horse racing industry. The mares are taken from their biological offspring anywhere between 1 day and 1 week of age. These new mothers then become mothers for more "expensive" foals. Their biological foals are left to die, are killed or are slaughtered due to the level care they require and the costs associated to raise the orphan foals..

More Unlikely Animal Friends

Here's another great story of unlikely animal friends - a male horse and a very young foal who were complete strangers, but not for long! This male horse, as soon as he heard the new arriving foal's whinny, immediately decided to be his new protector in a very maternal way, very rare! Here's the owner's story.

I have to tell you the beginning was so incredible. Beamer heard the foal whinny as the trailer was coming down the street, so he ran to that end of the pasture. 

We took Ace (our new foal) out of the trailer and Ace immediately whinnied (he's VERY vocal).

Beamer turned his head and saw Ace and starting running at him 90 miles an hour! I thought "Oh my God! This is a mistake. I should have had Beamer on a halter." But the girl that brought the foal insisted they'd be o.k. I think she regretted that move.

Ace took off running and Beamer was storming after him - not 'mean' aggressive, but AGGRESSIVE. He was SO excited. The foal - well, he seemed scared to me, but my didn't think he was, I don't know. All I know is they tore around the pasture full speed and I was really worried someone was going to get hurt. Finally, Beamer sort of laid his ears back and arched his neck (I thought....oh NOOOOO!!!) and then he started to "herd" Ace in.

He had him on the inside of a perfect lunging circle and they were going around and around and Beamer kept making the circle get smaller and smaller, until Ace finally stopped. It was brilliant. Then, Beamer sniffed him and started to nuzzle him - just like that. It was the MOST AMAZING thing I have ever seen...EVER!!!!!! They are now connected at the hip. I can't stress enough how just MIND BOGGLING this has been for me. It is the greatest gift I have ever been given to see these two tonight.

Isn't that cool? And they're still tighter than ever, best friends. Beamer is like a mother to Ace. Here are some more pictures of them.

 

In love & respect for all creatures,

Colleen

The Genesis of the Horse

The Horse. And God took a handful of southerly wind, blew His breath over it and created the horse. ~ Bedouin Legend

In love & respect for all creatures,

Colleen

The Beauty of a Dog's Heart

Certainly, there's nothing that can replace the precision of a dog's nose—and absolutely nothing that can replace a dog's heart." ~ Bob Sessions, Rescue Worker, Federal Emergency Management Agency

In love & respect for all creatures,

Colleen

Horse Loss Poetry: Bold and Bright

Bold and Bright
by Ellen Siedlecki
For Handsome, and Joe & Kathleen

The sun sinks low. Dusk grows to night.
All is dark. No sign of light. But wait...Be patient.
You are not alone. For over the dark canvas specs of light appear.
The stars are back.
I have joined their twinkling spheres.
My pain is all gone.
Shed no more tears.
Your love was enough to banish all fears.
You may not need this help in the blazing light of day.
But when the light shifts to night, Remember:
My presence will never be far.
It is as warm as the sun and bright as a star.

In love & respect for all creatures,

Colleen

From Making Benji Movies to Avid Horse Lover

Remember those emotion filled Benji movies all of us who are over 30 watched when we were kids? They were made by filmmaker Joe Camp, who is now living with the 4th Benji and his wife Kathleen.

Recently, while looking over their beautiful property watching the sun set in Southern California, they thought "wouldn't it be nice if there were some horses meandering around down there?"

3 weeks later they had horses on their property and found themselves on a very interesting journey, learning about the fascinating relationship between man and horse. Watch the video below to see the beginning of Joe and Kathleen's journey.

The rest of their journey is chronicled in Joe's compelling book "The Soul of a Horse", now in it's third printing.

You can meet their horses on their website thesoulofahorsecom.

In love & respect for all creatures,

Colleen

Save the Mustangs & Preserve Our Heritage

The other day as I was listening to the radio while driving my car, I was reminded of my first pet, my sweet and spunky pony Cinnamon. I was listening to an interview with Deanne Stillman, author of the new book "Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West".

As a young girl of 8, in my imagination, Cinnamon was my "wild horse," my mustang. She played the part well, always bucking me off when we ran full speed in the cornfields. I knew that she was just feeling her oats and really didn't mean anything by it. She was feeling good. Our wild horse/cowgirl games cemented our friendship and began my lifetime love and admiration of horses.

Feed a Horse - Save a Horse

Horse rescue organizations and sanctuaries nationwide are in crisis over the soaring cost of hay.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's market report reveals that hay costs have risen from $160 per ton in 2006 to $235 per ton last week.

Rising hay costs, coupled with ongoing drought conditions, are leaving many horses left to starve on dry land. Horse rescue organizations are being inundated with phone calls from  horse owners who can non longer afford to feed their beloved pets. Consequently, equine rescues have become overcrowded. and are also struggling to feed all of these homeless horses. The situation is the worst in areas affected by drought, wildfires, or flooding.

The ASPCA has created an Emergency Hay Fund to help reduce the burden of escalating hay costs and to provide desperately needed financial assistance to horse sanctuaries. Every dollar they raise will be used exclusively to provide Emergency Hay Relief grants to struggling horse sanctuaries and rescue organizations. Please, help us make a difference in the lives of horses by supporting this important Fund.

Colleen

Finding Hope in Tragedy: Molly the 3-Legged Pony, a Katrina Survivor

I just love this story - a pony inspiring others to look forward with hope!

See Molly for yourself!

Have a beautiful day,

Colleen

Have you Ever Seen a Cowboy Cry? A Touching Horse Memorial

In our line of business we hear a lot of sad stories, this is just a part of what we do. We try to listen, provide comfort and let people know that it's okay to feel how they're feeling. Most importantly, we try to be the strong ones and resist the urge to cry too. But sometimes our emotions get the best of us. This story brought each and every one of us to tears.