WHY do they still do this???

[Pasofever]

Contact Tara Madison dressagedreamer@msn.com
Subject: Nurse Mare Foals Arriving


Hi Everyone,

I'm with Freedom Hill Horse Rescue. We are receiving 7 Nurse Mare
Foals from Kentucky tonight. 1 little one is only 3 days old...born
Monday morning and taken from mom earlier today when it's mother was taken to be a nurse mare to another foal!! URRRR! then put on the
trailer to come up to us. You might have seen Mel's earlier email
asking for a Nurse Mare for him. From everything we have read/been
told by vets, a foal that young really needs a mare! They don't do
well on the milk replacer.

If you don't know about the Nurse Mare Industry please go to our
website www.freedomhillrescue.org and under the tab "horses we take", you will find more info about them. In my opinion it's the very darkest of the equine world.

The foals we are receiving are from 3 days to 1 month old, and will
require 6 to 8 feedings a day of milk replacement. Anyone who can
donate some milk replacer (from Hatcher's or R&D Cross) would be
great appreciated.

Anyone who would be available to help with feedings would also be
great!

We will post again after we get them in, settled and can get some pics of them.

Thanks to everyone in advance...you always come through for us when we need the help!

Tara

 

[fredsaid2]

I thought they only harvested eggs to implant in a surrogate mare and that mare would raise the foal. Appears there's always another ugly side to learn about.

 

[appendixqh]

I thought they only harvested eggs to implant in a surrogate mare and that mare would raise the foal. Appears there's always another ugly side to learn about.

This is not from embryo transfer, this is from high dollar kentucky foals who lost their dam for whatever reason, then they turn to a nurse mare. The downside is that the nursemares are bred, foal their own foals, and then when a high dollar foal needs a new mommy they take the nursemares own foal away and replace it with the high dollar one. The nursemare foal is then on its own!

 

[fredsaid2]

This is not from embryo transfer, this is from high dollar kentucky foals who lost their dam for whatever reason, then they turn to a nurse mare. The downside is that the nursemares are bred, foal their own foals, and then when a high dollar foal needs a new mommy they take the nursemares own foal away and replace it with the high dollar one. The nursemare foal is then on its own!

The rescue page explains it as sporthorse mares allowed to foal but then separated to be bred again or brought back to work. I've heard of highly priced mares having eggs harvested and transferred because of the risk of pregnancy where they in essence are just a donor. The idea of producing lactating mares for lease is new to me.

"Nurse mare farms have been in existence for the past 30 years serving the sport horse breeding industry. The sole purpose of these farms is to breed healthy open mares and turn them into lactating mares through pregnancy and birth. These mothers are called nurse mares or wet mares. After foaling, the mare is made available for lease to a farm that wants a wet mare for their sport prospect foal. The original use of a nurse mare was primarily by people who tragically lost a mare during birth, leaving a foal motherless. With mare mortality rates dropping due to advances in equine reproduction and parturition, the demand for nurse mares should be decreasing. This is not the case. The demand for nurse mares is increasing with unethical sport horse breeders wanting to relieve their athletic mares of nursing responsibilities, allowing them to return to sport competitions or be quickly bred back for another high priced foal."

 

[appendixqh]

The rescue page explains it as sporthorse mares allowed to foal but then separated to be bred again or brought back to work. I've heard of highly priced mares having eggs harvested and transferred because of the risk of pregnancy where they in essence are just a donor. The idea of producing lactating mares for lease is new to me.

"Nurse mare farms have been in existence for the past 30 years serving the sport horse breeding industry. The sole purpose of these farms is to breed healthy open mares and turn them into lactating mares through pregnancy and birth. These mothers are called nurse mares or wet mares. After foaling, the mare is made available for lease to a farm that wants a wet mare for their sport prospect foal. The original use of a nurse mare was primarily by people who tragically lost a mare during birth, leaving a foal motherless. With mare mortality rates dropping due to advances in equine reproduction and parturition, the demand for nurse mares should be decreasing. This is not the case. The demand for nurse mares is increasing with unethical sport horse breeders wanting to relieve their athletic mares of nursing responsibilities, allowing them to return to sport competitions or be quickly bred back for another high priced foal."

I couldn't open the link. Thanks for posting! How rediculous to take a foal away to breed back! I had a mare last year open for 10 days...she foaled a beautiful and huge filly this year...and she is bred back again already! If you can't give them time off to raise a baby for at least 90 days...don't breed them or do the embryo transfer like you said!

 

[devinej]

it is pretty aweful. you know this is what happens with dairy cow calves too, they are taken away right when they are born though before any bond is formed between the mother and calf, much less stress on them that way. i don't know how they are raised though after that, maybe this could be altered to accomodate those foals...

 

[Robin]

baby cows.....that where veal cutlets come from

 

[Robin]

they have alot of those farms in ferrum Va my sister made a cute comment on how they house the baby cows until she found out why...swore not to eat veal no more...

 

[Robin]

with the horses its hard to comment an opinion unless you have to be the human that is using medication made from for instance pmu mares. Or you have a mare that was bred foaled out and lost the mother due to bad milk health or death. Not all nurse mares turn out babies in this situation, some actually take on an orphaned baby along with their own. I know of one just last spring that was shipped to New bolton and was with a nurse mare up there for four months the mom had health issues. Human interferance benefits and hinders most all situations. I hope this is just one farms issue and not something new starting to boom and create a huge mess

 

[Pasofever]

I couldn't open the link. Thanks for posting! How rediculous to take a foal away to breed back! I had a mare last year open for 10 days...she foaled a beautiful and huge filly this year...and she is bred back again already! If you can't give them time off to raise a baby for at least 90 days...don't breed them or do the embryo transfer like you said!

Its not taking the foal just to breed back...these are NOT broodmares but "work" "show" horses..they foal..give the foal to another mare and go back showing the mares so they are not "off" nursing a baby for 12 -14 weeks

 

[appendixqh]

Its not taking the foal just to breed back...these are NOT broodmares but "work" "show" horses..they foal..give the foal to another mare and go back showing the mares so they are not "off" nursing a baby for 12 -14 weeks

This is the part I was talking about smartie pants!

"The demand for nurse mares is increasing with unethical sport horse breeders wanting to relieve their athletic mares of nursing responsibilities, allowing them to return to sport competitions or be quickly bred back for another high priced foal."

 

[Pasofever]

This is the part I was talking about smartie pants!

"The demand for nurse mares is increasing with unethical sport horse breeders wanting to relieve their athletic mares of nursing responsibilities, allowing them to return to sport competitions or be quickly bred back for another high priced foal."

You can breed on a 10 day foal heat so they are not pulling them to just be rebred you can bet on that..

 

[appendixqh]

You can breed on a 10 day foal heat so they are not pulling them to just be rebred you can bet on that..

I know, thats what I do if I can have a mare wait 10 days to ovulate...so why are they saying they remove the foal to breed back?

 

[Unbelievable]

I thought they only harvested eggs to implant in a surrogate mare and that mare would raise the foal. Appears there's always another ugly side to learn about.

Did they ever get the foals? Anyone know the status?