The Nurse Mare and Their Foals: The Horse Industries, "Dirty Little Secrets". The nurse mare has been around for hundreds of years. They were used if a foal was rejected, or if the mother died in birth. They started out to be a good thing. Since then it has turned into something far worse. Nurse mare foals are babies that were born so that it’s mother will come into milk. The milk that she is producing, however is used to nourish the foal of another mare, a much more expensive foal. Primarily these are thoroughbred foals, though it is certainly not limited to the thoroughbred industry. A thoroughbreds purpose is to keep racing, keep earning money or to produce more racehorses. The Jockey Club states that it is dedicated to improving the thoroughbred breeding and racing industry. They also state that 2,643 stallions bred 52,410 mares in 2008, with another 4 to 5000 expected before years end. If only one quarter of those have nurse mares, that’s around 13,000 foals that are sent to slaughter or used for pony skin, if they are not rescued. That doesn’t sound like much of an improvement to me. This is text taken from the Jockey Club Rule Book. Breeding Practices Not Approved by The Jockey Club Artificial Insemination: The process of depositing semen into the reproductive tract of a broodmare in order to get a broodmare in foal (pregnant) without the physical mounting by a stallion. To be eligible for registration, a foal must be the result of a stallion’s Breeding with a broodmare (which is the physical mounting of a broodmare by a stallion with intromission of the penis and ejaculation of semen into the reproductive tract). As an aid to the Breeding, a portion of the ejaculate produced by the stallion during such mating may immediately be placed in the uterus of the broodmare being bred. A natural gestation must take place in, and delivery must be from, the body of the same broodmare in which the foal was conceived. Without limiting the above, any foal resulting from or produced by the processes of Artificial Insemination, Embryo Transfer or Transplant, Cloning or any other form of genetic manipulation not herein specified, shall not be eligible for registration. Travel is very risky for newborn racing foals, and insurance costs prohibit the foal from traveling with it’s mother. At this point, a nurse mare is hired to raise the thoroughbred foal. In order for the nurse mare to have milk, she must have given birth to her own baby.
Now the light bulb moment! What happens to the nurse mare’s foal? Some of them are clubbed over the head and killed immediately, some are just left out to starve to death. These foals are referred to as "by products" of the nurse mare milk industry. These nurse mare foals will never know the comfort of their mothers. He will never get the chance to learn how to be a horse from her. At least the PMU mares are allowed to nurse their foals for a while. However, they do have value…their hides can be sold as “pony skin” in the fashion and textile industry. They can be used to make shoes, purses, expensive leather products, furniture, etc…. It is illegal to send a foal under 6 months of age to horse slaughter. However, foals from 1 day to 6 months old, are being skinned and sold for high end leather. The unfortunate ones, who don’t get rescued, are sent to slaughter houses. Most of these foals have no chance at life from the very start. I can’t comprehend how people think that this is an acceptable practice. Their meat is considered a delicacy in some countries. Some countries actually believe that if a horse is skinned while he is still alive, the meat will be more tender. What a horrid thought! Adopting a foal is literally a life or death decision for one of these innocent nurse mare babies. Adopters are directly responsible for saving a foal from a tragic, brutal death. Anyone can buy a horse – it takes a hero to rescue one. They need your help NOW! Sadly, not all of them can be rescued. The rescuers still have to purchase these colts. They pay anywhere from $200 to $400 a piece for these colts. As if that isn’t enough, then they have to pay for the cost of raising them, feeding them and vet care, until they can adopt them out. Don't buy articles made from horse hide, such as, "Corinthian Leather" (some auto upholstery), clothing and accessories made from "Pony Skin", and brushes and other items made from horse hair. I would hate to know that me carrying around a stylish purse, or wearing stylish shoes, caused one of these foals to die. While I was trying to research this topic, I learned one thing. Try googleing nurse mare foals, or nurse mare industry. You won’t come up with very much. That tells me that not very many people know about this dirty little secret of the horse industry. Share it with everyone you know. If people can become educated on the horrors these horses face, maybe something will be done to correct it. Click on the link below to sign a petition to stop the killing of these beautiful baby horses. Make your opinion heard! If you would like to read more about horse rescue or adopt a horse. Please visit one of these websites. If you cant afford to adopt a horse, maybe you can donate to help out these rescues, or a rescue organization near you. Join Willie Nelson and his fight to save animals at: Habitat For Horses If you would like to write your own article on this subject or leave a comment, please post it on the Horse Slaughter Page. Your comments and articles will be posted on this site, if approved. Leave Nurse Mare: Return To Horse Slaughter Return To Homepage
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