A nursemaid foal is a foal that was born so that its mother might come into milk. The milk that the nursemaid is producing is used to nourish the foal of another mare. For the most part these are thoroughbred foals, but are not limited to the thoroughbred industry. A thoroughbred mare’s purpose is to produce more racehorses. A mare can give birth to one foal each year provided she is re-bred immediately after delivering a foal. Since the Jockey Club requires that mares be bred only by live cover (not artificially inseminated), the mare must go to the stallion for breeding and may be shipped as soon as 7-10 days after giving birth to a foal.

Moving the newborns is very risky, and insurance costs are prohibitive for the foal to accompany its mother to the stallion’s farm. This is when the nursemaid comes into play, to raise the thoroughbred foal. Before the nursemaid will have milk, the nursemaid has to give birth.

When the nursemaid is sent to raise the more expensive baby, her own baby is then left behind. These foals are then sold to be killed. Their hides can be used in the fashion and textile industries as “pony skin” and their meat is considered a delicacy in some foreign markets.

The reason for simply killing these foals is money. The cost of raising a foal includes: Milk, yogurt, hay, medicine, vet bills, supplements, grain, shavings and heat. This does not include the time that is required for feeding and cleaning, as well as training and giving them the attention that a mother would.

With funding help, we are hoping to save many of these babies. We have the added cost of purchasing these babies from the auctions where they are going to be killed. With your help, we can save these babies and give them a chance to grow up and maybe some day be a horse that is used to work with children or adults with disabilities. Maybe some day one of these horses could be a barrel-racing champion or be the horse that your children ride at the local horse riding facility.

Without the help of caring people to help fund and rescue these babies, they will not become a great horse; they will instead be your next chair cushion or tote bag. For more information on “pony skin” see the below links.

Which would you rather see: