Meet Our Horses

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY-

Three of our 6 horses were rescued from Premerian ranches in Canada. Let me give the basics on Premarin
Premarin® stands for Pregnant Mares' Urine, PMU for short.
Premarin (including Prempro, Premphase, Prempac, and Premelle) is a drug made up of conjugated estrogens obtained from the urine of pregnant mares.

I could write a book on the horrors of the PMU Industry. There is a lot of information about the PMU Industry on the Internet. Most people do not realize what Premerin is or where it comes from.


PMU horses are treated more like cattle then horses. Most of the PMU horses are not trained or handled by people. They stand in the pee lines for months at a time hooked up to cups and lines that catch their hormone rich urine. They stood side by side, tied and had very little room to move or lie down. Heavy with foals they stood from October to May.

Every spring in May the mares and stallions were turned out in herds. They took on the roles of a wild band of horses. Since the PMU horses traveled in herds their natural instincts were very keen. They roamed huge pastures many acres long and wide. The mares would foal out and be rebred by the stallion that was also turned out with the mares. The only time a PMU mare was not pregnant was the 9 days between foaling their babies and when they came into heat. This referred to a 9-day foal heat.
Some of the rescues visited the ranches. Foals were born with no human intervention. Which in my opinion is not always a bad thing unless of course something goes bad. I heard of many tragic situations.


Then it was discovered that Premerin caused life-threatening illnesses to women. The drug company pulled the drugs from shelves and cancelled their contracts with the ranchers. Equine Rescues were already involved in rescuing the foals that were born to these mares. The foals were a by-product. The ranchers did not need the babies. Many foals were sent to feedlots and then to slaughter for human consumption. When the contracts were cancelled between the drug company and the ranchers a bigger rescue effort happened. Rescue groups across the USA started rescuing horses from PMU ranches to prevent them from being slaughtered for human consumption. The rescues worked like crazy trying to find as many homes as possible for them.

I went thru Foal Quest. There were hundreds of postage stamp sized pictures of the available horses with little information about them. Everyone was just trying to get as many horses out as possible. The drug companies had cut all of their contracts with the ranches due to the health concerns of Premerin. The ranches had all these horses without a job now. Thousands were being sent to slaughter. In Jan 2004 I adopted 2 mares in foal, Biggest and Indy.
They arrived January 28, 2004. In Sept of 2004 I adopted another mare Daisy and her colt, Angus. The horses were only known as numbers when I adopted them SC13, SC23 and HF24.

For more information on Premerin or PMU horses please visit these websites:
www.equineadvocates.com
www.consciouschoice.com


BIGGEST

Biggest is a Black Percheron Mare. I estimate her being born in 1998. I do not have a history on her due to the fact that I adopted her from the Premarin ranch in Canada.

Biggest or G for short is a Black Percheron mare she is 16.2 hands tall and about 1800lbs. She was of course in foal when I adopted her. When Biggest arrived they had traveled thousands of miles from Alberta, Canada to Maine. She was very underweight and in foal. I did not know when she was bred so I did not know when she was due. All I knew was that she was bred to a Percheron Stallion named Stik Planet. Biggest had many cuts and scrapes that were very infected. She was also very terrified. It took weeks for me to gain her trust. She had a horrible rope halter on that was too tight and digging into her skin. I could not wait to get it off.

To give you an idea of these horses state of mind one could compare a PMU horse to a wild horse. To gain her trust I started to feed her in a bucket which I held while she ate. That was the beginning of our relationship. From there I touched her shoulder, then her head and cut off that terrible halter and replaced it with a new one. Slowly but surely we progressed. I wanted to treat her wounds and I wanted to make sure I could at least handle her somewhat in case we had problems with her foaling.
She finally let me clean her cuts. She realized that I was only there to help her, it was then that she finally was able to relax. I can remember that she allowed herself to physically relax. I saw her shoulders drop, her head lower and she looked at me with her big dark eyes as if to say ok. She began to understand that I was not going to hurt her.
On May 5 2004 G had a black filly. The Percheron filly looked like an old man with baggy pants on so we named her Britches. Of course Biggest handled her foaling like a pro since this was what she did a lot of.

One thing about Biggest is she is always on alert ready to run from any danger that may happen. It was something I noticed right away with these horses. They were not as domesticated as our regular horses. Living their lives in herds they resort back to their natural instincts. In the pasture if she is frightened by something or hears a noise that might mean a predator may be near. She raises her head and blows through her nose to alert the others of possible danger. She will do that to this day. It was interesting to me to see the dynamics of the PMU horses compared to our horses. The babies were up and by their sides ready to run if they were alerted.

Biggest is a gorgeous horse. She has a renaissance look about her. She looks as though Robin Hood would have come galloping out of the forest on her. Biggest is more of a pasture pet around here. She is extremely attached to Indy. They formed that bond on the trip here from Canada. They were from different ranches but horses are herd animals and form attachments easily. She is actually like a big dog. She roams the yard free at times when we are around. She will walk to and from the paddocks with out a halter or lead. She would never leave the immediate area of the other horses. Biggest is not a snuggly mare she is careful not to let her guard down. Although, she does seem to have bonded with Jim and allows him to give her kisses on her big nose. She has come a long way in 4 years. She is still not sure of new people but gets better with time. Due to her being mistreated one has to earn her trust before she allows you in and even then she is always cautious.
Recently we have moved Angus our Percheron stallion in the stall next to her. Yes you heard me our stallion next to her. Since that time she has become as giddy as a schoolgirl. She is playful, runs and bucks like a young filly. Angus has this effect on the mares.

INDEPENDENCE

Or Indy for short. She was named to signify her independence from the PMU ranch. A lot of people named their mares similar to represent their being liberated from the PMU Industry. Call it a woman thing if you want but we can feel their pain.
Indy is a Percheron/Paint Mare. She is about 16.1 hands and weighs about 1400 lbs. She is all black except for 2 white patches of white on either side of her. She is also a very pretty mare. She is a little more refined then Biggest due to her not being all Percheron. I had no history on her for the same reasons. I adopted her at the same time as Biggest. She did however come from another ranch in Canada. Indy and Biggest traveled together from Canada. They formed a bond that is very strong. They get upset when they cannot see each other. I feel the bonds that horses form to one another is very important. Horses are herd animals and there is safety in numbers.
Indy is much more trusting then Biggest. My guess is that she was handled more at the ranch where she lived. She was also in foal and again I did not know when she was bred or when she was due. I did know that she was bred to Percheron Stallion named Johnny Showtime. I was able to get information on the stallion.
On April 29, 2004 Indy had a filly. Like Biggest she had no trouble at all. After all it had been her career. I named the filly Nickel because she was the color of a nickel. Over the next few months she turned all black like the rest of the horses of we owned.
Indy has a very nice personality and did not have as much of a trust issue as Biggest had. It was not long before she trusted me and allowed me to begin to work with her. I use a Natural Horsemanship method of working with my horses. It is an excellent way of training especially in situations like this where you have adult horses that have not had a lot of human contact. It is much gentler way to approach training. Indy is trained to ride and I hope to get out on the trails with her.
In July of 2007 we bred Indy to our Percheron Stallion Handsome Angus. On July 12, 2008 she had a filly. The filly is beautiful. Black like her parents. She is a little tank. A solid chest and butt. She has the same delightful personality as her mom and Nickel. She is very curious and confident. Indy is an excellent Mom. She knickers to her foal and keeps a watchful and disciplined eye on her. She is a little pistol for sure. I knew she would be by the way she was kicking to get out.. The filly is very athletic and quick on her feet. She seems to fear little and has a very self confident nature about her. We will have to spend some time with her and get to know her to select an appropriate name for her. She is halter trained and we imprint all of our foals that we work with. It makes life much easier for them as well as us. We are excited about her future. With what we have seen so far she will go far.


BERRY EXQUISITE

or Willy for short. Willy is a Quarter horse gelding, black of course, 15.1 hands about 1000 lbs. On May 17 2008 he turned 25 years old. We have the same birthday. I bought Willy when he was 7 years old. We have been together for 18 years. I tell him he has been with me longer then any other man. Willy is a great guy. He is the only horse here besides the foal that was just born that is not a rescue horse. Willy is like the grandfather around here. He looks after the babies and worries about them when they are upset. He gives riding lessons to all the children who ride here. He is patient with them and also takes advantage of them when he can get away with it. He loves peppermint candies and gets his share from all the little girls. He is my guinea pig when I give Horsemanship demonstrations to children's groups. Willy is my friend and confidant. He listens when I need him to, he does not complain except when he is hungry or is last to be brought outside. I feel like he has been with me forever and I worry about the day that he won't be.


HANDSOME ANGUS

or Angus for short. Angus is a Percheron Stallion born May 31, 2004. He currently stands at 16.1 hands and is about 1600 lbs. Angus lives up to his name Handsome Angus. He is all black, has an incredible mane, forelock and tail. He has a very athletic build. Being a Percheron he is very powerful and strong but has an excellent personality. Angus is actually Jim’s horse. I adopted him with his Mom Daisy in Sept of 2004. He was about 4 months old when I got him. He made the trek with his mom from Canada along with about 12 other horses. I gave Angus to Jim as a surprise shortly after he arrived. His mom Daisy a grey Percheron Mare was one of the last few mares pictured on the Foal quest web site. Her picture showed an older mare who's belly hung like a hammock from so many pregnancies. She was not the most beautiful mare that had been listed and that was probably the reason that someone had not adopted her. Her lack of care was apparent and she looked mournful and sad. She was also bred again. I use to go to the animal shelters and pick the saddest and ugliest dog that no one else wanted, that is what this reminded me of. So I took the last of savings and paid her and colts adoption fee and shipping costs. Angus's father is registered Percheron Stallion Wold Johnny Showtime. When all the mares were being sold off the stallions at the PMU ranches also faced an uncertain time. Luckily Johnny was bought and lived at a farm in Pennsylvania . Unfortunatley in 2007 Johnny died of colic.
We used a different hauler this time. Big mistake, the arrival date came and went. They had not arrived as days passed. The horses that were adopted by New England people were being shipped and dropped off at my barn. I had contact with the driver via cell phone. He had broken down several times on the way from Canada. The last being in Massachusetts. I had serious concerns about the hauler and more concerns about the well being and condition of the horses.
He finally arrived in the night. He had 12 horses packed into an 8-horse trailer. I was furious. The horses were cut up and banged up pretty bad. Some had been rubbed raw from being up against the sides of the horse trailer. I am sure that Daisy and her colt had to have been separated at times during this ordeal. Daisy must have been sick with worry. The horses were let out into a paddock with lots of food and water. They must have been so relieved to be able to just move. The hauler had come recommended to us but it goes to show how careful you have to be. I think we all just so relieved to have them here that we looked past the obvious deplorable conditions and brought our horse’s home.
Daisy and Angus flourished in their home. Daisy was a very gentle mare. Angus was a handful. He would just bust through things if he felt the need. He would walk right through fences and gates. He had not been handled by people since he had born in a herd environment and then rounded up and transported across the country.
So we began to work with Angus the same way we worked with the others. Since he was just a baby he would be easier to work with. We choose not to geld him. We wanted to keep him a stallion.
Believe me there were times we questioned that decision but now Angus is very much a gentleman. We raised him with the mares. We did not keep him hidden away from the other horses like so many stallions are. He was treated pretty much like everyone else. He was stalled and turned out with the other horses until he reached an age where he could produce. Now he is stalled and turned out next to the mares. This has proven to beneficial. Since he was brought up around the mares he is respectful of them. He behaves himself.

APOLLONIA

We have dedicated an entire section for Apollonia. She is incredibly special. If I start writing about her here I will never stop. So please read her story on the Blind Ambition section of our web site.