BABYTREK 1999
If you were to ask me how I ended up with 11 foals in my corrals this year I would answer that I'm still not really too sure myself. I started out trying to find two babies for myself and my daughter, that's it, we just wanted two babies to train. What followed was a journey that I won't soon forget……
Since I live in Central Alberta, where many PMU farms and auctions are located I thought that it would be nice to rescue one of these "poor" foals instead of buying elsewhere. I started my search on the Internet, running into many pages from animal rights groups telling of the horrors of this PMU industry, how cruelly the mares were treated and how the foals were often simply left to die. Of course, as anyone would be, I was appalled at what I was reading, but, being a farmer myself I was also skeptical, after all, I had also heard many ties that it was not possible to care about animals while at the same time raising them for slaughter. ( I raise sheep and cattle ). The thing that most people who are not directly involved in farming do not realize is that in order to live your life alongside animals..you do truly have to care about them.
I had a hard time believing the stories were all true, that people could spend their lives raising horses and not caring at all about their livestock or the fate of the foals…..so I dug further. What I found was a web site run by a woman named Donna Weatherly. It was obvious to me that this was someone who shared my views, who also believed that many of these PMU farmers were good people, people who cared about their animals and ran clean, healthy and caring operations. Donna has been to some of these farms and met the people who own them. She has seen for herself that the majority of them are good people, just like you and i. People who are simply trying to make a living. They are not cruel or insensitive to the needs of their horses and they care about what happens to the foals each year.
I was intrigued with the work she was trying to do and the treks to Canada that she was trying to plan so I contacted her. I told her that I lived in Alberta and was close to the auction sales if she ever needed help…..a move that I am now wondering if I should have made !! ;O)
As it turned out, Donna was unable to get a trek together for Alberta this year, so I made a suggestion : I told her that if she had people who really wanted foals this fall I could go to the auctions here and purchase for them. And that's what happened, that's how I ended up with 11 foals in my corrals.
With the help of Kim Goslin, who is also on Donna's trek list I traveled to several local auctions, armed with a "wish list" from the people who wanted to bring foals home to the US. What struck me right away was how good most of these foals looked. They were not tattered and beaten, they were not sickly and half starved. The majority of these foals were very healthy and very beautiful. With the changes in the industry over the past decade due in part to programs like NAERIC , these farmers are starting to turn out good quality foals that stand a much better chance of finding themselves homes as pleasure horses instead of heading to slaughter. Many of the foals going through the sales are papered animals, most go to good homes. They are purchased for roping, cattle penning, barrel racing and pleasure riding. Many with top bloodlines find their way to places like Texas where they are now used to improve bloodlines down there.
So, if these are good foals going to good homes why the need for any more 'rescues" ? Well, I'll tell you..it is because there are more foals produced than there are homes willing to take them. It is because there are still many unpapered or 'grade" foals going through these sales. There are still too many of these foals being purchased by horse dealers and meat buyers. Most of these foals are good horses and they too deserve good homes. What I found at most of the sales was that the place was packed while the registered foals were selling, many were going for high prices..some as high as $1, 600. As I said, most of these foals were going to good homes, their futures look bright, but, not all animals can be at the top, not all papered foals come from famous bloodlines and not all have the right "look" for the show ring or arena. Some of these other foals may not be so lucky.
It was astounding to me just how fast the sales empty out when these top papered foals are sold..even though there are usually just as many grade animals to sell, there are less than half the buyers left to bid on them. No, not all of these buyers are dealers and not all are meat buyers. Some are people like me who don't care about papers and just want a reasonably priced baby to take home and love. But the dealers and meat buyers are looking for the same deals. It really broke my heart to know where some of these babies were headed and I really had to sit on my hands many times..but I couldn't buy them all..not this year anyhow.
The grade foals do not all end up going to slaughter, as I said some are bought by families some bought by people who cannot afford top registered foals, but many still do go to feedlots and brokers. Even if they turn out to be great horses they won't have the human contact and compassion they deserve, they may be spared from slaughter but will grow up in less than loving surroundings. Many will be fed until they are yearlings and then returned to the auction to go through the whole thing again..this time perhaps bringing the dealers two or three times what they bought them for.
I guess what I would like people to know is that there are many foals born up here each year that need loving homes. Many of these foals come from good farms, they have been well cared for and are healthy and strong. They will make great pleasure horses and great companions. A lot of them do get the chance at a good life, but too many still do not. If we can prevent ten, twenty or thirty foals from being shipped to slaughter or living in less than ideal conditions, then my time and hard work will be worth it.
Hard work, yes, it has been. There have been hours of driving, trying to de-worm wild 400 pound foals, feeding twice a day, vet bills, blood tests and mucking out pens. There have also been countless hours of paper work, phone calls and "red tape' to work out. I have volunteered my time, my fuel and most of my feed to get this trek to happen this year simply because there were people in the states who cared and who wanted to give some of these babies a good home. Will I do it again next year ? Yeah, I think I will. Ok, if I volunteer as much grain, hay and gas I may end up single again…but I'll be there buying foals at all the sales and wrestling with stubborn scared foals just like I did this year. Why ? It certainly isn't for the money !!! ;O) if you could look outside my window right now you would know why. I will do it because I enjoy these foals, I am glad to see them growing strong and resting. It does me good to know that they will have a chance at a great life now..that 8 of them have new families that wanted them badly enough to have put their trust in someone they did not know in order to get them "home". I feel great when I go out and see them relaxing more each day, becoming friendlier and more trusting of humans.
I have to say that I will miss them when they leave at the end of the month, but two will be staying with us and one will be living with my sister in law so I will still have babies here to feed and play with !
Alberta, Canada
This is the page where the babies are. some headed as far as Florida. I want to you know, this was a test run for our first list haul. It was a huge sucess!..It couldnt have happened without every member pitching in....God Bless Us All!
Click Here There will be a blue side bar to the left with a scroll down menu...There are pages of the babies after auctions...During Jans wonderful care... and after they got to host homes! We are so proud of every member that helped this to work...Right down to our USDA friends that helped us figure our what the brokerage problem was all about.
The Dream. When did it become a reality?
Hi !
I'm the woman who's concept, and creed and promise was spoken amid a herd of these babies one fall day in 1998. I'm Donna Weatherly, the woman with a concept that brough one hundred women together to help these foals... The concept that binds us together is just the babies..Only the babies
Let me explain?
In 1996, while discussing an email about some freezing PMU mares and babies in a feed lot with a member of a horse rescue transport group. I got a quick course of study on the idea of a PMU mare. Not many people wanted to give me information. The Term PMU was decidedly a dirty name or term that made people shudder, clam up, and hide their revulsion. I was not sure how I got the next 3 phone numbers but I talked to the gent and While I was trying to make him understand my reasons for calling him were pure, we chatted about my home of record and my "accent" that he said I was losing.
We talked over family he had in NJ, I found out he was related to me. He was related to my grandfather in Maine by marriage, and if I wanted a lesson on the industry, I'd have to do a lot of the legwork my self. No Problem! That started my first leg of contact, and my first ag inspector and a man who checked on the welfare of about 1500 mares when the rotated from 2 farms that used them over the winter. And checked on the welfare of many others.
I learned that these farmers were a bit sore about what the animal ladies were saying and that if you looked for just the bad, Often you found it. It took a few visits to a few barns and the photos he sent of some awful barns to show me the difference. I saw a few bad, a whole lot that were passable, but trying. After contacting a bunch of farmers, and explaining what I wanted to do (With some mixed attitudes from the farms) I found a few willing to trust me…Share with me…Train me and tell me what the industry was all about.
That the work was hard, smelly, and the money is not what they were told it would be, but they had a plan to make it even better for as long as the trade lasted.
In 1998, I went up to Alberta Canada. I found a farmer willing to trust me to come on the property and have free rein. He taught me as much as I was willing to listen to, and I kept my mind open. He allowed me to ride among the babies, and my plan was to pick a few, and then glean the best out of the 3 best picks. My pick was a golden Palomino filly.
She was not the paint mix I went up there after.. Nor was she the buckskin I dreamed about. But her and her mom looked at me, and this filly was made to stand by her mom.She looked at me, then looked down, and kept her baby from walking off. People say horses don't communicate with us, I have to differ with that. That act was plainly a plea to save her baby from auction, it was a question from female to female that she wished a different life for her foal.. I could not let her down. I promised the girls (Mares) that I would see what I could do to help their babies too…I did not lie to them.
Cheryl Ditty ( member of AER And my Friend that has some interesting stories to tell about a gal from NY that never saw the wild side of the yukon.;-) Cheryl and I went on 2 more rides among the gals. All I could think of was that the farmer did a good job of recycling his horses to 4-H, dude ranches, and special programs, he just needed a bit of help…These babies needed help. Cheryl and I discussed the ideas of what we could do. Both of us were not rich, we barely scraped by.
None of us wanted to hurt the farmers. We could see that these were family people that made horses their lives. Just like any other animal…They have a purpose, they have a job, and they pull their weight. Though, with a few of the farmers we talked to..More and more wished there were a way to process the babies and make sure a few more went to good homes. They felt boxed in by Animal Activists, there was no way out of the bad press.
Upon my arriving home, and Cheryls departure to Alaska, we still chatted about the why's and how to help. We chatted about the with the promises we made to the foals, how we could not see them all go to auction… and the idea of a totally 100% volunteer force of women helping women to help get these babies down.. Was borne. We did it as middle aged women. Surely they could too! If they banded together, and got them down as a group The trek was long but worth while…Yup PMUTREK was visualized.
The Email line was started so that members could network with each other. We got to know each other and our strong points. Late 1998 and mid 1999, saw 4 private hauls,
And no more group involvement. Finally in Sept 1999…There was a leap of Faith!
Jan Turnbull and Kim Goslin decided to make that huge leap and offer to buy some babies for the group. The results were so awesome. We knew this was meant to be! People all pulled together. The quickness of how people stepped up to the plate and volunteered was just too good to be true!~ I was near to tears.
You see there was a radio station in Florida that did a huge haul. I couldn't help complaining that it was nice to have funding, and get the job done. Jan and Kim and Betsy
Made me see it could be done without heavy funding. My program would work, Just like I envisioned it.. It was a good program! People were willing to help these babies just to help them find a better home. People were willing to extend their homes, and their farms to help women bringing foals down. People wanted to do something just to help…Just for the Babies..Just Like Me!
Portland, Oregon
From there….I have to pass this to Anne and Betsy.
Annes Story
Donna, hope this is OK give me your opinion
Last Christmas I received a card from a friend who knows of my passion for horses. Little did I know the Pandora's box I opened when I opened that card! It was a photograph of a group of "PMU babies", I did not know what that phrase meant, so I hit 'the Web'. Within a few weeks I had more information than I really wanted, most of it upsetting. Thousands of foals sent to slaughter as an unwanted by-product in order to supply an ingredient for a hormone replacement drug. I was appalled, but a voice inside me reminded me that there is always more than one side to a story so I continued to explore the internet. Finally I found Donna's list & with it came the ability for me to do something that would make a difference, no matter how small. In the past few weeks this small group of caring people have been able to engineer the rescue of a few foals and arrange for them to have a bright future where before their destiny was unclear. Just a few people with no financial backing, no sponsors and only a little organization have mobilized across this vast country and made something wonderful happen!! Volunteers have come 'out of the woodwork' with offers of overnight stop over locations, some with a paddock, others with coffee & showers, all to get these babies to their new homes. Already plans are in the making for our next 'trek2000' We have wish lists coming in from people who would like to give a home to a foal, offers of computer help, use of paddocks and barns and local trailering. By then I hope we will have achieved 'charitable' status and can receive donations of money, land, food, trailers and more. In my dreams I see foals of all colours pouring from our trailers into sunny meadows and the waiting arms of their new families. All that has happened in the past few weeks has helped restore my faith, faith that we can make it happen, faith that with education we can inform people that there are synthetic alternatives to this drug, faith that there are people out there who will take a baby, just because they can.
Although I didn't plan it, I too am excitedly awaiting our new arrival!! A little bay colt with no papers (who needs 'em!) My heart melted as soon as I saw him! (Jan e-mailed me his photo!) 'Heartbreaker' should arrive in October & I'm almost bursting at the seams keeping him a secret in order to surprise my family!!
Next time I plan on making the trip to the auctions myself, I'll probably find a couple of stable mates for 'Heartbreaker', but I plan on continuing to do whatever I can to help these little guys. I'll spend more time sorting through literally hundreds of e-mail, go to clinics and shows to get the word out and educate women about their alternatives and put flyers in feed shops and supermarkets. Maybe we can even get some radio & TV coverage. Let's face it, any of us can buy a horse just by picking up a local paper or logging onto 'the 'Net', but to take one of these babies makes a significant impact and still achieves the goal. Who can resist those huge liquid eyes and tiny twitchy tails anyway!! Yes, my faith is being restored in this human race of ours, one hoofbeat at a time!!