1st December 2004
When carriage driver Hussein’s mare began nursing her new born foal, not only did she eat more food but she couldn’t work the full working day. Worried about the cost of the extra food and the loss of income, Hussein decided to sell the foal, Abbla, although she was just two months old. Separated from her mother and loaded into a dealer’s cart, the terrified foal leapt from the vehicle, suffering a serious leg injury…
In the countries where the Brooke works it is common practice for foals to be taken from their mothers too young: a hungry, nursing mare means reduced income. Premature separation causes the mother great anguish, while a young foal parted from its mother and put to work too soon is vulnerable to a host of risks:
the trauma and stress of separation;
Iin the winter falling victim to cold nights without the warmth of its mother's body;
working too early puts strain on developing joints;
foals shod too early suffer extreme pain from undeveloped hooves
and, with its delicate constitution a foal is subject to infections and malnutrition.
This Christmas the Brooke is appealing for funds to help keep these foals safe and warm with their mothers until they are old enough to be sold or to start work.
Your generosity will help our vets to continue to educate owners about the needs of young animals in the hope of bringing an end to the sale of suckling foals. By keeping the foals on with their mothers, the Brooke is encouraging owners to invest in their animals’ health for their own benefit as well as the horses’ because older foals will be healthier and will bring a higher price when they are eventually sold.
Mike Baker, Brooke’s Chief Executive says: “Poverty can drive owners to sell suckling foals for fast money, and allows animal dealers to sell young foals as early as one year to work at pulling carts. Such young animals will not have a life expectancy of more than another two years on the streets of Cairo or Delhi.”
Fortunately, there was a happy ending for Hussein’s foal Abbla. When she fell from the vehicle, Hussein’s 12 year old son Saeed picked her up and rushed her to Brooke’s Luxor clinic, begging for help. Abbla was weak and shivering from blood loss where her leg was lacerated but our vets soon treated her and reunited her with her mother. And better still, Hussein took the advice of the Brooke vet and decided to keep Abbla.
Editors Notes:
How your Christmas gift to the Brooke can help keep a foal safe and warm with its mother this winter:
£18 could pay for treatment for a malnourished foal
£27 could help cure the respiratory diseases to which foals are particularly vulnerable
£35 could help our mobile vets provide training and education to owners to ensure that mother and foal stay together
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