A Legacy is Born: H.I. Nurse Mares Provide an Ethical Solution

We sadly lost Se Bella due to foaling complications Monday, February 8, 2021 after delivering a chestnut filly by Street Boss. We were put in touch with Laura Phoenix of Our Kentucky Nursemares. Our filly soon had an adoptive mother, named Legacy, to care for her. Legacy isn’t your traditional nurse mare, however. She is a hormonally induced (H.I.) nurse mare. The traditional nurse mare is a mare that is bred to a stallion and produces her own foal. When a nurse mare is called upon to care for another mare’s foal, the nurse mare’s biological foal becomes an orphan. It is the recipient’s responsibility to breed the nurse mare back so she will produce a foal the following year and continue her work as a nurse mare. In contrast, an H.I. nurse mare is brought into lactation through hormone injections. She is not bred, and therefore does not produce a biological foal of her own. There are no throwaway foals with this practice providing a guilt-free, ethical, and convenient nurse mare solution. H.I. nurse mares can be on demand for mare owner’s emergency needs, as well as reserved for pre-existing needs. If you require a nurse mare, please contact Laura Phoenix of Our Kentucky Nursemares and Northeast Nursemares at 607-437-0479 or Bronwyn Watts of Coldspring Nurse Mares at 540-588-3453. www.woodmerefarm.weebly.com