Orphaned foal 'adopted' by new mother

Rising Star owner Debbie Eichler, veterinarian Jim Baum and Rising Star employee Beverly Lamp were all surprised at how quickly Striding at the Ritz, or 'Ritzy,' took to her adopted baby. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Order this photo]

The third time should have been the charm. Striding at the Ritz, a Tennessee walking horse mare owned by Amanda Winters, lost her first two foals soon after birth before anyone realized there was a medical reason. Similar to human "blue babies," who have blood incompatibilities with their mothers, Ritzy had a condition that made her colostrum -- the all-important first fluids a foal drinks -- incompatible with her own offspring.

But even the third time, fate intervened, and the mare who had carried three babies to term had yet to be a mother.

"It was a bad presentation," said Debbie Eichler, owner of Rising Star Ranch, where the mare was stabled for the birth last Tuesday. "The baby was dead before it was born."

Less than a week old, Rising Star's little orphan frolics beside his new mother, Ritzy, and her handler, Beverly Lamp. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Sad outlook

Amanda took her mare home. There are only about five registered Tennessee walking horse studs that can mate with Ritzy safely, and it looked as though the mare, a sweet-tempered liver chestnut, would never know what it was like to have a colt or filly running beside her in the field.

The day after Amanda took Ritzy home, another mare went into labor, one of Rising Star's own broodmares in foal to the stallion Ted Williams. A healthy chestnut colt was delivered -- but this time, the mother did not survive. She died with a prolapsed uterus just as veterinarian Jim Baum arrived.

Saving the baby

"Dr. Baum nursed the mare's colostrum and tubed it down the baby," said Debbie. "We bucket fed him every two hours."

The solution seems obvious -- match the orphaned baby with the foal-less mama. But when you've been working the broodmare detail in a large barn 24/7 for weeks, with foals being born, mares being cranky, and emergency calls at all hours of the night, "obvious" can be a little elusive.

"Dr. Baum told us there was a place in Kentucky that has nursing mares, but it would take 24 hours to get one here," said Debbie.

Quick action

The foal was born Friday night and she wouldn't have been able to "order" a mare until Monday morning. The first few days are critical in a foal's development, especially when nutrition is concerned, and Debbie and Beverly Lamp, who helps out in the broodmare barn during foaling season, wanted to find a mare sooner than that.

"We tried to put him with a mare who had a baby already," said Debbie. "But he couldn't figure out how to suck and the other baby kept bumping him to move him off the faucet."

The colt was strong -- he'd gotten on his feet within a half-hour of birth, said Debbie -- and she wanted to do whatever she had to keep him strong.

"Then Beverly said we needed to find a mare who'd lost her baby," she said. "We thought of Amanda."

Ritzy to the rescue

Amanda was more than happy to bring the mare back to Rising Star. She's being compensated with a free breeding to another of her mares. But that wasn't the only reason she was happy to bring Ritzy back to the farm.

"She's been such a sweet girl about it," said Debbie. "She's glad she could help, and she's glad Ritzy finally gets the chance to be a mom."

But Amanda was also concerned -- with more experience with pregnancy than parenting, would Ritzy know what to do with her adopted son? The mare's sweet nature was one of the reasons Debbie was sure it would work.

"We've got some mares here I'd never try it with," she said.

Helping hands

Of course, a mild sedative and an old horseman's trick also helped the mare make the adjustment to motherhood.

"The mare urinated and we put some of it on a towel, then rubbed the baby with it," said Debbie.

Finding her own scent on the foal made it easier for to recognize it as "hers," said Baum. "The old urine trick works every time."

He also had to give the mare oxytocin, a hormone that triggers the milk to let down. Because she had not been nursing since the stillborn birth of her own foal, her milk had already begun to dry up.

Love affair

Baum said getting one mare to adopt an orphan is not that uncommon, but everyone was surprised with how quickly the mare took to her little orphan.

"I came back to check on them," said Debbie. "She was still a little sedated and was lying down in the stall and he was curled up beside her. Their noses were just touching. I knew then it was going to work."

It was a pretty picture, especially since both are chestnuts, even though the mare's coat is darker than the foal's.

"The ironic thing is, the mare that died was black and so was the foal that died," said Debbie. "These two look like they should have been the real mother and son."

Settling in

Now, only a few days after their first meeting, Ritzy is the proud and possessive mama. If her son -- yet to be named -- wanders away too far, she gets a little frantic, pulling at the lead line and whickering, pawing the ground in front of her.

That may be a problem in and of itself, given the nature of the little red horse. Having been handled by humans almost hourly since his birth, he's become a bold fellow, wandering away from his new mom and through the corridors of the barn. Playful and curious, he knows no strangers and wanders up to everyone he meets, expecting to be petted, praised -- and possibly fed.

"He loves people," she said.