At First Farm Inn Kentucky, in addition to allowing guests to ride our horses, we overnight horses traveling cross country.  In July, a Canadian family called at the last minute.  While the house was full, the barn and the paddocks weren't, so they brought two trailers and 11 horses back from Texas. 

We didn't learn much of their story, but this mare and her foal tell a lot.  They go to Texas each year to rescue horses. They listen to a radio call-in show where people advertise things they don't want.

This chestnut mare of undetermined breed was advertised for $300.  When they saw her condition and that she was being kept with a stallion who was beating her up and knocking her to the ground, they paid the money.  "Those whose horses are in the worst condition always want the most money," the mom said.

The previous "owners" said the mare was due to foal in September.  A few days later, this emaciated (perhaps 700 pound) bag of bones survived giving birth to a cute little chestnut filly with a big star on her forehead.  The baby had taken the nutrition from the mare and was in better shape than her mom, but it was time for the drive home. 

Because standing in a trailer to travel is so hard on horses, they usually aren't fed rich food that can cause an intestinal disturbance called "colic" which usually results in death.  While this poor mare -- at 200-300 pounds under weight -- needed as much nutrition as she could get, they couldn't risk her life by giving her rich food before or during transport.  Accustomed to next to nothing, they said she was gaining weight on high fiber rice bran soaked in water and grass hay. 

But, during the long trip from Texas to Cincinnati, she refused to drink anything.  Consequently, she had no milk for the baby.  Astute horse rescuers, the Canadian family brought goats' milk and a nipple bottle and tried to convince the baby to drink.  (At about 80 pounds, like other small animals, this foal could dehydrate and die without eating in 12-24 hours.)

When they arrived at our house, the mare and foal were placed in a big stall in our 140-year-old barn.  While they were unloading the other horses, I came thru the barn to check on my horses and saw the pitiful pair.  I filled a bucket and got the mare to drink several gallons of water.  They arrived with her bran mash and we added water to increase her fluid intake.  The baby drank one bottle of goats' milk and tried in vain to nurse her mom.  Then they both laid flat out in total exhaustion and slept.

I called around to find more goats' milk -- it's sold condensed in cans at Kroger's and Walmart if you ever need it.  Found a local store that had some on hand (by this time it was nearing 9 p.m.).  They brought it back to me.  I'd offered to get up and feed the baby in the night. Knowing the baby wouldn't last thru the night and seeing how exhausted the family was, we sent them to dinner and a nearby hotel. 

At 12:30 a.m., the baby eagerly downed the last bottle of warmed & diluted fresh goats' milk and sipped a little of the canned.  I added more water to the mom's bran mash and held it under her nose until she finished it.  She'd drunk several gallons of water.

At 6 a.m., I went out to the barn again with more heated, reconstituted canned goats' milk.  The foal refused to even think about drinking it.  I checked the mare.  She had milk.  The baby nursed aggressively.   At 10 a.m., the family returned, all of us nearly in tears that the mare was making milk and the baby would survive.  They were led back into the trailer to finish the trip to a new home where they would be cared for and trained by real horse people.