Foal Update - 2008 Hope Foals Arrive at MHP!

The new foals are quaranteened for a month. If you touch them, please wash your hands before touching any other horse. Check back tomorrow for a full update. If you just can't wait, click here for details.

2007 Hope Foals in Their First HopeFoal Program

All five foals participated in their first HopeFoal Program in February where they met their first group of 8 teenage girls. The girls showed remarkable patience with the still shy Chandler and the still fiesty Phoenix. Everyone made progress! The foals also met their first farrier with somewhat more drama. Tubac and Essence got a full trim, and Sedona worked on having her feet held. We decided to wait on Phoenix and Chandler. All foals are leading, all are being groomed to some degree. The next training priorities are mouth handling so we can be sure they all get the proper does of wormer next month, hoof handling so we can meet the farrier somewhat more prepared and leading so we can them to a larger turnout. No foals or farriers were injured in the trimming process.

For baby pictures of the foals with their mothers, click here.

A special thanks once again to all our foal mentors, Terry McCleary, Susan Leufthauser, Barbara Cassedy, Calyn Acebes and Kathy Johnson. We look forward to having some new foal mentors join the team next month.

The Story of Essence and Natural Health International

How one company rescued a Premarin Foal, helps teenage girls and could improve the health of millions of women around the world.

By Karolyn A. Gazella, Medicine Horse Program Board of Directors

Premarin is a multi-billion dollar hormone replacement drug made from the urine of pregnant mares. Even though recent research clearly demonstrates that Premarin can increase a woman's chance of getting breast cancer, it remains the fourth most frequently prescribed drug in the World. While the tens of thousands of pregnant mares endure abusive conditions, the destiny of the newborn foal can be even more horrific. The foals born to the Premarin industry are merely incidental byproducts. According to HorseAid (www.premarin.org), 9 out of 10 fillies (female foals) born to Premarin mares are sent off to slaughter.

Thanks to Natural Health International, the adorable little filly they named Essence has been saved from such a horrible fate. Today, Essence is one of five rescued foals living at the Medicine Horse Program, a nonprofit equine facility that helps high-risk youth. Essence is part of the nationally-recognized HopeFoal Project where the foals are matched with depressed, anxious, and troubled teens. Along with trained therapists and experienced horse handlers, the foals help the teens realize that life is worth fighting for. In the process, both teen and foal are healed.

There is a lot of symbolism within Essence name and appearance. She is a known as a medicine hat paint because the color around her ears makes it seem as though she is wearing a hat. In Native American culture the medicine hat paint is revered as a special spiritual animal. Essence already seems very intuitive and is becoming a very special horse and healer, giving back to society as she mends her own wounds.

However what Natural Health International is doing for women and women's health around the world doesn't stop there, and doctors, women and mares alike are taking a lot of notice. Natural Health International has recently completed and published five years of clinical research on the first herbal product, Femmenessence™, to significantly and safely improve a woman's hormone levels as well as improve bone and most importantly heart health. With heart disease, mental health and bone density women's biggest concerns as they enter and pass menopause, Femmenessence™ could finally offer a safe and effective herbal alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

We want to thank Natural Health International who not only purchased Essence for the Medicine Horse Program but paid for her transport to Colorado, her veterinary care and they also continue to pay for her monthly care and feeding. If it wasn't for their generosity, Medicine Horse would not have been able to rescue Essence. We thank Natural Health International for their continued support of our efforts! If you'd like to follow the progress of Essence, visit www.medicinehorse.org. Monthly updates are posted online or to see more about Natural Health International go to www.naturalhi.com.

January Foal Update

The foals are moving right through the foal checklists, thanks to the great work of their mentors: Calyn Acebes, Kathy Johnson, Susan Leufhauser, Terry McCleary, and Barbara Cassedy. Work with Phoenix in particular has been always daunting and sometimes dangerous, as Phoenix is the least trusting of the foals and the mostly likely to act out. It took a lot of patience and creativity before we were able to put a safety halter on and cut off the too small rope halter the Phoenix wore when she came. We used "the Double Halter method" demonstrated by Chandler below.

In the Double Halter method, first headshy foals were desensitized to a piece of binder twine run over their ears and behind their head. Then they were cajoled into putting their head into another halter as they ate. With the help of the handy-dandy binder twine, we were able to pull the crownpiece over their ears with a minimum of fuss. Then, the too small rope halters were cut out from underneath the new safety halter.

The Chandler Report, Introducing Chandler, the Newest Addition to the Hope Foal Herd

Chandler is a buckskin colt, part Welsh pony and part something else. He arrived at Medicine Horse in mid December, walking on his hind legs. "A bi-ped!" I thought. The driver who shipped Chandler to Medicine Horse said that they were not able to touch him to load him for his journey. Instead, they formed a chute and ran him into the trailer. That is exactly how we unloaded him as well, forming a chute and letting him run to his stall. Only he did most of it rearing and bucking. Someone had somehow put a halter on his head, many months ago. It was already too small, and growing into his nose. The problem was we couldn't catch him to get it off. In fact, we couldn't touch him at all.

We spent about a month at his stall during feeding time. He finally let us touch his head. But, he was very suspicious and would often bolt away. He is outstandingly athletic, and shows piaffe, passage, Spanish walk, and all the airs above the ground. I am almost certain he is half Andalusian. Medicine Horse staff was extremely patient with Chandler, and took at whole different tack with him than the other foals. He had to *want* to come to us. There would be no sneaking a leadrope around his neck, no hanging on to him him if left the scene, and no cowboys to rope him as was sometimes suggested. Staff spent extra time with him at feeding, just sitting in his stall with him, and then starting to scatch his neck. Day by day, the white around his eye began to fade. He started coming up at feeding time rather than running to the back of his stall. He let me rub his face and around his ears. I had to stay low, sitting on the feed trough.If I stood up and made a move for his halter, he would bolt to the back of his run.

Eventually I was able to slip his old halter off his head. This was a mistake in afterthought, as we had not yet stumbled upon the Double Halter Method. Now, how do I get a new safety halter on? Creativity was key. I learned that if I kept the feed bucket in my lap and stayed low, sitting down, then Chandler was much less fearful. Eventunally I held the halter in the feed buck and Chandler learned to put his head in the halter. But, I couldn't get the strap over his ears to buckle it, or the feed bucket would fall off my lap, startling him and making me start the whole process all over. Because the foals are often far too shy to have more than one person in their stall, we start with one and gradually get them used to more. Working alone, we often feel like we don't have enough hands. I finally rigged a binder twine to the earpiece of the halter, and snapped the feed bucket to my coat! Then I had an extra hand. We call this "the Third Hand" Method. Within 5 minutes I had the halter on. Within 15 minutes, Chandler had it off. I was able to repeat the process the next day. Not long after that, something changed in Chandler's eye. He got a sweet, soft, doe-like look in his eye. He came to the fence to watch me if I started working with another foal. He started coming right up to me, and let me snap a lead rope to him.

I have been able to scratch his neck, to stand beside him and to touch his back. I can lead him short distances, but we have a long way to go. Chandler has already started work in the Hope Foal class. Because of his beauty and intelligence, the girls are drawn to him. Because of his innate shyness and lack of trust in people, he will teach us all a great lesson in trust, patience, and creative colt handling.

December Foal Update

ABC World News Tonight with Erin Hayes spent three days at Medicine Horse in November filming a segment on the HopeFoal Program. We will announce when the show will be airing as soon as we know the date and times.

Medicine Horse Staff and volunteers have taken on the challenge of becoming "foal mentors." Each foal now has one or more dedicated humans working with them to complete the halter training process and to prepare them to go into programs. Each mentor will follow a foal checklist to ensure consistency in training and methods. They commit to working with the foals a minimum of three times a week, 15 minutes per session. Other interested mentors should contact Kathy Johnson. This group of foals have not been transitioned to eating grains, treats or any solid food besides hay. Mentors must spend some time teaching the foals to eat, something they would normally have learned from their mothers. Calyn Acebes is mentoring Sedona, a sensible, friendly filly, who is very athletic and strong. Calyn's challenge is to balance animation with relaxation, keeping Sedona's spirits high but in control.