The Last Chance Corral is a non-profit organization specializing in rescue, rehabilitation and adoptive services for unwanted equines. Having received the Hank Award for outstanding achievements in Equine Rescue and the AVMA Humane Award in 2001, we have become a national leader in equine rescue, as well as neonatal foal care. We operate one of the few neonatal units, capable of handling several hundred foals each year, without university backing.
The neonatal foals that come into our care are primarily orphaned nurse mare foals. Every year we stabilize and adopt out 150-200 orphaned foals. A nurse mare foal is produced so that its mother will come into milk. The milk she then produces is used to nourish the foal of another “more valuable” foal. These orphaned foals are essentially the byproducts of the nurse mare milk industry.
Historically these foals were killed because it is so difficult to raise them, however, advances in neonatal knowledge and the survivability of these foals have blossomed in recent years. To a limited extent they have gained value for their hides or “pony skin” and the foreign meat market.
There are good and bad nurse mare farms. Of the many day-old foals we receive, a disturbing amount of their blood tests indicate they have not received a drop of colostrum milk from their mothers and their chances of survival are slim at best. All we ask is that you check out your nurse mare farms and make sure their orphaned foals are receiving humane treatment and sufficient colostrum to give them a healthy start. A little ownership responsibility will go a long way…and we'll take over from there, with a little help from our friends at Thoroughbred Charities of America. www.LastChanceCorral.org