Joy has followed sadness after a foal who lost his mother at eight days old has bonded with a cow.
Orphaned foal Thomas and dairy cow Rusty have formed an unusual bond at their home farm in Gorey, Co. Wexford, following a sad start to Thomas’ young life.
Thoroughbred breeder and dairy farmer Des Devereux told H&H Thomas was born normally and “everything was perfect and very straightforward” for the first seven to eight days.
Sadly on the eighth day, the mare haemorrhaged and they lost her very quickly.
“We had to get to work straight away to find a foster mother,” he said. “We found one straight away and we tried very hard to get it to work, but we knew after two to three days it wasn’t going to. So we kept at it until we found another mare, again he [the foal] was willing, but it just didn’t happen.”
Des said his son, Charlie, eight, suggested they try the foal on Rusty.
At this stage, they were desperate to find a solution, so they gave it a try and the pair bonded rapidly.
“It was very straightforward and they’ve never looked back,” he added. “There haven’t been any digestive issues and the foal is being more than adequately provided for.
“It wasn’t working the other way [with foster mares], so it was desperate times and desperate measures to keep the horse alive.”
Des, whose foals have gone on to enjoy National Hunt success with trainers on both sides of the Irish Sea, said he has fortunately never had to try this before.
“We’ve never lost a mare at this late stage before and we had to thank goodness it has just worked,” he said.
“It’s really nice the racing public have got behind it [the story].”
A cow has become an unlikely foster mother to an orphan foal in Co Wexford.? ? ?
(Tap for best view on mobile) pic.twitter.com/5Nps9CyZxi— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 27, 2021
Article continues below…
You might also be interested in:
Meet Buttons: the orphaned Welsh mountain pony bringing joy in troubled times
Buttons joined thoroughbred breeders Hillwood Stud aged hours old for specialist care and has gone from strength to strenght, delighting
Subscribe to Horse & Hound this spring for great savings
Joy from sadness: mare adopts late fieldmate’s foal to raise alongside her own
All three have bonded and both foals are doing ‘very well’
Other than the obvious, there is one, slightly smelly, difference from using a foster mare…
“The biggest problem is lying in cow pats and he comes up with big brown patches,” he laughed. “As long as he keeps sucking away, that’s what matters! We are just taking each day at a time.”
Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.
