Rescue group to bring second foal shipment

MAT-SU -- Nineteen foals are getting ready for shipment to Alaska as part of a local group's effort to provide homes for PMU foals, the offspring of mares used to produce pregnant mare urine, a primary source of estrogen in hormone replacement therapy drugs such as Premarin and Prempro.

This is the second year a load of the foals is being shipped to Alaska in a venture steered by Palmer-area resident Janet Burts. She's in the midst of building a pen to be used as an off-loading area for the foals, who will be hauled up in September. Burts said her group got a deal on the hauling fee -- a PMU rancher agreed to haul them up in a new, specially designed foal trailer, complete with padding on the sides and floor to protect the young horses' fragile bodies throughout the journey. The hauling fee, she said, is $450, so the horses, with the ranch fees, border fees and other associated costs, will cost between $900 or $1,250, depending on registration.

Burts, with the help of Darcy King and Tammie Matthews, has done a significant amount of preparation work since last year's venture. Last year, Burts worked with Alabama-based Foal Train to bring 21 foals to Alaska from PMU producers. This year, Burts, King and Matthews head the Alaska chapter of Foal Train and, although they continue to work with the Alabama founders, stand more on their own and have their own Web site, members.lycos.co.uk/tammisueak.

Foal Train, Burts said, has a working relationship with several PMU ranchers in Canada. After the foals are born in May or June of each year, the farmers take photos of the foals and send them exclusively to Foal Train to be posted on the Internet for adoption. Many of the foals are quarter horses registered with the American Quarter Horse Association and other horse registries. Other breeds abound, including Percherons, Belgians, sport-horse quality thoroughbred-draft crosses, paints, paint-draft crosses and Morgan-draft crosses. PMU ranchers such as those who work with Foal Train, Burts said, are concentrating more on raising adoptable horses with good breeding lines so they'll be more readily adopted.

In the past three years, Foal Train's adoption rate has grown to more than 200 foals each year. Of the approximately 30,000 PMU mares on ranches across the northern U.S. and Canada, about 2,000 are placed through foal rescue groups, according to information from Burts.

Burts said she and other Foal Train organizers have already picked the 19 foals to come up in September, and they're diligently picking names to reflect the horses' breeding history.

"We decided to pick colors," Burts said, noting that horses with a lot of color seem to be more popular with prospective owners. Palominos, buckskins, grays and blacks are among the mix, she said. Several are registered stallions, and three in the mix are draft mixes. People interested in the horses have already committed to adopt 10 of the horses, Burts said, leaving nine still available.

The deadline for adoptions, Burts said, is Aug. 10. In addition to adoptions, Foal Train accepts horse-related items, such as hay, probiotics, wormers, vitamin and mineral supplements, first-aid supplies, tack and other items. Those items, Burts said, help meet needs while the horses wait to be picked up by their new owners after their Alaska arrival. Although Burts, King and Matthews put in countless hours and money on arranging the adoptions and advertising, Burts said they're not looking to make a profit.

"We're not in the business to make a profit," Burts said. "What it's all about is just finding them homes; finding them healthy homes."

For more information about the PMU foals, call Burts at 746-3225 or e-mail her at n17dl@aol.com.