HORSING AROUND BY TRIANA ELAN

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This Week's Horsing Around column

Horsing Around

Little did I know three months ago that hormone replacement therapy would lead to such adventures! What began as an act of desperation has turned into a marvelous learning opportunity, acts of goodwill, and the feeling of making a difference.

I'm speaking of the estrogen replacement drug Premarin. Many people "in the know" will argue that soy or yam estrogens will do the same thing, but I must argue that this is not the case. Alternative products used for estrogen replacement in women does work for many, but not all. I am one of "not alls."

None of this would be an issue if it weren't for a by-product of Premarin (which, in its elongated name, is PREgnant MARe urINe). Breeding farms in Canada and North Dakota in the U.S. have, for fifty years, been making some side money by collecting the urine of pregnant mares during their last 150 days of pregnancy. Then the Premarin foals are born. Somewhere between 50,000 and 70,000 of them per year!

It used to be that these were simply "throwaway foals."but thanks to some rescue organizations such as the PMU Foal Adoption Network these perfectly fine animals are finding their way to homes and careers rather than the meat packers' stockyards. For years, the foals were "harvested" then sold at auction, purchased mainly by meat packers for slaughter. Horsemeat is very popular in France, Asia and Japan.

Now these foals have a chance for life, and I've had the pleasure of meeting Premarin horses that are quite happy with their fate.

One of these is Against All Odds (barn name "Quincy"), a striking nine year old Draught Cross gelding. Quincy and his rider, Courtenay Dennis, specialize in dressage in Victoria, B.C. Quincy's original owner bought him as a weanling right out of the meat packer's stockyard. When he was four years old, Courtenay began training and riding him. She patiently took him through his "juvenile delinquent" stage, and now the results are obvious. Courtenay and Quincy are just this side of being Olympic hopefuls.

Being half Belgian, one quarter Thoroughbred and one quarter Quarter Horse, Quincy has the traits of all three breeds. His face is soft and honest, his body tone and muscular with the grace of a Warmblood. I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of weeks ago when Shelagh Levy, a board member at Indralaya on Orcas, invited me up for the weekend to watch Courtenay and Quincy at a clinic conducted by an Olympic coach. It was nothing less than wonderful to watch these two, knowing how hard they've both worked.

Another Premarin horse with a career is "Harvest" a seven year old police horse. He is also a Draught Cross, and has quite a different conformation, being half draught and half quarter horse.

Premarin foals are gaining in popularity, and part of the thrill of getting one is that you don't quite know what you're going to get. A prospective adopter gets to make a couple of choices: colt or filly, and light horse, draught cross, or draught. That's about it. One might get a paint or a palomino, a stocky draught cross or a tall sport horse style draught cross. Or a Belgian or a Percheron full draught horse.

The cost of a Premarin foal is about $1,000 U.S., which covers the cost of the foal at auction (determined by the current year's meat prices), a vet check and Coggins test, quarantine and the broker fee at the U.S./Canadian border, plus the hauling fee to the drop-off location.

This is well worth looking into. Around September, start looking...there may be a Premarin foal coming to a barn near you!

Triana Elan lives on Orcas Island and is the founder of Island Star Equestrian Center