A nurse mare foal is a foal that was born only so that its mother would produce milk. The mother is then sent off to nurse a "more valuable" baby, and these nurse mare foals are killed off and considered mere "byproducts" of the industry. Enter the incredible Last Chance Corral in Athens, OH, which rescues as many of these orphans as they can and places them in loving homes. Victoria Goss founded the Last Chance Corral in 2008 to rescue these babies who would otherwise be euthanized.
Orphan foals require a lot of love, a lot of time and a lot of hands-on care — not to mention, they need space to play and run! In the video below, 19 nurse mare foals from the 2010 season get to do just that, as they're unleashed into the big paddock for the very first time! It's a big day for these lucky foals, and you can see how excited they are to be surrounded by their fellow foals (and one very caring dog who loves to oversee their playtime). This is seriously one of the most adorable, joyful videos I've ever seen.
Try not to smile while watching this lovely video below, and please SHARE it with your friends on Facebook if you love horses!
