Earlier this month, the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG), a nonprofit conservation based in Arizona, found a baby foal alone near the river, abandoned by the rest of its herd.
Just a few hours before, the foal had been aggressively kicked out of the family by the head stallion, who had unexpectedly felt extremely threatened by his presence.
Rescue team members from the SRWHMG, which monitors and studies Salt River wild horse patterns and herd dynamics in the Tonto National Forest, had never seen anything like it in over 18 years.
They brought the adorable little baby back to their conservation facility, and nursed it back to health. They even taught it how to nurse with a mare, even though it feels more comfortable around humans.
Scroll further to read Rosco's rescue story and see how he's doing now. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
[H/T: The Dodo]
It’s a dangerous, wild world out there for baby animals. In many instances, mothers are known to abandon all or some of their young under unfavorable circumstances.
In other cases, leaders of animal packs or herds will force mothers to abandon their young, in order to assert their dominance over the family.
But this isn’t a practice usually witnessed in wild horses, says the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) — a nonprofit conservation based in Arizona that studies wild horse herd dynamics, and saves abandoned or injured wild horses along the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest.
That’s why they were stunned to see it happen earlier this month…
A young foal was left behind by its herd, after a short period of struggle and resistance.
The stallion of the herd had tried to kill the baby horse. His mother stood helpless, unable to intervene.
“In all 18 years we have never witnessed this kind of aggression toward a newborn before,” said the organization.
The stallion was alarmingly possessive, and stood between mother and foal. In the end, the herd took off, and left the baby behind.
The rescue organization had about 10 volunteers around the river who tried to step in between the stallion and foal to protect the baby.
They couldn’t prevent the herd from leaving, and could only wait with the baby for a few hours to see if the herd would return.
None of the horses ever came back.
Wild animal populations are usually under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service, but in this case, the SRWHMG knew they had to help the baby horse immediately.
Otherwise, it would have starved to death.
The government agency and the rescue group are still working out the best way to collaborate and manage these horses, but this time, the SRWHMG was allowed to step in and help the baby.
Team members quickly brought the baby horse to a vet for a medical checkup. He wasn’t seriously hurt, but did have to be hooked up to an IV.
For the first day, he was fed every two hours a mixture of plasma and colostrum, the milk that mares make to feed their foals.
Things started to look up. The foal started to gain back his strength, and the team named him Rosco.
The team wanted to reacquaint Rosco with his own kind, so they looked for a mother horse that could help feed him.
They found a nursing mare, April, who had recently lost her own baby, and brought her over to nurse Rosco.
There are challenges, however.
“[Rosco] does not see the mare at all as a food source,” said Simone Netherlands, president and founder of the SRWHMG, told The Dodo. “Now we have to teach little Rosco to drink out of a baby bottle again.”
Volunteers are helping Rosco around the clock to bond with the mare. Netherlands hopes to integrate Rosco into a loving family of rescued and wild horses, and hopefully keep him nearby.
Already, Rosco has many adoring fans.
“He’s so adorable and cute that we have to resist ourselves from petting him every day,” said Netherlands. “At this point he doesn’t think he’s a horse. He thinks he’s a big dog.”
There is still a long road ahead for all conservation and horse rescue groups.
In the past, the government has issued impound notices, saying they would round up and dispose of the horses.
The Salt River wild horses are currently not protected under The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, and are seen by the Forest Service as “unauthorized livestock.”
Netherlands and her team are fighting hard for the rights of these Salt River wild horses to give them a territory of their own.
“Our goal is to work together through a memorandum of understanding to manage the horses humanely,” said Netherlands.
We hope that they accomplish this goal, and the wild horses will finally be treated with the love and respect they have always deserved.
Click here to follow Rosco’s progress and updates, or here to make a donation to the SRWHMG.
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