My PMU Horse, Dream
This article is to encourage our many horse friends to consider the PMU Horse, and the PMU Industry to do more for PMU foals an Editorial by Bob Pruitt CEO InfoHorse.com
InfoHorse.com became involved with PMU horses a few years ago through a picture that caught my interest on our Sister site equusite, a site we purchased to support beginning horse owners and Horse Rescue Groups through the pictures of the day feature there. A PMU foal is the result of a mare that is used in making of a menopause drug called Premerin® produced by Wyeth Inc recently purchased by Pfizer. PMU stands for pregnant mare urine, the product that is collected to make the menopause drug. Pregnant Mares mean foals will result. Lots of warnings if you are on this drug...probably better choices available now.
This is the picture that motivated me to be involved
There are alternatives to this drug that work for most women and recently this drug has had lots of bad press due to side effects, but in some cases premarin seems to be the only drug that relieves the symptoms of menopause for a few women. I am pro-human - as I have a Sister, a Mother, a Wife and 2 Daughters and they come first in my world. The Drug Industry has helped our quality of life for the most part but in this case... I feel they could do more to insure the foals have a good chance at a normal life and encourage women to try the alternative drugs.
The people involved with Pfizer/Wyeth Inc. at every level could do a much better job of insuring the foals produced have a productive life as a cared for horses, and do not end up at a feed lot as thousands do every year. The PMU Industry as well as the drug industry generally has tried to improve their image by hiring Image Consultants. These Consultants have required groups working to place foals change their names and group missions to more politically correct descriptions and references to the PMU Industry and horses. Word changes that were required a few years ago- “Rescue” groups were told to change their names and references to “Acquisition” groups if they wanted to be included as outlets for foal placement. Even the word “adoption” wasn’t suppose to be used for some reason.
The change in name didn’t help the foals, as that year was one of the biggest loss years yet. A combination of cutbacks in product requirements from Wyeth and the panic of many PMU Ranchers caused a very large number of foals including the Mares to end up at feed lots. Too many horses, not enough demand. I have noticed this year many of the groups that were helping to “place” foals are no longer being allowed to help at all, it seems the PMU farms are going to place the foals directly. I find it difficult to understand how this change could be in the foals’ best interest. A large number of these horses are shipped directly to France where they are a delicacy and on the menu.
The following is a short history of one PMU horse named by our website Visitors “Dream”. Dream started life with the letter and number assigned at a PMU Farm in North Dakota where he was born. The formally named PMU Foal Adoption Network contacted a few of the PMU Ranchers that sent most of their foals to auction, to encourage them try to place some of the foals in homes where they would be cared for. The price to adopt a foal was set at what the Farmer thought he would get if the foal went to auction and the current price per pound for horse. The group set up a web site and placed pictures of foals up for adoption. At Dream’s Farm/Ranch the Owners wife took pictures of the foals. Unfortunately for Dream his picture was taken at a strange angle and maybe in the rain so he didn’t look like the kind of horse too many people would want.
I learned about PMU horses when I bought Equusite.com and started seeing pictures of these horses submitted to the photo contest there. One picture really caught my attention so I decided to contact the person who owned the foal and he sent me to the formally named Pmufani rescue group. They used the words “volunteer rescue group” in 2002. I contacted them and found the adoption season had ended but there was still 1 horses they hadn’t placed. He was S-22. The picture on the Pmufani site was so bad I couldn’t tell anything about his conformation or color. All I knew was he was a Quarter Horse, Percheron cross and I was his last hope.
So I went through the adoption process and a couple of weeks later a truck and trailer rolled into the Horse Stable and to the stall we rented and a un-handled and scared foal ran off the trailer into our quarantined stall. When I saw Dream that first night it almost broke my heart. He had on a nylon halter that was so small it was beginning to cut him and was covered from head to foot with caked on mud and manure. He was so tired his legs were shaking from the long trip and so I spent a few hours with him trying to help him settle in. He had a soft muscle look that reflected the fact that he was held in a small pen after weaning. Dream was headed to the auction and the feed lot if no one had intervened on his behalf. Lucky for Dream and lucky for me fate stepped in.
He was now standing on ground in his own stall filled with the soft wood shaving several inches deep and his water was fresh and clean as was his food. I left when I was sure the exhausted little colt would be O.K. on this first night.
The following day Dream had his first real bath and I found a great lady Farrier with a soft spot for my little foal to give him his first trim.
That was a real Rodeo but Dream was for the first time in his life clean and standing on his feet like a horse should. He even had a new fancy halter. Dream’s name was given to him in a contest supported by our Advertisers and Visitors at our websites. It would take a year of very talented Farriers working on Dream’s front feet to get them very nearly normal again. All is well now.
I am sure the Rancher/Farmer family where Dream was born like to see the horse babies every year. I was told that Dream was the favorite of the PMU Farm Owners Daughter. My conclusion regarding the fact that Dream was in such poor condition is simply the Farmer didn’t know any better and considered Dream livestock. His concern is feeding his family and the PMU business is a large part of his yearly income. He has bills to pay and money to put away for his children’s college fund, wedding and a million other things. He is no different than most of the people I know in that regards. I want to make it clear that I don’t consider these people or what they do as bad. I am only pointing out that this Industry could stand some improvement for the sake of the horses caught up in the making of this drug.
Dreams next Trainer and my Riding Instructor was Patrice Thompson of Ojai California. She was amazing with both of us and Dream and I will never forget what I learned from her.
In 2005 we relocated our offices to Fort Worth Texas where Dream had his own arena, barn and 5 acre of pasture he shared with our 22 years young Morgan Mare “Splendor”. Splendor has been with us for 21 years and will always be with us in our hearts. We lost her to laminitis in 2010... I still have a broken heart...
Our PMU representative and my personal horse “Dream”. I couldn’t imagine a better horse for me than my big buckskin. Every cowboy we meet goes on and on about how impressive Dream is under saddle.
