PMU Foal Fund Project

[divinedaydreams]

Well rather than wait till the last minute to do this I decided to get things going now. Here are some details.

PMU stands for Pregnant Mare Urine. The hormone in the urine is used to make hormone replacement therapy drugs for pre-menopausal and menopausal women. Obviously, the only way to get PMU is to have a pregnant mare - that's where the foals come from. The mares are then bred back immediately (they can be rebred 7-9 days after birth). The farmers have no use for the foals, so they are gotten rid of. Apparently, they used to just kill the foals as soon as they were born - that way the mares never had to leave the urine line-up. There was much concern for the welfare of the mares, so the government demanded they have a break from the line-up. The mares are turned out to pasture with their foals for about 4 months - at this point, the hormone in their urine is at its highest concentration, so they are returned to the line - and the foals are sent to slaughter, auction, adopters, rescue groups and sometimes the fillies are kept as future urine producers.


Ransom Ranch is an orgainization trying to save these foals. After seeing a lot of interest in saving one of these guys I'm posting this new thread. I've got a link where you can donate. I'm working right now to find it a home when it gets here. If it looks like I won't be able to find one the money will go to the ASPCA and NetPets Militry Foster Program.

Also don't forget to vote on the name to be given our little guy.

https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=divinedaydreams%40comcast.net&item_name=PMU+Foal+Fund&item_number=12/03&no_note=1&tax=0&currency_code=USD

Links of interest

http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18437&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

http://www.ransomranch.com/

https://www.netpets.org/netp/foster.php

[Judith]

I'd love to help. I was wondering: do we have transportation to get the foal to wherever it will be fostered/adopted? Is there any point about checking for vacancies in horse shelters in my state, or is there already an intended destination for the foal?

[divinedaydreams]

Medford, Oregon
Portola Valley, CA

Are where the foals get dropped off to. I'm looking to find a home around one of these locations. Here is a copy of what their fea covered.

Then we add in the cost for having the vet check them and do bloodwork for the Coggin's test (this is required for import), then the cost for paperwork to go through the Canadian government, then going through the USDA border check point and all that paperwork, and finally the cost of shipping from Canada to our select locations (this year, Medford, OR and Portola Valley, CA - next year there will be other locations available) - this is the most expensive part of it, but since we are shipping them personally, our cost for shipping is lower than most commercial shippers.

[StarsGoBlue]

Something to note too, is that just recently the Canadian PMU ranchers were told by industry representatives that the market was cutting back drastically---IIRC this means about half the ranchers will be forced out of business. And that their horses most likely face slaughter in the future, except for the lucky few that may be adopted.

Something else that is often overlooked is that pregnant mare's urine is *not* the only source for such hormones. They have been synthesized in the lab, but of course that is more expensive for the drug companies and cuts into their profit margin.

Not to mention that Premarin has been under close scrutiny lately, regarding its safety and effectiveness...


*****stars
No horsey smiley, so this will have to do... :charge:

[divinedaydreams]

Just curious has anyone put money toward this yet or can I just not figure Paypal out to find where the funds are going?

[Tiriel]

Ah! See I wasn't aware that you were already collecting money!
So is it certain that we can get foal a new home? With paypal always syphoning off some money from every transaction, I'd rather make sure we're good to go with this :)

And Paypal should send you an email-notification each time you receive a payment :)

Love and Peace and Please Let Me Know :)

Tiriel :bounce:

[divinedaydreams]

Tiriel no we don't have a home yet but I'm working on it. I just don't want time to go by and we get some place set up but can't raise the money in time. If we can't find a place than I would really like to donate the money to the Military Foster Pet Program. Bascially it provides temperory fostering when the military members need it due to deployment. I like the idea and know that the reason I didn't get a pet for over two years in the Coast Guard was because I had no one to take care of it when I was underway.

[divinedaydreams]

Ok due to the need for money to be raised for the Ad Fund and the whole uncertain details at the moment I'm going to stop this here. I haven't recieved any funds yet so I don't think it will hurt anyones feelings. I'll contact the group and see if maybe next year with more notice we can do this.

Any objections?

[JadedLegend3]

I love this idea, but perhaps it would be better to wait for next year. That way we have more time to figure out all the details. Don't forget about it, divinedaydreams!



Jacqui :love:

[divinedaydreams]

I have their site bookmarked and emailed her to give me a heads up next year. So if anyone wants a foal for themselves start saving I am. I'll be working onfinding someplace our Scaper foal would be happy and loved.

[Tiriel]

devinedaydreams: As much as I hate not doing anything right now, but I still don't have a job lined up, so I'm strapped for cash. I'd be happy to donate money to save a life (what's a couple of days without food compared to a life!) but of course I'd only like to donate for that (the Military Foster Pet Program is a worthy cause, too, just not being in the tight spot I am right now).

Once I got a new job, the situation should lighten up and if all goes well, I might even be able to take one of the foals myself :)

And thanks so much for bringing this to our attention! :hug:

Love and Peace and All Fingers Crossed that The Remaining Foals Get Picked Up!

Tiriel :bounce:

[divinedaydreams]

Tiriel no problem. It was just the wrong time for this. Next year we can do this right. Maybe we can look back into the Military Foster Pet Program in a few months. You know after the holidays when we all will be better financially.

OT- What do you do, maybe I can keep my ears open. Or we can make that a new project cause we don't want to lose you.

[Tiriel]

devinedaydreams: :hug: See my thread in the OT-section (Save Our Tiriel: http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17929) :D
Right now I'm waiting for word...and keeping my fingers crossed like mad!

I couldn't stop thinking about this so I searched some more and I found a place which is very close to LA: http://www.unitedpegasus.com/availfoals.htm

It seems like in their case people can donate money so they can get the foals out and then hopefully place them at a later stage (so the responsibility remains with them), even if you can't adopt a foal.

If any of the job-opportunities in LA work out, I think, I might really do this. I'll earn a lot more money in Industry and I checked boarding stables around LA and they're between $350-$400 a month. I grew up around horses and I was able to ride before I was able to walk properly (or maybe I was just incredibly lazy :D). The idea of those poor things being slaughtered like that makes me very sad indeed :(

Love and Peace and :pissed:

Tiriel :bounce:

[divinedaydreams]

Well good luck Tiriel and I'll cross fingers for you too. I'll have to bookmark them too.

[DRD2001]

I'm sorry to hear this didn't work out. I'm with Tiriel on the money thing. I just really wanted to have things a bit more concrete before I started clicking on PayPal, since they'll get you coming and going. But there is now plenty of time to prepare for next year. I'm also going to make sure to pass the site on to friends with horses.

[divinedaydreams]

I see it as an oppurtunity to do it right and get full Scaper support behind this. I really think this is a good thing. I figure in about six months I'll start making calls. Don't want to start now and have this drag out either.

Any suggestions are welcome though.

[Antrobus]

I was just reading though this thread for the first time. I could easily take a foal, but I'm in Maine. I live on my family's farm and we have two horse tie ups in one of the old barns - and plenty of pasture space. One of the tie ups is home to a pony, but the other one is vacant. Maybe "Miss Betsy" the pony would like some company and another animal to keep the tie ups warmed up in the winter!

There's always plenty of hay around. I'd just have to buy grain - no big deal. Anyway, keep it in mind.

[Sunderflame]

Just an FYI. Alot of women no longer use hormones due to the serious side effects. Alot of women just use the soy homeopathic or natural herbs...I commend you this is a very worthy cause. I'm tapped out to the max at the moment. :(

[divinedaydreams]

Originally posted by Antrobus
I was just reading though this thread for the first time. I could easily take a foal, but I'm in Maine. I live on my family's farm and we have two horse tie ups in one of the old barns - and plenty of pasture space. One of the tie ups is home to a pony, but the other one is vacant. Maybe "Miss Betsy" the pony would like some company and another animal to keep the tie ups warmed up in the winter!

There's always plenty of hay around. I'd just have to buy grain - no big deal. Anyway, keep it in mind.

Not sure how we would get the foal to you from CA or OR. Or raise the 850 plus dollars to bring the foal to the US. Feel like a road trip to pick it up. I'm willing to try and raise the funds. Let me know. Otherwise we're stuck with trying again next year.

[divinedaydreams]

Ok guys you asked and now I'm delivering. That's right I found are lucky foal or two a home. A very wonderful lady name Judy is willing to pick up the foals and house them on her ranch. She is even interested in arranging foster homes and possibly doing this next year. She called it being another link in the chain.

Here is a link to her website
http://www.skylineranch.net/

So now its up to us. Can we raise the money to rescue these guys. I think we can because we have HOPE! Can I get a Hell Ya and some money please.


Can you tell I'm jazzed!!!

[divinedaydreams]

Oh and a personal thank you to DRD2001 for getting me motivated to get this going again.

You Rock!

[DRD2001]

Done and done. The paypal has gone through. I hope it helps.

I have always wanted a horse, but I can't afford one, and I certainly do not have the space or time. This is a great opportunity to vicariously own a horse, or at least know that a foal was spared due to our direct action.

[divinedaydreams]

Here is the response from Ransom Ranch

That’s fantastic! I have a couple of draft crosses left – as well as my own foal (he is also a draft cross) which I wanted to place into a therapy group. So, maybe we can work a three way deal here…

Let me know how you want to do it.

Victoria =)



Judy was wanting draft crosses so this works out great!

[divinedaydreams]

I'm working on details right now. Will post when I have them.

[divinedaydreams]

Ok here we go from Ransom Ranches side of the house.
UPDATE 11/30/03: Next shipment of foals will be in January! So if you are on the fence about buying a foal, please make your decision soon!


So not a lot of time and we need some serious money here.
The fillies are priced at $1000 each. So we are shooting for one and we can hope for two. I'll be adding pictures of the foals rescured this year. One of these belongs to Victoria and she is willing to donate it to Skyline Ranch with our foal or foals.

Edited to add how to I post a picture?

[JadedLegend3]

Wait, only fillies, no colts? That sounds fishy...unless they're all out of colts....



Jacqui :love:

[divinedaydreams]

Probably sorry although the one she owns is a colt.

[divinedaydreams]

I'm not giving up on this so here is a little :bump:.

[divinedaydreams]

Well folks you asked and the universe delivered. The foals will not be transported till Feb, so we have till Jan 28th to raise the funds.

New total is $399.73.