An orphan colt whose mother died shortly after giving birth has a new mom – a mare that had tragically lost her foal – thanks to the generosity of strangers and Washington State University veterinarians playing matchmaker.
Pairing an orphan foal and a nursing mare is a challenging task and one that commonly ends with failure. In this case, the connection was instantaneous.
“The mare had only been without a foal for about 24 hours,” Dr. Lisbeth Matthews, an equine medicine and surgery intern, said. “We walked her into the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and past him. He made a noise, and she went, ‘oh, there’s my foal,’ and started making noises back at him.”
It was a surprise to everyone how quickly the mare, named Shelly but affectionally called Mama by her owners, Roy and Faye Lions, accepted the colt. Equine veterinarian Jenifer Gold, who was helping to care for the foal and to supervise its introduction to the mare, said nursing mares frequently reject orphan foals, and when they don’t, the pairing process often takes days.
“She walked in and started nickering at him like it was her own baby – it was unbelievable,” Gold said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I have never seen it happen that way.”
The foal, which has been named Laredo, was admitted to the teaching hospital by his owner, Spokane resident Rachel Williams, just days after he was born when he started showing troubling digestive issues. Shortly after the colt arrived in Pullman, Faye Lions placed a call to WSU to see if the equine team was aware of any orphan colts needing a nursing mare.
“Our foal was dead, and nothing was going to bring it back, so we were hoping we could help someone else,” Faye Lions said. “It just so happened there was a foal there.”
A day later, the colt and Shelly were introduced.
“For them to be so willing to basically hand over their animal to a complete stranger after experiencing their own tragedy was pretty phenomenal,” Williams said. “I feel like in this scenario it was the worst of the worst for everybody, but there was a little bit of silver lining to the story.”
Williams is also grateful for the care and treatment she and her foal received at WSU.
“I just can’t even find words to say how great the veterinarians at WSU were,” she said. “They went above and beyond. I am just happy I ended up at WSU. I am so glad we were able to match those two up – it is kind of a miracle.”
Shelly will live with Williams until the colt is ready to be weaned, likely in six months, before she will return to her home in Kamiah, Idaho.
“It will be tough to say goodbye because you just naturally start to bond with animals, and she has kind of been my lifesaver,” Williams said. “It will be bittersweet for sure, but I am sure her owners will be happy to have her back.”
During the spring, the equine team at WSU typically sees at least a handful of orphan foals. Equine medicine specialist Dr. Macarena Sanz said orphan foals can be fed a powdered milk formula designed for horses, but those raised by humans typically develop behavioral issues that can become problematic as the animal matures.
“They turn out to be socially weird, have no understanding of personal space, and they are more difficult to train,” WSU equine veterinarian Macarena Sanz said. “The fact that this orphan foal has a mare is really going to make a difference.”
Sanz strongly encourages owners to immediately call their veterinarian if a foal is orphaned, as early care is critical to the animal’s survival.
“I can feel my heart breaking.” Reality TV superstar has died in a tragic car accident.
His dejected girlfriend informs him that a drag racer who had appeared on a well-known reality TV program had perished in a horrific vehicle crash.
On Saturday night in southwest Texas, Nathan Schaldach, who plays Cali Nate on the Discovery series Street Outlaws, crashed.
In a tragic Facebook post, his girlfriend Courtney Paulshock confirmed his passing and referred to him as her “soul mate.”
“I’m not whole.” On Sunday, she wrote, “I’m completely shocked.”
“I feel like my heart is breaking.”
According to Paulshock, this occurred while Schaldach was racing at Eagle Pass, which is located roughly two hours west of San Antonio.
Despite assisting him in traveling to the hospital, his friends were powerless to save his life.
Paulshock claimed that she was unwilling to provide any further details regarding the cause of the Schaldach crash or its preceeding events.
His girlfriend commented, “Seeing his mom and sister again made him so happy.”
“Outside, he pursued his passions.”
“To know the kind of love that Nathan gave me and showed me on a daily basis was a true blessing.”
Schaldach appeared in the fourth season of the television program Street Outlaws: Fastest in America, which followed eight drag racing teams as they battled for a $100,000 prize.
His season concluded in May of last year.
The original Street Outlaws, which featured insane street racers risking their lives to participate, served as the inspiration for the current program.
Drag racing involves two cars racing on a short, straight track toward a finish line.
Since street racing is so deadly, most jurisdictions have outlawed it, despite the fact that professional sports are generally safe.
In 2022, while filming Street Outlaws, Ryan Fellows, an actor on the show, lost his life in a car accident. Schaldach passed away after that.
The driver’s car overturned and caught fire in a Las Vegas race. According to a Discovery spokesperson, the loss devastated the network.
The U.S. Sun has contacted Texas police to inquire further about Nate’s collision.
“Never love someone again”
Online, Schaldach’s friends and admirers expressed their sorrow and condolences upon his unexpected passing.
Chris Frank, a friend of Schaldach’s, claimed that after learning the awful news, he barely slept at all.
“Those of you who raced him feared him, and those of you who were friends with him loved him,” Frank was heard saying in a Facebook video.
We all know that any ride could be our last, and every race is dangerous.
“One of the last genuine racers with a genuine love and comprehension for the sport was Nate.”
In one of his saddest farewell emails, Paulshock promised Schaldach that she would love him forever.
“Garth told me to tell you I love you very much just in case tomorrow never comes,” he texted his girlfriend. The driver’s final race ever was this one.
Paulshock added, “Please wake me up from this nightmare,” below a screenshot of the text exchange.
She also shared Lady Gaga’s song “I’ll Never Love Again” from the film A Star Is Born later that same day.
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