A daring rescue on a cliff

Least Resistance Training Concepts’s rescue team jumped into summer with a hot and tricky rescue of a foal that had fallen down a drop off to a ledge above the Truckee River. Wild Horse Connection got the call and immediately the closest team members were dispatched to assess the situation. The rescue team then got three units with rescue equipment on the road headed that way. 

Two team members harnessed up and lowered over the edge to where the two month old filly was stuck on a narrow ledge. They worked to secure the filly, who was none too pleased with being handled by humans, and got her fit with a recovery strap then team members above hauled her up with their support from below. Once on the ground they got her out of her straps and then had to direct her toward where her very anxious mom and the rest of the band had moved to. 

Initially she wanted to go back the way she had last seen them, but once they helped her break through the brush and she saw the band, she and mama called to each other and the filly trotted to mom for a quick greeting and a good long nursing session! She was observed to have no obvious injuries, and both horses and humans were relieved to see the band walk off together. Several hours in the heat was worth every second in this happy reunion!

Watch the reunion here!

Bitsy’s Rescue

Wild Horse Connection received a call by a community member who said two mares were attacking a new baby. Corenna Vance dispatched two LRTC rescue team members who arrived to find the filly with a band that had no lactating mares. She was obviously very new and one mare had taken an interest to keep her close, but if she tried to nurse she would kick or bite her. 

The rescue team members secured the baby and upon assessment determined she was no more than 12 hours old, possibly younger, with soft feathers still attached to her hooves. She was tiny, with a coat of velvet and aptly named Bitsy!

They immediately started giving her oral IgG, carried as part of their Foal Kits, in case she had not had colostrum and was still within the window for passive transfer of antibodies. More WHC volunteers arrived and scoured the area and the nearby hills looking for a mare that had recently given birth, but sadly found none. Unfortunately, there are occasions where band changes happen when the foal is very new. In the chaos of a new stallion taking a band, sometimes the band is run off and a foal can get left behind. While it doesn’t happen often, it does happen.

After two hours with no luck, the decision was made to call it and they transported Bitsy to Comstock Equine Hospital where the vet did an exam and SNAP test. Fortunately, the SNAP test showed she did in fact receive colostrum from her dam and Bitsy seemed otherwise healthy, so they were off to deliver her to LBL Equine Rescue to be cared for until old enough for adoption. 

Bitsy was introduced to the foal nursery and her new roommate, Hazel! Hazel was not so sure who this new little one was moving in on her space at first, but it didn’t take long for them to become fast friends! Bitsy didn’t love the bottle but took to pail feeding like a champ! She is doing very well and being younger than Hazel doesn’t stop her one bit.

However, now there was some shifting that needed to be done. Genesus and Bella Luna were ready to move to a bigger pen closer to the yearlings but before that could happen, stall mats needed to be placed in their new area.

Here’s where the teamwork on our range shines. AWHC’s Foal Rescue fund paid for new mats, a WHC volunteer picked them up, and LRTC’s founders Willis and Sharon Lamm went down to help LBL and WHC members install them! Genesus and Bella Luna kicked up their heels in their new space running zoomies and bucking away!

And in the meantime, Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund received a private donation to do a matching fundraiser to help with vet bills and feed for the foals. They were able to pay off Bitsy’s vet visit and some lab work for the other girls, and order some milk replacer!     

Our village is strong! #TogetherWeCan