Syrus the mule was an oddity for FoalQuest, in fact he scared the daylights out of most of the other 400+ foals milling around the farm in Olds, Alberta, Canada, not to mention the poor chickens in the nearby coop. He'd open his mouth and let out that most amazing mule bray, and the other foals ran for cover, anticipating the end of the world. The chickens would dive towards the door of their house, certain life was over. Only the few foals Syrus had shared a pasture with for the first months of his life were calm, used to the sound.

Jan Turnbull and I visited his farm of origin during the summer of 2002, intending to take pictures of the foals and put them on the FoalQuest website, in the hopes we could find homes for many of them. The farm was a PMU farm, one of eight FoalQuest worked with last year.

Premarin® is the most widely prescribed drug in the world, providing hormone replacement for over 22 million menopausal women worldwide, 10 million in North America alone. Since 1942, estrogen has been extracted from the urine of pregnant horses on PMU (Pregnant Mare Urine) farms for the production of this drug.

PMU farms are located in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and North Dakota, and produce approximately 42,000 foals each year (2002-2003 season figures).

a.. 24% used as replacement breeding stock,
b.. 20% purchased by private buyers for recreational purposes,
c.. 15% go on to careers as rodeo horses,
d.. 9% will end up as show horses across Canada and the United States.

This leaves 32% to satisfy the international demand for horse meat. Those foals are the ones FoalQuest is interested in. Many of them are sound, healthy, quality foals, and FoalQuest works to find them homes, rather than see them go to feedlots. Using the internet, purchasers choose their foals from pictures taken on the farms in the spring. After the foals are weaned in the fall, they are taken to a central Alberta farm for processing, health inspection, and deworming, then delivered to adopters across North America.

Getting back to Syrus, the farmer toured us around her pastures for much of the day. One of the last ones we visited had a wide assortment of foals. There were full drafts, a few Quarter Horses, some flashy painted draft crosses, and a Canadien cross or two. I think Jan and I heard evidence of the mule before we actually spotted him. He was so handsome and the only mule foal we had seen all year. His dam was a gorgeous Belgian mare, and well, you know who his sire must have been.

He was spoken for very quickly when his photo went up on our website, and after spending the required time in Alberta waiting for paperwork and terrifying foals and chickens alike, he eventually made his way home to Idaho, along with another rarity – Percheron twins.

I hope we run across more mule foals in 2003, Syrus piqued my interest in these fascinating creatures, and there seems to be some demand for long-ears across Canada and the US.

If your equine tastes lean more towards the short-eared, FoalQuest can probably find something to satisfy you as well. Belgians, Percherons, Clydesdales, and Shires (crosses only) make up our heavy horse roster. Light horses including Quarter Horses, Paints, and Appaloosas are also available. Let’s not forget the Fjords, Canadiens, and Arab crosses!