Hana - A Very Special Horse

Hana is a beautiful Oldenburg mare. She left the showring to become a mom and has turned out to be a very special mom.

It was March of 2005. Hana and her best friend Dory were hugely pregnant. Here at Lightacres, we couldn’t imagine how they could last another day. At last Hana gave birth on March 27 and Dory the very next day. Both girls foaled at Pioneer Equine Hospital under the watchful eye of Dr. Hilda Baisel. Everything went well, and the mares and their babies came home.

Hana and Dory spent the next several weeks side by side, raising their babies. Tragedy struck when the babies were three weeks old. Dory colicked and after days of work she ended up in surgery, where a large mass was discovered surrounding her small intestine. We decided not to bring her out of the anesthetic, so her baby, Rico, was left an orphan.

Hana and her filly Sera, were taken over to the hospital to be with Rico. The mares had been so close that we thought this would be a comfort for Rico.

Rico recognized Hana & Sera immediately. He spent the next several weeks living right beside them – and when Hana & Sera got taken out anywhere, Rico followed along as well. Even though he learned to drink his milk replacement from a bucket, he was certain that he belonged to Hana.

After several weeks living next door to his adopted family, it was decided to try letting them live together in a small pasture. A creep feeder, which is a small enclosure that the foals can get into, but not the mares, was constructed to give Rico a place for his milk replacer and baby pellets. It was a great leap of faith to put baby Rico out with Hana; one wrong move or kick could really harm him.

There was no need for concern. Sweet natured Hana took over raising Rico. Though she did gently explain to him that he still had to drink his milk replacer and couldn’t nurse, in every other way she took over his care. Her own filly, Sera, thought this was a great arrangement! Sera discovered that Rico’s milk was delicious and it didn’t require as much energy as nursing! They ate together, romped together and slept together under the watchful eye of Hana. Together they all went to the Oldenburg inspection, where Hana trotted for the judges with two foals to inspect instead of one!

One year later, March 2006. Sue got a call from Dr. Baisil wondering if Lightacres would take another orphan. A two day old Arabian colt lost his mom and needed a place to go that knew how to care for orphans. So the little bay colt came to Lightacres. He didn’t yet have a name, so we started calling him Larry of Arabia (short for Lawrence, of course).

Two weeks later, Hana gave birth to a filly, Coco. We took little Larry over to the clinic for the birth, in hopes that Hana might think she had twins. Though we did get Larry to nurse twice, Hana did not want to nurse two babies. Ironically, it turned out that he had a slight reaction to her milk, so it was just as well.

Once again the little guy lived right next door to Hana and her filly. After a few weeks, Hana, Coco and Larry were placed out in a small pasture together. Just like the previous year, Hana accepted the little Arabian. The two foals eat together, romp together and sleep together while Hana keeps a watchful eye on them.

It’s been amazing to see Hana raising two foals this year and last. The casual observer would just assume she had two foals. There aren’t many mares who would do this. The biggest danger is always that the mare will be too harsh with the foal that is not hers. Hana is a gentle soul who disciplines both babies with the same careful firmness. She has given two orphans the opportunity to learn and live with a horse mom instead of a human mom. She is truly a very special horse.