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Post pics of your PMU's!!

11K views 34 replies 16 participants last post by  Icrazyaboutu 
#1 ·
Everyone and anyone with a PMU horse please post a pic! These horses always are so sweet!

The stuff below is just what happens at Premarin farms for those of you that don't already know, or that aren't sure.
PMU (pregnant mares' urine)
What happens to PMU mares?
For approximately six months from fall through spring, the pregnant mares live in the "pee barns," forced to stand in stalls with urine collection devices strapped to them. The stalls are deliberately narrow to prevent pregnant mares from turning around and detaching the collection cups. In the last month of their eleven-month pregnancy, the mares are put out to pasture to have their foals. The mares are put in a herd with a stallion, so they quickly become pregnant again. In September, their foals are taken away from them to be sold, whether or not they are fully weaned. The next month, they're back in the barns and the cycle starts again.
The organization that represents the interests of the PMU ranchers, the North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC ), considers it "a testament to her health and strength" if a mare can have a foal each year for 20 years. Currently, approximately 7,000 PMU mares live on 73 contracted ranches in Manitoba, Canada. The minimum stall width specified in the regulations* -- even for the largest draft breeds so commonly used -- is a mere five feet. A typical PMU ranch consists of a small family and one hired ranch hand responsible for feeding, cleaning and exercising nearly 100 pregnant mares at a time.
All the mares stay in a rectangle stal from there chess to there rear end and or flanks.


This doesn't say anything about what happens to the foals. Most of the time, the colts are sold to people and sometimes slaughter houses. Depending on the filly's size, they will either keep them as a breeding mare like their mom or they will put it up for auction...


So... post those pics! Here is mine! His name is Dozer, he is six, and measures up to 18.2hh.
 

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#2 ·
I adopted my PMU gelding, Cody at 11 mos. old. He had already been shipped to a ranch in CA when I found him. He's percheron/clyde/paint/TB as far as we know. He's grown to 17.3+, about 1800 lbs, just turned 5 in June and is such a wonderful horse! He's a gentle giant, people always flock around him, he's like a big dog, comes when called, is shameless about getting scratched!! My 13 yr. old daughter rides him, my non-horse hubby rides him, I love riding him!! I'm always advocating PMU's.

Cody next to an average sized horse:





 
#5 ·
I did a paper on PMU. It's horrible what they do to those mares. I hope to own one some day. Good for you for taking one in! All of your guy's horses are beautiful!
 
#6 ·
I've actually been very interested in going to auction and getting a handful of PMU Foals.. but I'm not exactly sure where and when the auctions take place. I know most are located up in Canada but I've heard there are some of the auctions with PMU foals take place in the US too. I wouldn't be able to do this for a few years but any info would be appreciated (location of the actual acutions and times of year or what not).

Over the last few years I've visted alot of websites for ranchers/stables that do go up annually or every few years to rescue PMUs but their prices range from $500-$2,000 per horse to adopt them. I'd rather take my money and buy a few foals at auction for the price of adopting one. But I know it would be a long hard trip to trailer a handfull of stressed out foals, I'd definantly have to coordinate with family that I have in the Northern states to see if I can stop there with the foals and spend a few days before traveling all the way down here to GA/FL. So while I don't have any PMU's yet, I hope to have a few in the next few years.

Beautiful pictures everyone!!
 
#8 ·
Prices have definitely gone up with gas and feed prices for PMU's. It does seem rather ridiculous to spend $1500 or more on a barely halter broke horse...... those tend to be the ones that have already been transported to a rescue though and many rescues like United Pegasus Foundation where I adopted my Cody will indicate if they have a shipment and you can pick your foal(s) from Canada and they will bring them down. Used to be around $700 to get a foal from there. The draft crosses tend to cost more too but they have lots of nice appys, quarter horses, etc., some are even papered.

I got Cody for $900 as a yearling and now he's priceless in my mind!
 
#11 ·
Here is the PMU mare that my old trainer rescued and I part owned. Since my instructor has an injury that doesn't allow her to ride anymore I completely broke her and she's now doing dressage! This was all after she had her foal. Her name is Winter, she's a 17.2HH gray draft, and her foal is Duncan, who later shedded out gray like momma. I haven't seen them in GOD knows how long =[ She's absolutely the sweetest mare I've ever met, and even though she'd been barely handled and came terrified of people, she learned to trust so quickly and would never hurt a fly.


 
#13 ·
Gorgeous horse.

For the record, not all PMU farmers are idiots. A large portion of what you hear is grossly exaggerated by foundations like PETA about already illegal practices in Canada. Much like how they try to tell you slaughter is bad by showing you Mexican slaughterhouse videos, which are nothing like American slaughter houses.

There are always bad apples, but I live in Manitoba and have several friends who do or did (funding was severely cut in recent years) PMU farming and the horses were never treated like you hear horror stories about. It's a sad reality that many get culled, but most I know do their best to breed registered stock and maximize the chances of homes.
 
#15 ·
I would love to get a PMU draft someday. I think that would be so cool.

I agree though, not all PMU farmers are totally bad, a lot of them actually breed some pretty nice horses that are registered with some of the top registeries. Many of them want the best for the resulting foal. While I don't like the practice, I think a few bad apples have kinda ruined it for the rest of the PMU farmers.
 
#26 ·
I was going to say that I know a former PMU breeder from Alberta (I've actualliy bought, raise, trained 4 horses from that farm) who has better bred stock than 99% of Alberta Breeders. Their stallions are all money earning, well conformed, wonderful dispositioned stallions and there mares were also very well taken care of and excersized more than your average broodmare.
 
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