ColdSpring Nurse Mares, LLC

Foaling season has wrapped up and many of the girls have made their way back to Ocala for a vacation. However, we wanted to take a moment to recognize them and some of our favorite clips! Our ladies prove time and time again there is no alternative to a mother’s love. The mares are absolutely irreplaceable for both nutrition and key developmental skills for their orphans. These girls undoubtably love every little one they get to call theirs and we hope you enjoy sharing in some of our favorite moments. 💕 So, with deepest gratitude we send a “THANK YOU” to the mares that make up ColdSpring Nurse Mares, LLC!

Three days post weaning for Smooch and Mary Jane, needless to say they are doing just fine! 😆

🌺Breakfast time for Squeezie and her orphan on this cool mountain morning in Virginia! 🌺

Weaning day, we had four of our mares come home yesterday! Weaning by the moon cycle is always the best way to go. #ethicalnursemare #coldspringnursemares #nursemares

What started as a sad story, has been a beautiful journey we’ve got to witness at ColdSpring Nurse Mares, LLC over the last several months. Smooch was a special case, her mother a proven performance horse tragically fractured her hip during the foaling process. Due to this she needed to be on strict stall rest, which is the opposite of what a growing rambunctious foal needs at the beginning of their life. The hard decision was made to find an alternative mom for Smooch to give both the best shot at a good future. Enter our wonderful thoroughbred mare, Vision. Over the last several months Vision has raised Smooch on our home base here in Ocala and we’ve got to see her grow up right before our eyes. Today was weaning day and it only felt right to share some parts of their time together with our followers and friends. Smooch will return to her owner’s farm at the end of the month, where she hopefully will continue her mother’s legacy and Vision will get a few months vacation in preparation for next season. 💕 #ethicalnursemare #nursemares #horse #foal #coldspringnursemares

⭐️💕Who doesn’t love a good Sunday morning update? I’m not sure there’s a cuter duo than Grace and Pearl to get the good vibes flowing! ⭐️ 💕This video displays some strong maternal instinctual behavior that is important to point out. No one would know this mare had only met this filly 18hrs prior watching her guide her precious Pearl through the new to her world. Pearl is a week old and going to learn such important things from Grace in the next several months of her young life. The nursemare plays such a crucial role for not only superior nutrition but also for the healthy psychological development for these young foals, learning to be a horse is a must! It is often an element bucket and bottle babies miss out on. Horses must learn how to communicate with other horses to establish hierarchy within their herds, how to navigate their surroundings, what is safe and what is dangerous. The best and safest way for all to do this is by having a great mom to guide them! Pearl will stay with Grace for the next 5-6 months until she is weaned and then will be available for adoption through Renaissance Equine Rescue & Welfare Foundation. #nursemares #foals #wildhorses #coldspringnursemares #mares #quarterhorses

⭐️💕Who doesn’t love a good Sunday morning update? I’m not sure there’s a cuter duo than Grace and Pearl to get the good vibes flowing! ⭐️ 💕 This video displays some strong maternal instinctual behavior that is important to point out. No one would know this mare had only met this filly 18hrs prior watching her guide her precious Pearl through the new to her world. Pearl is a week old and going to learn such important things from Grace in the next several months of her young life. The nursemare plays such a crucial role for not only superior nutrition but also for the healthy psychological development for these young foals, learning to be a horse is a must! It is often an element bucket and bottle babies miss out on. Horses must learn how to communicate with other horses to establish hierarchy within their herds, how to navigate their surroundings, what is safe and what is dangerous. The best and safest way for all to do this is by having a great mom to guide them! Pearl will stay with Grace for the next 5-6 months until she is weaned and then will be available for adoption through Renaissance Equine Rescue & Welfare Foundation

#48 Wild orphans foals are not the usual….but when the call comes, our girls are always up for the task no matter the challenge! We received our second call in a matter of a few weeks for help from the wonderful people at Renaissance Equine Rescue & Welfare Foundation in Southern Pines, NC for a particularly touching case. This newborn filly was abandoned by her biological mother, part of the Shakleford Banks pony herd. Thankfully, with a strong community support system the filly was quickly scooped up and rushed to NC State. She spent the next week in the NICU receiving life saving treatment and once cleared to go home, it was time for our sweet girl Grace to spring into action! It was all systems go for both the rescue and Coldspring to have nursemare lined in milk and ready all within the same small window of time. At 2pm the filly arrived at the rescue and momma Grace touched down 2 hours later. Grace immediately greeted the filly with soft knickers and warm nudges. This tiny tot at just 51lbs and 1 week old, was eager to nurse and refused human guidance…typical filly! These pairings are a very a very delicate process that we’ve got down to a science, but sometimes babies have their own ideas and you have to deviate from the typical course of action. We stepped out to allow Grace to do her job, as I felt confident the bond was strong between the two. She went right to work, Grace had the filly nursing in 20 minutes on her own after we spent 2 hours. When in doubt, let the nursemare do her job! This case was particularly unique as the filly had not nursed previously, so everything was new to her. This posed an additional challenge with the pairing but was no trouble for Grace as she patiently guided her new baby in the right direction. I say it over and over, a good one will get a foal nursing faster than any human can! We cannot wait to share updates on how this sweet little duo is doing and follow the foal, “Pearl”, as she grows up. 💕

We hope you enjoy some of the peaceful “behind the scenes” action during golden hour at the farm with us! These babies all had a rough start in this world but have grown and flourished at ColdSpring Nurse Mares. As the program has expanded we’ve began to offer an in-house option and four orphans traveled to our Ocala farm this year. Here they were able to be handled daily and raised in a group setting, promoting well socialized and happy foals. With weaning time fast approaching we have no doubts these four are ready to step out into the world and do big things in the future! We are so grateful to be able to witness these babies grow to be confident, loving and social individuals under the tender love and care our dedicated mares and staff have given them first hand. This is what it’s all about! 💕

Sundays around the farm

#46 Brandy stepped up for this big guy, unfortunately his momma passed away suddenly this afternoon and we were able to get to him with a new momma in 2hrs and Brandy was bonded to him within 20mins with no sedation and no restraints! He is 10 weeks old which is a HUGE ask for a mare that was just weaned off her first orphan filly two days ago.

🌸Morning updates🌸 Sweet Momma Bella and her orphan are living their best life together!

Birdies and babies, we love them all here at CSNM 🐦 Our nursemare Quicaria was keeping a close eye on her little hitch hiker this morning! 🤣 Thanks to ANB Equine for catching this video!

🌞 Update on Boo 👻 and her 🦌 friend

🦋Update on Adeste🦋

Evening strolls 🌺

🐎First night out in the big kid field for our nursemare Quicaria and this guy, he will have three sassy fillies to entertain for the next couple of months here with us! Having the babies around and watching my girls in their element is the most satisfying feeling, no better way to end the day! 🌈

#45 Marie stepped up for this colt, unfortunately his momma passed soon after birth leaving him orphaned at only a few hours old. A big thank you to our community here in Ocala and our followers all over as we received over 50 messages within 2 hours about this little guy! 💕 We are happy to report Marie loved him the moment she saw him and we were in and out within 45mins. 🤗

💯👌🏻 📹Ash Blank

#44 Bella got the call this morning when this little guy unfortunately lost his momma soon after birth. Bella was quick to say, “yes please” the moment she saw him and we were done within 10mins after introducing them. ❌no throw away foals ❌no sedation ❌no hobbles ❌no blindfolds ❌no barriers 💯A happy momma eager to love 💕This is Bella’s 3rd adopted orphan for us.