Originally published 2022-02-14.
In May 2021, a mare in the Netherlands who had just lost her unborn foal was introduced to a newborn colt whose own mother had died, and she took him on as her own almost at once. Their owners, Iris Pinkster, then 30, and Sanne Kolman, then 22, shared the moment on TikTok, where the clip of the pair was watched millions of times. It is a gentle story, but it also shows how horse keepers can sometimes turn two losses into one recovery, and why that does not always work.
Two losses on the same night
The mare is Citty Z, who was 12 at the time and lived with a small herd kept by Pinkster and Kolman, who run the horse channel Equitality. The friends had hoped to breed a foal from her because of her calm, affectionate temperament, and were looking forward to raising a youngster with the same nature.
With about seven weeks of the pregnancy to go, Citty developed placentitis, an inflammation of the placenta, and gave birth far too early. The foal did not survive. Her owners said she seemed confused afterwards and that the rest of the herd appeared to share in her distress.
On the very night Citty lost her foal, a colt was born elsewhere. When he was three days old, his mother became seriously ill; she died only a few hours after the colt reached Pinkster and Kolman's yard. He was already weak and urgently needed both milk and a mother.
How the two were brought together
The connection happened through social media. After posting about Citty's loss on Facebook, the owners were put in touch with the colt's owners by a friend, their photographer Julia. Because Citty had just given birth, she was still producing milk, so offering her as a foster mother made practical sense.
The introduction went better than anyone dared to hope. In the owners' words, "She accepted him immediately as if it was her own baby." Over the following days the colt received extra feed and plenty of care, the pair went out to the field together for the first time, and within about five days the once fragile foal was described as lively and content.
The arrangement is a foster placement rather than a sale. The colt was expected to return to his original owners once he was old enough to be weaned, although Pinkster and Kolman told Newsweek they would like to buy him if they could.
@equitality Sleepy foster baby 🥺♥️ #fostermom #equestrian #fyp #foryoupage #foal #cute ♬ Here Comes the Sun (The Sound of Birds in the Forest) - Francisco Malaga & Green Planet Studio
Why mares do not always accept an orphan
Citty's reaction was a stroke of luck. Mares bond with their own foals mainly through smell in the first hours after birth, and many will kick, bite or simply walk away from a foal that does not smell right. Horse keepers who try to pair an orphan with a mare who has lost her own foal, often called grafting or fostering onto a nurse mare, usually take precautions:
- Timing. The sooner after the mare's loss, the better, while her hormones and milk supply are still geared toward a newborn.
- Scent tricks. Some keepers rub the orphan with the mare's own fluids, milk or a strong-smelling substance so she cannot tell him apart.
- Close supervision. Introductions are done slowly, often with the mare held or separated by a barrier until it is clear she will let the foal nurse safely.
- A vet on hand. A veterinarian can check both animals and advise on sedation or other help if the mare is reluctant.
Even with all of that, some mares never accept a foster foal. The handlers said as much themselves: they knew it was uncertain and felt fortunate that it worked, especially since a weak foal could not afford a long rejection.
What an orphaned foal needs to survive
Newborn foals are born without much immunity of their own. They get vital antibodies from colostrum, the thick first milk a mare produces in the hours after giving birth, and a foal that has not fed within about twelve hours generally needs help. Orphans who miss out may need stored colostrum or a plasma transfusion from a vet.
After that, a foal needs frequent meals around the clock. Without a foster mare, owners have to bottle or bucket feed a specialist milk replacer, which is exhausting and can produce a foal that does not learn normal horse manners. A foster mother solves both problems: milk on demand and an adult horse to teach the youngster how to behave in a herd.
Foals start nibbling solid food at around ten days old and, under human management, are usually weaned at four to six months. That is roughly the point at which this colt was expected to go home.
If you own horses and face a similar situation, talk to your vet straight away; fostering, colostrum and milk replacers all need professional guidance.
Do horses grieve?
Many owners describe mares searching or calling after losing a foal, and herd members gathering around a horse in distress, much as Citty's owners did. Scientists are cautious about using the word grief for animals, but there is broad agreement that horses are social animals that form strong bonds and react to losing them. Some vets advise allowing a mare to see and smell a dead foal, because it may help her settle. Whatever we call it, a new foal to care for clearly gave Citty something to focus on.
Why the story touched so many people
Part of the appeal is simple: a sad week turned into a happy one for two animals at the same time. But the clip also shows the quiet work behind it, from owners who reached out on social media, a friend who made the right introduction and people who stayed up feeding and watching a weak foal. A good outcome like this one depends on luck, on the mare's temperament and on attentive care in roughly equal measure.
Sources: Newsweek, 11 May 2021: interview with Iris Pinkster and Sanne Kolman; Equitality on TikTok (original video); Wikipedia: Foal.
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