Arrival Date: 2006
Joela has been with us since 2006. As a doc bar quarter horse, she is a small, sturdy horse. Sun glistens off her liver coat like a shiny new penny, causing everyone to take a second look at the “plain red pony” that lives with Cimarron.
Her life started as a PMU foal. PMU stands for Pregnant Mare Urine. Premarin is a hormone replacement drug for menopausal women. It is produced from the hormones present in the mare’s urine. The horses used to produce this drug are referred to as “PMU” horses, for short.
There are no longer any PMU farms in the U.S. However, there are a reported 18 PMU Farms remaining in Canada according to the North American Equine Ranching Information Council’s (NAERIC) website. One site indicated that in 2021, there are 1,300 mares on the remaining PMU farms.
Joela was originally adopted by a family that had previously adopted another PMU foal, Cimarron. Joela and Cimarron share a remarkable equine friendship. They seldom move more than a few feet away from each other. This friendship was forged when they were housed with a larger group of horses.
Cimarron was solidly positioned high on the “pecking order” common in horse herds. Joela was situated squarely at the bottom. For some reason, Cimarron took Joela under her wing and never ran her off from food or attention. It was obvious that Joela drew confidence from Cimarron. So, when Cimarron was transferred to our care, there was no doubt that Joela needed to come with her. When Cimarron was moved into a different corral to further her training, there was no doubt that Joela needed to be moved with her. They have continued to be inseparable ever since.
Joela is responding well to operant conditioning and has become a much more confident horse. Although she has had problems having her feet handled in the past, operant conditioning has facilitated dramatic improvement. She now allows her feet to be safely handled. As we continue her training, we look forward to continued successes. Joela is a pleasure to work with as she seems to enjoy training and pleasing people.
