Joela

 

Joela has been with us since 2006.  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 at their former home.

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. And they have been inseparable ever since.