With this year’s crop of wild horse foals starting to be born west of Sundre, officials with the Help Alberta Wildies Society (HAWS) are asking anyone encountering the youngsters and/or their parents to keep well away.
With the Sundre Equine Management Zone west of Sundre ever popular with recreational users and others, unwanted encounters with the newborns are always possible.
Approaching the herds could cause the mares to run away, leaving the young foals vulnerable, HAWS president and founder Darrell Glover told the Albertan.
“That mare and foal may not get reunited,” said Glover. “Newborns and young foals are particularly vulnerable during this time as they can easily become separated from their mothers and their natal bands if disturbed, making them prime target for starvation or predation.
“Getting too close or travelling too fast through the area where mares and foals are may cause the band to flee, leaving any young foals behind. We just ask that people be respectful and cautious. Give the horses some space. Don’t scare them or give them a reason to flee.”
HAWS estimates that only about 10 per cent of foals born in the Sundre Equine Management Zone survive their first year, “so it’s critical that as many foals as possible make it to adulthood,” he said.
HAWS gets calls every spring to rescue abandoned and/or injured foals, he said.
The foals will remain particularly vulnerable until early summer, he said.
“The biggest run of them will be from the beginning of May until the end of the June,” he said.
Wild Horses of Alberta Society spokesperson Jack Nichol says people should keep well away from wild horse foals and their mothers at this time of year.
"You are best to keep a reasonable distance," he said. "The mares can be pretty unpredictable at this time of year."
Like HAWS, WHOAS advocates for the wild horse population west of Sundre and elsewhere.
