photos by Chad Lundquist; photo illustration by Phil Wooley/Nevada Appeal Shirley Allen of the Lucky Horse Rescue Corral in Dayton pets Little Trucker on Tuesday for the first time since he arrived 48 hours earlier. The 4- to 5-month-old colt was found near a dead mare south of Dayton Valley Turf off Blackhawk Road on Sunday morning.
The wild foal who wouldn't leave his mother's side after she died this weekend has been accepted into the family of wild horses at the Lucky Horse Rescue Corral in Dayton.
Shirley Allen, operator of the corral, said Tuesday that Little Trucker is doing well despite his difficult weekend.
The 4- to 5-month-old colt was found Sunday morning by trail riders south of Dayton Valley Turf off Blackhawk Road.
"They noticed a foal standing out by itself, and when they investigated they noticed he was standing next to a dead mare," said wild-horse advocate Willis Lamm, president of Least Resistance Training Concepts, a mentoring organization for wild horse adopters.
The foal refused to leave the mare even though a band of wild horses was in sight, Lamm said.
"They were afraid that if he was left out there, the coyotes would attack him," he said.
The colt probably spent the night by the side of his mother, said Mike Homes, Virginia Range estray manager for the Nevada Department of Agriculture. He said the mare could've died of natural causes, West Nile virus or a vehicle collision that left her with internal injuries.
Volunteers placed a portable corral around the mare to catch the foal once he wandered beside her again. He returned to his mother's side after the team of volunteers, assisted by Nonie Higley, with Lyon County Animal Services, stepped back. Higley helped rescue another foal earlier this year named Heidi.
"We closed the corral and settled the foal to where we could touch him and then guided him into the trailer," Lamm said.
Little Trucker got his name because of the difficult time the team had in getting the trailer out of the desert and over to the Lucky Horse Rescue Corral.
"We've got two other babies - one is a little boy born to a mare we rescued out of Fallon last year," Allen said. "The other filly was an orphan. Her mom died earlier this year. And Little Trucker makes three."
The wild foal is a bay with a white blaze running down to his nose.
Allen said a foal can often get depressed after the death of its mother. Little Trucker has seemed to have bonded with the other horses. They are allowing him to eat with them, which is a good sign, she said.
"He'll be here with us until he gets gentled and gets on his feet," Allen said.
• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.
You can help:
Those interested in adopting a wild horse should contact Shirley Allen at 246-7636.