Education: The Bitter Truth About Premarin
The drug Premarin® is used as a hormone replacement therapy aid for women. This pharmaceutical is derived from chemicals found in the urine of pregnant mares. Premarin® stands for Pregnant Mares' Urine, or PMU.
To produce Premarin, mares are impregnated, surrounded by a pulley system and normally kept in cramped stalls that measure approximately 8 feet long, by 3 1/2 feet wide, by 5 feet high. The mares are confined for several months but are out in pasture usually from the end of April until mid-September. The mares give birth to the foals in pastures during late April, May, June and July. Mares are impregnated again generally on the foal heat, and then go back into the barns in September. Come September,they are herded into the barns where there is just a pipe panel between areas and a pulley system surrounds them with a capture container of rubber is held for the urine.
Within six months of a successful breeding, they are returned to the PMU production line again. Mares that do not become pregnant within a very short time cannot be returned to the collection barns. The horses go to slaughter houses, and the meat, which is considered a delicacy in Europe, is sold to Asia, China, Germany, France, and others. Foal meat is prime, just like veal.
Foals removed from the mare are sometimes fattened on feedlots and then sold for slaughter. The ones not sent to feedlots go straight to the meat auctions, or are sold to resale agents. A small number are sold by foal rescue operations to mostly U.S. rescue organizations.
A filly has a less than one in 10 chance of not going to slaughter, a colt foal, less than one in 50!
Pro-PMU people focus on the fact that the mares live out in 1,000+ acre pastures with their foals for up to six months of the year (on most PMU farms, mares are 175 - 185 days pregnant when the collection period begins. Estrogen production starts to peak between day 200 - 275 of pregnancy, then decreases to parturition. Mares are collected for a period of 160 - 180 days with the collection period usually being from October to April).
Anti-PMU people focus on the fact that the pregnant mares are kept tied up indoors for at least six months out of the year.
There are safe and natural alternatives to Premarin: synthetic, plant based, and bio-identicals. By continuing to use Premarin, these horses will seldom have a chance to live a full and happy life.
Dreamchaser Horse Rescue and Rehabilitation is part of a network of facilities that save these beautiful animals from certain death and place them in homes through adoption.
PMU foals and older horses are unique in that they have either had absolutely no handling to minimal handling. They require special care and a gentle understanding. Paired with time and the utmost patience, the horses learn to trust humans again.
The caretakers at Dreamchaser Horse Rescue and Rehabilitation understand the requirements necessary to care for these horses. Their gentle methods of training and treatment, along with their vast experience and knowledge help to make a smooth transition from untrained to comfortably trained. Thanks to their dedication, the horses become valuable members of equine society and perfect companions for you and your family.
Our goal for the Dreamchaser Horse Rescue and Rehabilitation facility is to continue to rescue and be available to assist those who also save PMU’s from potential slaughter. These fine animals deserve a chance at an enjoyable life.
Dreamchaser currently has PMU's, feedlot rescues, and rescued Saddlebreeds varying in age from 1 to 7 years. Neither the mares nor the Percheron stallion we adopted were trained as riding horses. With a dedicated gentleness and horsemanship, our intention is to teach these horses to trust humans and become trail riding horses - for special programs. We invite children here to the ranch for child outreach. We work with Calvary Kids (ranch campouts), Florence Crittendon group homes, home-schoolers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Arizona Corrections, and Cub Scouts. We envision being able, with help and funding, to bring these children to Dreamchaser PMU to experience the joys of horses and the beauty of our surrounding desert.