In March of 2024, Jesse Westfall’s champion mare, Lucy, was approaching the end of her first pregnancy. Jesse and his wife, Stacy (whom you probably know from her viral bareback and bridleless riding videos), were excited to meet Lucy’s foal.
They wondered what traits she would pass on to her baby. Would it be smart like its mother? Would it be as easy going and sensible? Would it share Lucy’s copper coat or dainty little star? They couldn’t wait to find out.
A Rough Start
But Lucy’s foal, a little colt, came early, and the long delivery and difficult birth took a toll on the preemie. His eyes were swollen, his front legs were weak and crooked, and he struggled to nurse. Then he started having seizures, and it seemed like he might not survive.
But Jesse and Stacy refused to give up. They rushed to Abby Stables, the breeding barn where Lucy foaled. Farm owner Maynard Miller and veterinarian Curt Honecker, DVM, were already in her stall. For three days, the team of professionals worked around the clock to save the foal.
Dr. Curt and Maynard wrapped the foal’s front legs from hoof to elbow in stiff bandages to support the weak cartilage in his knees. Kneeling in the straw to pet the foal’s neck, Stacy noticed a white sock on his back left leg. She asked if the foal’s front legs had any markings, and Maynard said his left front leg was also white.
Stacy named him “Lefty.”
A Tragic Loss
On day four, Lefty’s condition improved greatly. His seizures stopped and he could stand for short periods of time to nurse. But just as Lefty was feeling better, Lucy began to show signs of colic. Maynard and Curt monitored her closely over the next few days, but the difficult birth had caused major internal damage. Her body was shutting down.
Sweet Lucy died when Lefty was just 12 days old.
Jesse and Stacy hardly had time to grieve the loss of their beloved mare. Lefty was an orphan. And now, more than ever, the Westfalls desperately wanted him to live.
New Friends
Maynard knew that Lefty needed companionship to keep his body active and his spirits up. Thinking quickly, he jumped in his truck and rushed to a farm down the road. He returned with two bouncing baby goats: Lefty’s first friends.
The goats bought Jesse and Stacy enough time to make a plan. They could search for a nurse mare—a mare who had lost her own foal but was still producing milk. Or they could try to chemically induce lactation in one of the Westfall’s mares; a mare who had nursed a foal previously can be given special medications to produce milk again.
But Lucy had stopped producing milk as she grew sicker, and Lefty had learned to drink formula out of a bucket. There was no guarantee he would nurse from another mare.
As Stacy watched Lefty slurp formula from a bucket as big as his head, she suddenly knew exactly what to do.
Almost 10 years earlier, Stacy and Jesse adopted two orphan foals from a rescue called Last Chance Corral. The nonprofit, run by Victoria Goss, takes in 150 to 200 orphaned foals every year, some just days old. The foals are nursed to health then adopted into knowledgeable, safe, loving homes. Stacy and Jesse had successfully raised two healthy, happy orphans before, and they knew they could do it again.
Stacy called Victoria. There was one foal left.
Second Chances
One of Last Chance Corral’s strict rules is that very young foals can’t be adopted alone. They’re too small and too immature to go out with older, bigger horses and need the companionship of another baby. But since Jesse and Stacy had adopted before, and since they already had an orphan at home, Victoria was willing to adopt out the last available foal alone. She sent Jesse and Stacy photos of an adorable bay and white pinto filly.
But Victoria had a warning for the Westfalls. Most orphans, she said, showed up depressed and seeking love. This foal showed up mad—so mad that volunteers had named her Hazmat.
Stacy realized quickly there was a reason for the filly’s bad attitude. Being separated from her mother so early caused her enormous stress, and her tiny stomach was full of ulcers. Once treated, her sweet, curious nature emerged. The Westfalls renamed her Stormy.
Though born only a day apart, Stormy towered over Lefty. She was more coordinated, too. Lefty, now outfitted with a special shoe on his right front hoof to help support and straighten his crooked leg, moved slower and tired more quickly than his new friend. Stormy also had far more social skills. The only animals Lefty had interacted with in his little life were his mother and two goofy goats!
But Stormy and Lefty bonded quickly. Within days they were drinking formula from the same bucket (about 20 gallons per day!) and sleeping on top of each other like puppies. When they were turned out for the first time, they explored the fields together, nibbling blades of grass and dozing shoulder to shoulder in the summer sun. They became the very best of friends, and they very likely saved each other’s lives.
Because the Westfalls saw a way to turn tragic loss into opportunity, both Lefty and Stormy were each granted a second chance.
Foal Update
At the time of this article’s publishing in the January/February 2025 issue of Young Rider, Lefty and Stormy are now healthy, active yearlings. Stormy’s ulcers are completely healed and she is happy and curious. Lefty’s legs are strong and straight, and he no longer needs a corrective shoe. Miraculously, neither foal has any long-lasting effects from all of their early challenges.
With Jesse and Stacy, Lefty and Stormy are learning foundational skills to become solid, reliable riding horses when they grow up. As orphans, they actually have an advantage: handled regularly as tiny foals, they’re very used to human interaction. Both love people and are eager to learn and to please.
At about 6 months old, the two began to self-wean, no longer depending on each other for every source of comfort. Stacy and Jesse introduced them to other members of the herd, and they are now confident, brave, curious young horses ready for what life has in store.
Stormy will eventually travel with Jesse to Asbury University, where he’s an instructor, and go through their western performance program. Lefty will stay with the Westfalls, with the hopes of becoming Jesse’s future reining partner, just like his mama, Lucy. Jesse decided to register him under the name Left Alone.
This article appeared in the January/February 2025 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!
