Rosco's Modern Life: Meet the Salt River Foal Saved from Certain Death

Rosco the foal was not having a very good week. On the day he was born, a new stallion took over his band, part of the Salt River Wild Horses that inhabit an 18-mile stretch of land along the Salt River in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. The stallion wanted Rosco’s mother to join him as part of his new herd. He did not want Rosco.

Though his mother fought hard to return to his side, in the end, Rosco was abandoned in a field while his band moved on without him. He was unprotected, hungry, and alone.

(©Salt River Wild Horse Management Group)

It should have been the end for the tiny, unwanted colt, but thankfully, the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group (SRWHMG) was allowed to intercede on his behalf. The fresh start they gave him—complete with a new foster mom, round-the-clock bottle feedings, and plenty of TLC —has made all the difference in the world for Rosco, who is now not only thriving, but hamming it up for the cameras.

“It’s actually going amazing. We’re so happy,” says Simone Netherlands, President of the SRWHMG, who says the staff was on tenterhooks the first two days of Rosco’s rescue and were uncertain as to whether or not he would survive. “Now he’s running around and bucking—he has fun! He’s quite the naughty boy these days…he’s acting more like a dog than a horse,” she says, adding that Rosco’s foster mother April, who the SRWHMG recently purchased, has been instrumental in helping to teach the baby respect.

Because April doesn’t produce enough milk to sustain him, the organization still requires a 24-hour schedule for its 30 volunteers, who take turns bottle feeding Rosco every two hours. “It amazing how our volunteers come together and make sacrifices,” says Netherlands, “people really do amazing things, and everyone does it out of their own hearts.”

Thankfully, it helps that the SRWHMG’s pint-sized patient seems to appreciate all of the efforts the group has made on his behalf. Says Netherlands, “He just loves people. He wants you to hug him all the time.”