Queen Uniek, a Friesian horse in The Netherlands, was expecting her first child. She knew something was wrong the moment she went into labor. She was flaming her lips and strutting in circles inside her stable because she was nervous. Her owner, Yvonne, stood beside her, trying to calm her down.
Uniek gave birth an hour later, and the veterinarians who helped her extracted a foal who was not breathing. They tried everything to resuscitate him, but it was too late. He did not survive.
The heartbroken mare continued to lick her foal, hoping to revive him, but it didn’t work. They removed the foal from her stable while Yvonne comforted Uneik. She was aware that her beloved horse was in a lot of pain.
Then Yvonne and the rest of the Friesian Horses team got some exciting news. Her friend called to tell her that they were caring for an orphaned foal.
She wasn’t sure how Queen Uniek would react to another horse’s foal, but she thought it could be the answer to her grief.
They transported the foal to their farm in a van. Yvonne wanted to see if Uniek would be interested in adopting the foal. She had lost her son, and the foal was without a mother. The barn was full of hope.
Yvonne gradually moved the foal closer to Uniek.
The first few interactions were shaky. She sniffed the foal, and the foal sniffed back. She did a little dance, and they could tell she was excited to see the foal in front of her, as if she was claiming him as her own.
“It was a very special moment. I never thought this would happen. We knew instantly that Queen Uniek accepted Rising Star,” Yvonne told The Dodo.
Since then, Queen Uniek has never left Rising Star’s side.
The following day, they discovered the adorable mother and son inside their stable, and Uniek became extremely protective of her adopted foal. She followed him wherever he went. Rising Star was always walking near Uniek.
Rising Star was the happiest foal Yvonne had ever seen when she took the two out in the field. He ran around and played as any young animal would. Uniek, on the other hand, trailed close behind him, making sure to keep her child in sight.