MARE’S MILK PRODUCTS

Spa Creek Ranch is pleased to present Spa Creek Body Care. A small family run farm, specializing in registered New Forest Ponies, we have recently ventured into the production of mare’s milk based skin care products.

WHY MARE’S MILK?

In ancient times people already knew that the milk of mares had a salutary influence on the skin and scalp. Cleopatra (69 AD–30 AD) in Egypt took a daily bath in mare’s milk to keep her eternal youth. The warriors of Genghis Khan got unequalled powers when drinking mare’s milk.

Many nations throughout the ages have regarded mare’s milk as a means for health, strength and longevity. Herodot wrote 500 years before Christ about mare’s milk: “Nutrit, roberat, alerat” which means: “It nourishes, strengthens and gives new energy.
Spa Creek Body Care has combined this ancient wisdom with the newest scientific insights, and their own experiences to develop a brand new health/care line. This series of beneficial products supports and nurtures your skin and scalp in an all-natural way.

WHY NEW FOREST PONIES?

In order to be able to milk a horse or pony you need to get underneath them. A breed that is easily handled with a nice temperament is essential. In order to market the male offspring, it must be a breed that can perform well in the show ring. The female offspring are kept and raised for milk collection.

Coming from The Netherlands, we were familiar with the New Forest Pony – an excellent choice for children’s mounts. Most excel at jumping, and this combined with good natural gaits makes them superior performance ponies. They have a very nice, kind temperament, making them very suitable for milking as well.

Moreover, the ponies are easy keepers. They are very hardy, have good feet and a thick coat in the winter. A great grand dam of one of our ponies lived until the ripe old age of 43! So our ponies can live a long time!

One of our key beliefs is that ponies should be allowed to be ponies and do what nature intended – graze, gallop and play in the field. Studies have shown that this natural “exercise” is essential in strengthening tendons, bones, and muscles. Our ponies live outside in herds year round, with free access to shelter. Several pastures have hills, which are beneficial to muscle development. In the winter they are protected from the cold by their wooly coats. The herd environment teaches the foals much needed social skill.

We keep our stallions in a herd as well. Stallions will generally accept geldings as herd members if they have grown up together. Our ponies are well taken care of and hooves are trimmed on a regular basis. They are well handled and we make all new experiences fun for them. The result is a lovely, sweet natured pony, with the right mind and no vices.

Our goal is to breed a quality sport pony with excellent conformation, good movement, a good temperament, and close to 14.2 HH.
 

THE MILKING

In order to produce milk, the mares need to have a foal. The first 6 weeks all the milk produced is for the foal. While the foals are not weaned until 8 months, they can eat additional foods and spend their days in a herd with other foals. After the last milking of the day, the foals return to their mother. A mare usually produces enough milk to feed two foals, so they give us only a small amount of that. A mare that’s not happy and at ease won’t give you any milk! She just will not let go!

The bond between foal and mare is very strong. During the night and on the weekends the foals stay with the mares. This keeps the milk production going and the bond strong.

We keep the mares and foals in herds, in a surrounding that’s as natural as possible. They are fed hay we have grown ourselves - top quality and free of pesticides. We like to know what we are feeding and keep a close eye on the well being of our ponies. Only healthy animals can produce a healthy product. The mares are eager to come in for milking. They are then fed a little grain, a nutritious treat and have a positive experience.

Leo preparing to milk one of our mares