by Elizabeth Archer and Caroline Grandjean
An orphaned foal whose mum died giving birth has been adopted by a surrogate shire after his desperate owners launched a campaign on social media.
The shire foal, Batley Phantom Grey, was just hours old when his mum died of a prolapse this week at Croft House Farm, south Leeds.
Luckily Batley Phantom Grey now has new big brother after being adopted by another mare, who gave birth six weeks ago, and is already feeding happily.
Rebecca Walker, who was helping with the foaling, said: “Losing his mum was really, really hard. Especially since she was the last of the line, but hopefully the foal will be back running around the fields soon.”