Volunteers with a central Alberta organization faced abominable sights and smells while rescuing a young, wild foal deep in the West Country.

On Aug. 20, members of the Help Alberta Wildies Society (HAWS) located a foal near Cutoff Creek who refused to leave its dead mother’s side for days.

Debbie McGauran says the foal, who was no more than four or five weeks old, survived for up to six days by drinking putrid puddle water its mother’s body was lying in.

She also says the foal kept busy chasing away birds that tried to peck away at the dead carcass.

McGauran says the foal was discovered by campers in the area who, by chance, came across the scene while quadding.

Additionally, the horseback trek to find the foal and the dead mare was potentially dangerous, said McGauran, as apex predators such as grizzlies often feed on dead wild horses.

Battling the horrific smell of the deteriorating carcass and a reluctant foal, HAWS members, including president Darrell Glover, were eventually successful in coaxing the animal to leave the scene.

McGauran says the foal was so weak it could barely make the journey across the creek, but after a couple bottles of milk he partially regained his strength.

“He would’ve died had we not intervened,” says McGauran. “It’s unheard of that a young foal can survive six days on his own with a dead mother.”

Rescuing Hunter the wild foal near Cutoff Creek, AB. (Photo by Debbie McGauran/provided)

The young foal who has been named Hunter is now in good hands in the care of HAWS volunteers at North 40 Ranch near Olds, which is owned by Glover.

Hunter is named after McGauran’s grandson, who was also part of a rescue earlier in the summer, where HAWS members rescued a wild horse named Tumbler, who was stuck in a thicket at the edge of a cliff.

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READ MORE: Daring West Country wild foal rescue caught on video

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Rehabilitation efforts include supplements, hay, milk, and a nurse mare, which McGauran says will hopefully nurse the young foal, be a guardian for him, and “teach him how to be a horse”.

The Cutoff Creek equestrian staging area is located approximately 60 minutes west of Caroline.

As of Aug. 27, the video has been shared more than 1,200 times.

*Warning- graphic content.