Recently KCT returned from Fiji where they spent 2 weeks treating horses and assisting and educating locals on general horse care, training and welfare, much the same as we did in Egypt.
Below is a brief overview by Chloe on what the team were up to and how it compared to the Pyramid horses of Egypt.
Below is a brief overview by Chloe on what the team were up to and how it compared to the Pyramid horses of Egypt.
What a whirlwind trip, can't believe I'm back on home soil already.Fiji was different from Egypt in so many ways, both good and bad. Instead of unending sand and ancient monuments, we were climbing up gnarly mountainside gravel roads to remote villages or driving through rivers in the gorgeous Yaqara station. Egypt - you saw animals walk in with hundreds of different health problems; in Fiji it was a case of seeing the same thing, again,and again, on every single horse. Huge ulcerating saddle sores along the wither and spine (from poor fitting saddles), dehydration and no hoof care or maintenance.
Sadly we saw horses as young as eight months old with saddles on and on the very first day a yearling was ridden in to have its hooves done. There were also a number of dental problems due to the high sugar diet of some of the horses (eating left over sugar cane).
On a positive note the locals were more than happy to learn and genuinely made an effort to understand what we were trying to teach - which was a nice change from some of the Egyptian attitudes.
The work we did handling unbroken horses,and training basic farrier skills at Yaqara was especially well received; farrier tools were left behind so that one particularly competent worker could carry on with what he had learned.There is definitely a need and potential to go back and carry on work there, and I think the future looks very promising.
Sadly we saw horses as young as eight months old with saddles on and on the very first day a yearling was ridden in to have its hooves done. There were also a number of dental problems due to the high sugar diet of some of the horses (eating left over sugar cane).
On a positive note the locals were more than happy to learn and genuinely made an effort to understand what we were trying to teach - which was a nice change from some of the Egyptian attitudes.
The work we did handling unbroken horses,and training basic farrier skills at Yaqara was especially well received; farrier tools were left behind so that one particularly competent worker could carry on with what he had learned.There is definitely a need and potential to go back and carry on work there, and I think the future looks very promising.
No comments:
Post a Comment