“What Every Vet Needs”: Equestrian Community Applauds Charities’ Dedication to Working Horses

In the equestrian world, apart from racing horses, working equines are a significant part. They are the horses, mules, and donkeys that are utilized daily to earn bread and butter. As per estimate, these equines aid in the livelihood of approximately 600 million people around the world. Many charity and welfare organizations are working for the welfare of these working equines.

The  International Coalition for Working Equids is one of those organizations that are dedicated to the cause and have done plenty of work on it around the world. Recently, four members of the organization attended a congress of the British Equine Veterinary Association and explained to them the lives of more than 100 million working horses, donkeys, and mules.

Equestrian welfare society shares its experience

The International Coalition for Working Equids is a combination of four NGOs that are working on the welfare of working equines. They work with organizations, communities, governments, and individuals to identify and share good practices for the improvement of the lives of horses. According to Horse Talk, the visitors spoke in different sessions on different topics related to working equines. Dr. Laura Skippen, from Brooke’s one of the NGOs of the coalition, spoke in the “What every vet needs to know about their clients” session.

During the session, she explained human behavior change for working equid health and welfare around the world. Speaking on her visit Skipen said, “This is as relevant for animals in the UK as it is overseas and we’re very grateful to BEVA for the opportunity to highlight this approach“.

She further mentioned that Brook’s approach which is based on evidence is successful in bringing change in the attitude of owners and the community to improve animal lives.

Another visitor from Spana, Dr. Youness Elouasbi presented a clinical research issue on small colon obstruction in working donkeys in Morocco. Dr. Anna Bowker also presented a clinical research issue of Tetanus cases in working equids in the same country. There were case study sessions on good health and good welfare.

The international organization members have also discussed the online library on their website which hosts resources for guidance on water provision, diseases and injuries, and end-of-life concerns for working equines. The equestrian community and the BEVA were impressed by equestrian charity work and applauded their dedication to the cause.

About The International Coalition for Working Equids

The organization consists of four NGOs – Brooke, Spana, The Donkey Sanctuary, and World Horse Welfare. According to their website, they strive to support and improve the horse-human partnership. They have trained over 4,000 veterinarians and animal health practitioners. Through their experience, they developed a list of skills required for animal welfare practitioners and veterinary doctors.

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These skills are promoted in the name of the Animal Health Mentoring Framework. The framework also includes a manual for working veterinary doctors and resources for compassionate ways to handle the animals. It also helped in ways to access essential medicines for the equines.

The work of the International Coalition for Working Equids is commendable and has shown its result on the ground. The equestrian community can learn a lot from their experience and application of their guidelines in improving working equine lives. What do you think about the contributions from the equine foundation?

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