Poor and or rural communities rely upon working equines for traction for most of their income. Low-income families set their priorities on a strict survival basis to cover their bare necessities. In La Plata , as well in large cities in Argentina , 8 out of 10 families use horses as a working tool to collect urban residues to feed themselves and their animals as well as to recycle and obtain some kind of income.

In order to change this situation we started with a survey of families and their animals and reached the conclusion that it is not possible to intervene without sufficient knowledge on how these families interact with their animals and their environment. We searched for the following data:

•  Sanitary conditions of the animals

•  Lesions and bruises

•  Malnutrition

•  Inadequate growth

•  Inadequate use of animal

•  Age of the animal used

•  Whether the females were pregnant or not

•  If they were well shoed

The other area we investigated had to do with the members of the family themselves. Some of the area we covered were:

•  What schooling they had

•  What knowledge they had on illness that affected their animals

•  Animal well being, nutrition

•  Harness and pulling cart

•  Weight and balance of load

•  The diverse use of the working horse

•  As collecting cartons and other recyclable residues

•  In fishing, to collect nets filled with fish from the river

•  In the farm

•  Vending or peddling

From the above data we obtain the following conclusions:

The horses did not recibed appropriate sanitary care, nutrition, basic attention leading to animals that are bellow the minimum and indispensable sanitary level making them vulnerable to infectious and zoonotic disease.

Treatment and care provided to working equines among these communities focus mainly on feeding them with bread or vegetables. There is neither veterinary assistance nor basic attention to skin or foot injuries. The inadequate nutrition (or misguided malnutrition) working animals must endure, added to the lack of proper attention and veterinary care, as well as the extended hours of work these animals are subjected to, create an urgent need for the establishment of basic veterinary and education treatment facilities. It is out of this awareness that we started to work on a series of projects to cover both education and treatment in the city of La Plata .

Because illness and injuries are treated in vernacular ways, mostly due to ignorance, these animals become susceptible to chronic diseases that ultimately shorten their lives. This means, thousands of animals are suffering mistreatment and dying, leading to a loss of, at times, these families only means of lively-hood. Added to this, it creates infectious and contagious diseases that spread to the population that cohabit with these animals in extreme poverty and to neighboring areas.

We have set up an “interdisciplinary working group” made up of teachers, veterinary doctors and students as well as graphic arts and communication faculty members. We have also set-up a teaching program to extend the outreach to all working horses in our city. We are currently providing basic veterinary treatment and preventive medicines on minor yet common health problems. We also supply basic training and education to hundreds of horse owners, so as to improve the lives and welfare of their working equines and their environment. During each intervention we offer advice on adequate work, shoeing, molar rasping, pulling carts and harnessing, nutrition and cruelty.

We are also aiming to launch an educational program where these families live as well as in public centers, public primary schools where poor children of La Plata attend, to increase and promote working equines and domestic animal welfare. We aim to teach children how to care for both horses and other domestic animals with whom they interact. Our goal is to instill in them, respect for all living creatures and a sense of responsibility that comes from ownership.

BACKGROUND

This project was started towards the end of 2003 by a group of veterinary doctors and students as well as other disciplines in order to give and answer to a social drama that spread throughout the urban and suburban areas.

The work grew progressively as it started with very little intervention and grew, in time, with the aid of different people, social workers, veterinary doctors, that lent their time and effort voluntarily as well as pharmaceutical donations from some laboratory.

One of the activities consists in holding massive sanitary campaigns where large number of people get together with their working, farming, defense and company animals to which we register, attend and medicate, starting them with a sanitary plan that fits each animal as well as castrating those fit.

We also developed talks for all members of the families, whether old and or young, to make them aware and train them on different subjects that concern animal well being, zoonotics, nutrition, first aid, violence, environment and pollutions and contamination.

WE ARE COMMITTED to educating owners, to ensure that they know and respect their horse's abilities and limits, and their own, so as to not push the horse or themselves beyond their safety level.

WE ARE COMMITTED to educating all people who use horses for work to ensure they are knowledgeable in the proper husbandry, care, and handling of horses. Each horse should be observed frequently to ensure that they are healthy. In consultation with a veterinarian, all such individuals should develop a sound health care program, appropriate to the facilities, environment and needs of the horses.

WE ARE COMMITTED to improving the health and welfare of horses through collaboration,

To contact us and send a mail donations to info@conalma.org.ar or by PayPal