In Romania there are still a lot of horses and donkeys used for heavy work, particularly in one of the poorest areas of the country, the region of Costanza. Unfortunately very often these animals live in the most terrible conditions and they endure a lot of oppressions.
In order to host and cure the mistreated or abandoned equines Save the Dogs created two shelters and activated an outreach project, which started again this year with the beginning of the spring. As a part of the project, it just ended the second “horse week”, sponsored again by our Swedish partner Hundhjalpen.
This year’s goal was to improve the activity of the pilot week in 2016. With local authorities, the team visited the village of Cochirleni, which has a lot of horses and donkey used for heavy works.
At the end of the week, 75 animals improved their living conditions thanks to us: 74 horses and a donkey. 50 animals were in good shape, 13 were slightly overweight, 12 slightly or severe malnourished. These last horses, that also have dental issues, will remain in our vet’s care until their conditions improve.
Two farriers were also part of the team, and they worked hard to ferry and level the hoofs consumed by the exhausting work. Beside all the horses received a blanket, a bridle, a head collar and worming treatments; moreover, our vets gave indications and advices to all the owners on the responsible management of these animals, for their health and well being.
We are completely satisfied about this activity, which improved our presence locally enhancing one of the challenges we cope with in Romania: the creation of a culture on the correct treatment of the animals.