making great strides in working animal welfare in south africa
During December, our partner group Blind Love treated 24 donkeys and 83 horses through their outreach clinics. Thanks to your steadfast support, they are making great strides in working animal welfare in South Africa.
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DONKEY OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
We held donkey outreach clinics on the 9th and 13th of December. A total of 33 donkeys were checked for injuries and wounds, treated for ticks and flies, and dewormed if necessary.
The donkey’s harnesses were also checked and replaced where needed. All of the donkeys attending the outreaches were in decent condition with no major injuries or issues noted.
A set of farrier tools were left with Michael, who is our community liaison person and will be running a Donkey Care Station in 2026. He was very excited and got to work immediately checking and trimming hooves!
Early in December, we received a call from Michael about a donkey who had a serious injury at the base of her tail. Vet, Dr Annie, went out immediately to attend to the poor donkey. The laceration was deep and badly infected. Dr Annie removed the dead skin, cleaned it up and gave her long-acting antibiotics. She suspects someone slashed her with a panga knife.
Dr Annie also checked on the little burnt donkey, and she was so pleased with how she is healing. Thanks to Michael’s daily care, she has also put on lots of weight and was happily munching on the big round bale of hay we left with her! We saw them both again in mid-December and both donkeys were healing well. Dr Annie removed the dressing from the little burnt donkey and left it open to heal.
Percy - the donkey with the broken leg - was also checked by Dr Annie. His owner has been doing a great job keeping him confined, but he has decided if the vet makes the call that Percy can never work again, he would like Percy to retire at the Blind Love sanctuary, rather than running the risk of him being taken or stolen.
2025 ended on a high note with Christmas festivities, despite the day being unusually cold for December! Because it was school holidays there were plenty of the donkey owners’ children there too.
The owners all expressed their deepest gratitude for everything we have done and are planning to do for their donkeys. We too are incredibly grateful and could not hold these outreach days without the generous support of Animal Aid Abroad.
WORKING HORSES OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
In December, four outreach clinics were held in Thaba’nchu at the cart horse rank in town. Outreach days were also held in the rural areas Botshabelo and Rosendal. A total of 83 horses were checked and treated at these days.
The horses’ harnesses were checked, adjusted and replaced where needed. We also handed out plenty of donated tack and equipment to the horse owners. Everyone was very appreciative!
Unfortunately, the team treated a number of horrible open saddle sores. These were not caused from work but from riding the horses bareback long and hard after hours. When we see these sorts of injuries, we cannot stress enough to the owners the importance of not using their horses in this way! Sadly, horses often get stolen over weekends and ridden by the thieves to neighbouring villages and returned days later with terrible wounds.
The year ended in Thaba’Nchu on a high note with the team excited about the proposed Community Care Stations. Two members of the community - Tshepang and Tshepo - helped out by going door-to-door to local horse owners, offering to attend to minor wounds and treat worms, ticks and flies. They also got busy washing and grooming local horses!
We would like to say an enormous thank you to Animal Aid Abroad for your generous and ongoing support of both these programs. It’s been a great year and we are excited about what we can achieve for working animals in 2026!