Lighten the Load Gift

10-year-old Dalle arrived at our SPANA centre in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, suffering with harness wounds. Every day, Dalle carries a heavy water pump for his owner, Daniel. In the hot and humid conditions, the carthorse’s homemade harness started to rub against his skin. Over time, the constant friction led to painful sores developing across his chest. Sadly, in the countries where we work, proper harnessing is often unaffordable or unavailable. This can leave owners with no option but to fashion their own harnesses, which can sometimes be abrasive and uncomfortable for their animals. Our vets gently cleaned each of Dalle’s wounds and applied zinc oxide to encourage healing. They also provided Daniel with some comfortable padding and showed him how to position it correctly to protect Dalle from further injury.