Bulla the donkey received expert care from SPANA vets in Ethiopia when she was suffering from the agony of overgrown hooves.
Bulla is a hardworking donkey. Every day, she pulls a heavy cart around the town of Debre Birhan, in central Ethiopia. She transports firewood, water and essential goods so that her owner, Kes, can make a small income.
Kes took Bulla to SPANA’s mobile clinic in Debre Birhan when he noticed that his donkey was finding it increasingly difficult to pull her cart. Bulla was walking slowly and awkwardly – sometimes even limping.
At the clinic, SPANA’s veterinary team examined Bulla’s legs and hooves carefully. They discovered that her hooves had overgrown. This overgrowth had caused Bulla’s hooves to become painfully misshapen, preventing her from walking properly. Left untreated, Bulla’s overgrown hooves could have led to uneven weightbearing, with chronic tendon and ligament damage, resulting in severe lameness.
To correct the problem, SPANA’s farrier trimmed Bulla’s hooves with special farriery tools until they were all well-balanced and in a good condition. As he worked, he showed the overgrowth to Kes and advised him to bring Bulla back to the clinic for regular farriery treatment.
Kes was thrilled with his donkey’s successful treatment and thanked the SPANA team, saying: ‘Because of SPANA’s mobile clinic, we can get hoof trimming for our donkeys. This will help give our donkeys a long life.’
Sadly, lameness is a huge problem that our veterinary teams see every day. Lameness can be absolutely agonising for working animals, leaving them at risk from permanent injury. Some animals are unable to work or to walk to food or water sources, causing severe consequences for themselves and their owners. But with your help, SPANA can provide crucial care and support for working animals like Bulla so that they do not have to suffer from the agony of lameness. Find out more and make a difference today by supporting our lameness appeal.
