Find out how vets in Ethiopia helped ease a horse’s pain caused by a homemade harness.
Tamanyi, meaning ‘loyal’, has an important job. Every day, the 12-year-old horse transports people around the central Ethiopian town of Bishoftu, helping them get to school, hospital appointments and the local market to buy essential supplies. His hard work also enables his owner, Dibaba, to support his loved ones.
Dibaba became worried when some nasty sores developed on Tamanyi’s chest and girth, so he took him to their nearest mobile veterinary clinic, which is run by SPANA’s local partner in Ethiopia.
The vets, who had set up their mobile clinic by Bishoftu’s main market, examined Tamanyi’s sores and quickly identified that they were caused by the horse’s homemade harness rubbing against his skin. Tamanyi was administered pain relief to make him more comfortable and his wounds were cleaned gently.
The vets showed Dibaba how to keep Tamanyi’s wounds clean and dry while they healed. They also supplied Dibaba with comfortable harness padding, made from local material to help avoid painful harness wounds from developing in the future. He was also invited to attend a community training session about harnessing.
Dibaba said: ‘Tamanyi helps me a lot. I support my family with this horse. And so, I help my horse by giving him food and water every day and making sure that he is healthy.’
Sadly, across the world, many working animals are forced to endure the agony caused by poor harnessing. In the countries where SPANA and our partners work, harnessing is either prohibitively expensive or simply unavailable, leaving owners no choice but to resort to using homemade harnessing made from old ropes and twine. These can cause agonising wounds and unnecessary suffering.
SPANA and our partners run community training sessions to help owners fit and make appropriate and safe harnessing. We also support local community groups to make and sell affordable and durable equipment. Your ongoing support makes this work possible and is transforming the lives of working animals – thank you!
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