Across the world, many working animals suffer from wounds caused by ill-fitting equipment. In the low-income communities where SPANA works, proper harnessing is often unavailable and unaffordable, so owners have no choice but to use whatever materials they can find.
Find out more about the importance of appropriate harnessing and how our vets treat working animals with harness wounds. You can also find out how we are working with the owners, communities and children to improve animal welfare by demonstrating effective harnessing techniques for working animals.
The importance of proper harnessing
Working animals wear harnesses so that they can carry out their daily tasks. Harnesses help their owners work with their animals, so that an animal knows where to go, when to start and stop, and can carry people, haul carts and power agricultural tools such as ploughs. Harnessing can include reins, collars, bridles, bits, saddles, girths, and more.
Sadly, injuries caused by poorly made harnesses are some of the most common conditions seen by SPANA’s veterinary teams. This is because in many of the countries where SPANA works, it’s impossible to find well-fitting, professionally made animal harnesses. Instead, working animal owners are forced to fashion their own from materials such as plastic, rope, twine and nylon.
If handmade harnessing isn’t fitted properly, it can cause terrible wounds and potentially deadly infections. Harness wounds can occur anywhere on a working animal’s body where their harness is in contact with their skin. Their inappropriate harnessing will rub into their delicate skin, causing painful friction wounds. These wounds are exacerbated by sweat due to the hot climate that many working animals work in, as well as dirt and dust from their working environment and the weight of the load they pull or carry.
Harness wounds can include cuts, sores, bald patches of skin, bleeding and ulcers.
Treating harness wounds on a working animal
If a working animal is brought to a SPANA veterinary centre or mobile clinic with a harness wound, our vets will examine the animal carefully. The vets will thoroughly clean and disinfect the wound with clean water and or saline. They will then administer an anti-inflammatory pain relief to ease the animal’s pain and reduce inflammation and swelling. If the wound is infected, the animal will also be started on a course of antibiotics. The vets will show the owner how to administer them so they can continue treatment at home.
The owner will also be advised to rest their animal until the wound has healed and will be shown how to keep the wound clean and dry during the healing process. Here are just a few success stories from our dedicated vets:
- Our vets in Ethiopia treated a horse called Mulatu for a harness wound.
- SPANA vets in Morocco treated Leila the mule’s withers wound caused by an ill-fitting pack saddle.
- When Assimi the donkey developed a nose band wound across the bridge of his nose, SPANA vets in Mali were on hand to provide vital care.
Effective harnessing techniques for working animals
Crucially, SPANA vets don’t just treat harness wounds. Across the world, we are transforming the lives of working animals by working with owners, communities, children and other veterinary professionals to demonstrate effective harnessing techniques for working animals.
If a working animal is brought to a SPANA veterinary centre or mobile clinic with a harness wound, our vets will examine the animal’s harness to determine the cause, then advise owners on how to prevent harness wounds in future. This advice could include how to fit harnessing correctly, which materials to use, and how to make and add soft padding to prevent wounds in future.
Owners may also be invited to a SPANA community training session on avoiding harness wounds. These take place in many countries where we work. At the sessions, which can be for both adults and children, communities are shown how simple padding made from inexpensive and accessible materials can make their working animals’ harnessing more comfortable and prevent injury. They are also shown how to load an animal’s cart correctly, so that the load is well-balanced and not too heavy.
Community-driven solutions for improper equine harnessing
In Takavarasha, in southern Zimbabwe, the community started their own harnessing project when SPANA’s mobile clinic team identified a need for safe, affordable, durable and reflective harnesses. Previously, donkeys had been wearing harnesses made from rubber strips or webbing. These harnesses caused problems because the edges were often sharp and cut into an animal’s skin; the materials were often secured with large nuts and bolts, which rubbed and caused injuries; and sweat collected under the rubber, causing skin damage and infections.
With SPANA’s help, community members set out to make new harnesses that were more breathable, dried quickly, and were reflective so that donkeys would be more visible to other road users. SPANA provided funding for the initial set-up, including the purchase of a sewing machine and solar power, and we are actively supporting local sales and distribution until the project is self-sustaining.
All this work is only possible due to the continued kindness and compassion of our supporters. Their support enables SPANA vets to treat working animals who are suffering from painful wounds and sores caused by ill-fitting harnesses. We are also able to train their owners in how to check, fit and make well-fitting equipment so that working animals are safe and comfortable. If you’re interested in supporting SPANA, learn how you can get involved.