OUR HORSES AND
DONKEYS
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LAZARUS Lazarus is really the true founder of the Trust as
it was his courage and fortitude which inspired us to start it.
When Stella first saw Lazarus her immediate
instinct was to put him out of his misery.
Not only was he totally emaciated, but he
was so weak that he was unable to stand. In his attempts to stand he had staggered and
fallen over onto a fire, badly burning his leg. |
Stella gave the owners advice on how to
keep him as comfortable as possible and purchased some food for him, then she went in
search of a vet to put him down.
It took her five days to find the vet and
upon her return she was astonished to find that with just a small amount of nourishment he
had managed to stand and he was tottering around trying to graze.
It was clear that his recovery would take
some time and he was purchased by Stella. Later he became the co-founder and mascot of the
Trust. He is now fully recovered and is a gentle, affectionate horse.
Although we are not a sanctuary as such, we
do feel that Lazarus has earned his place in our 'team'.
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GIBBY
Gibby has been owned by the Gambia Horse and
Donkey Trust for a number of years, but only recently came back to live at our centre.
Until now Gibby was loaned out to a Gambian family who lived in a very remote area of the
country, and required a horse to do the work on their farm. Gibby has not only worked hard
as a farm horse, ploughing the fields and sowing seeds, but he has also been invaluable as
a form of transport for the family. Living in a remote area of Gambia can be difficult in
many ways, and the lack of any motorised transport is one of the things that adds to this.
By having Gibby to pull their cart, the family were able to take their farm produce to
markets further afield, and also to provide essential transport to their friends and
family when they needed to get to the hospital. |
| Gibby has spent a number of years
working very hard for the family who took care of him, but he is now reaching a mature age
for a Gambian horse, and the family felt that they were no longer able to provide him with
the care that he would require in his older years. Knowing that Gibby had helped their
family so much, they felt it would be kindest for Gibby to spend the rest of his days at
our centre, where he can retire gracefully with round the clock care from our team of
staff. |
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TALLAH Tallah is living proof that horses are able to
survive even a badly broken leg. Without any training, Tallah was put into a harness and
cart and his owner expected him to be able to pull the cart without any problem. Sadly,
Tallah panicked at the monster which seemed to have been attached to him and immediately
began galloping out of control. As you can imagine, Tallah’s first outing pulling the
cart ended very badly, with a destroyed cart and Tallah receiving a broken front leg.
Fortunately for Tallah he was not far from the
Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, so we were able to take him in for treatment. Tallah’s
owner would not allow him to be put to sleep, so it was our responsibility to try
everything we could for him. After a period of time with his leg in a cast, and endless
hours |
| of expert care by our staff,
Tallah made a recovery against all the odds. |
Due to the extent of his injuries he is not
able to undertake a normal workload and because of this Tallah will always live at our
centre. Due to his traumatic experience in a cart we would never ask Tallah to pull a
cart, but he has been trained to do farming work and is well known in our local area for
being the best horse for ploughing during the rainy season, due to his exuberant manner
and endless energy! His aversion to water means that his furrows are not always as
straight as they should be as he circumnavigates puddles.
Tallah’s legs are slightly deformed from
his injuries, but they do not cause him any pain and they certainly don’t slow him
down! He is full of character and loves nothing more than an outing into the bush with one
of our staff.
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RUFUS Rufus was gifted to us by an organisation that was no longer able to
feed him.
Rufus has been trained to pull a cart and to do farming
work, and has been used by many of the local farmers to help them during the farming
season. When farmers use Rufus, a member of staff always accompany him to ensure that he
is handled correctly and given enough rest. |
Now a teenager, Rufus is enjoying a quieter
life, and he is a very affectionate stallion. He loves nothing more than a good groom, and
he loves to be taken for a stroll through the bush provided you are not in a hurry –
speed is not his strong point!
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RACHEL After spotting Rachel in a field not too far from
Banjul, the Gambian capital, our staff expressed their concern for her. Rachel had been
tethered in field where she was unable to access food or water. Whilst there was grass all
around her, she was unable to reach it due to the rope that she was tethered with. When we
managed to find her owners we asked them to bring some water for her, and she gave a
pitiful whinny of excitement when she saw it before guzzling down all 20 litres of it in
one go. Her coat was dull, her eyes sunken, her mane completely matted and she was
desperately underweight.Thankfully her owners agreed to sign her over to the Gambia Horse
and Donkey Trust and we were able to organise a lorry to transport her the several hours
to our centre. She arrived tired and weak, but has settled in well and is now enjoying a
life of plentiful food and water. Due to severe tick infestations in her ears we were
unable to save her ears from becoming ‘floppy’, so she now has two permanently
folded down ears which only make her more adorable. |
| She has the most wonderful
personality, adores a fuss and has been a wonderful foster mother to some of the orphaned
foals that we have had to look after. |
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TROIKA Troika is a donkey with an enormous heart and lust for life. Stella
found Troika in an appalling state at the side of the road. She had a severe leg infection
and was very ill. She was taken away to be put down, but once she reached home, despite
her illness she made it very clear that she had other intentions. She had a long drink,
tucked into a meal and started to show signs of life. With antibiotic therapy, her
infection was controlled but sadly there was lasting damage to her hoof which eventually
sloughed off and did not regrow, leaving Troika with only three feet. Troika was fostered
by a British nurse and her |
| husband but we took her back when
they left the country. |
For obvious reasons Troika is unable to work
and needs to be around people who can always keep a watchful eye over her. She is the most
remarkable donkey who will stand all day and very gently nibble your nose if you are happy
to let her. If you scratch her withers she will happily scratch yours too.
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NEIL Neil is a little donkey with a very big personality.
He was rescued as a foal by a volunteer who was visiting
The Gambia, so he has spent most of his life with us.
Neil produces very nice foals so he has not been castrated
and is used as a stud. He is lively to lead and drags most of his handlers in the
direction he would like to go, but he is very soft and loves affection. He is very lazy
when in his cart though!
He considers Sambel Kunda as his domain and is always out
to keep other male donkeys in their place. He seemed to be able to |
| escape from every paddock we ever
made for him until we imported high quality stock fencing to put against the post and
rails, then he escaped through the gate! Neil's claim to fame is that he has walked the
entire length of The Gambia and back again on a fundraising expedition with photographer
Jason Florio and his wife Helen. He had the important task of carrying all the camera
equipment and luggage on his cart. |
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HEDGES Hedges has always been selective about who he
likes and who he doesn't. He was rescued from the side of the road where he had been
abandoned as he had a high fever and a slightly clubbed foot.
He was fostered by a Peace Corps Volunteer who
already had our horse "Benson" on loan for one of his projects and thought it
would be appropriate to have Benson and Hedges! He was well cared for and with remedial
foot trimming his foot did well and he was a useful donkey. |
When his carer left the country, he was
returned to the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust where he was put out on loan as a project
donkey. Sadly as he grew older the foot deformity seemed to get worse so we withdrew him
from work and bought him home. Hedges has to receive very regular trimming by one of our
trained farriers to ensure that the deformity does not continue getting any worse.
Although he has been temperamental in the past, he has settled back home well and only now
bares his teeth if you stop fussing him.
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RHONA Rhona is the First Lady of The Gambia Horse and
Donkey Trust.
She is most certainly the sweetest and
cheekiest donkey in the Gambia. Rhona originally came to the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust
in a terrible state having been very badly beaten. Rhona's harness had rubbed so badly
that her shoulders were raw and she tried to stop in order to prevent more pain. Rather
than checking to see why she had stopped, the thoughtless young man who was working her
for her owner just beat her more. Having made an excellent recovery Rhona clearly realises
that she landed on her feet, and she lets everyone she meets realise that by giving them a
thorough loving! She adores affection and also loves to return affection . Rhona is very
fond of food and will eat almost anything! She especially loves watermelon, papaya and
pumpkins.Whilst we have chosen not to use Rhona for working |
| due to the ordeal that she had
been through before she came into our care, she makes a wonderful demonstration donkey and
has been used to help educate local farmers and has also visited local schools to help
with teaching the children. She is well known amongst our Donkey Club members because she
is often used if one of the children’s own donkeys is unwell – she is faster
than most of the other donkeys (once you know her magic buttons!) so the Donkey Club boys
get quite excited if they are allowed to use her! Rhona is a wonderful mother and has
foaled several of our project donkeys who are now able to assist poor families by working
for them under our Donkey Project. |
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MAXINE Maxine came into our care in a poor state of general health, with an
extremely badly strained back and a seriously ill foal at foot. Due to the amount of
strain she had been under her back is permanently distorted and she has a slightly odd,
elongated shape to her body and a curved spine. Maxine is a very shy and introverted
donkey who prefers to keep herself to herself.
She is very good natured and makes an excellent mother to
the foals that she has had. Maxine has had foals who are now old enough to be trained and
used to help poor families in the local area, by working for them under our Donkey Project
scheme.
Maxine always keeps an eye on Troika and keeps her company
if she cannot keep up with the other donkeys. |
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