Hakuna Matata, what a
wonderful phrase!
As a thank you for everyone's kind support, we
wanted to provide our followers with an update on these two miraculous horses who are
thriving, against all the odds.
When staff at The Gambia Horse and Donkey
Trust (GHDT) got news of a serious stable fire on Christmas day which involved 3 horses
and one foal, no one knew how seriously the horses would be injured or what their chances
were of a positive outcome. It took almost 24 hours for the horses to reach the GHDT
veterinary centre, because they lived in a remote village almost 250km away and had to be
transported in the back of an ordinary goods truck, over rough, sandy roads.
Two of the horses were stallions, named Hakuna
and Matata. Hakuna suffered significant burns to his back and Matata suffered significant
burns over most his body and face. Although his appearance on arrival was not too bad, the
extent of his injuries became more apparent over time as the damaged skin sloughed off
during his treatment. The mare, Mathilde was the most seriously injured in the fire and
although she started to make significant improvements during her burns treatment she sadly
contracted tetanus and had to be euthanised. She had a foal at foot, Zazu, who fortunately
had not been tethered when the fire struck so he had managed to escape without any
injuries. He was however, sadly orphaned after the loss of his dam. Matata is a very
gentle stallion who immediately took Zazu under his wing, and the pair of them have been
stabled together since the loss of Mathilde to ensure that Zazu has appropriate equine
company in his formative months.
If there is one thing that the GHDT is good
at, it's making the impossible, possible. Many onlookers would say that these burnt horses
would not be able to survive their injuries, especially in a country where there are
minimal facilities. It is often the case in The Gambia that owners do not give permission
for euthanasia, sometimes because of religious reasons, sometimes because they rely so
heavily on their animals for their own income that to consider giving up on them is just
unthinkable. Horses are a huge investment for people living in poverty and they rely
heavily on their working equines to provide their family income. Because of this and where
euthanasia is not a viable option, the GHDT team go above and beyond to do what they can
for each individual animal in their care, whilst keeping them as comfortable as possible.
Hakuna and Matata are examples of just two
more miracles to add to the GHDT's list and are now through the worst of their recovery
process. Matata lost a considerable amount of his coat during recovery but is now
regrowing hair over most parts of his body. His face and tail injuries are still healing
but his fighting spirit shines through. Hakuna is full of mischief and loves nothing more
than a flat out blast around the paddock and he keeps his handlers on their toes! In
recent days Matata has also finally been well enough to join his companion Hakuna, along
with the foal Zazu and they have been having an absolute blast in the paddock together.
Not only can Matata move pretty fast but he has also been enjoying jumping over anything
he can find too. Not bad for a horse who just a couple of months ago had such severe burn
injuries that no one was sure it was even possible for him to survive. Some animals seem
to have a really strong will to live and fight on, regardless of the odds stacked against
them. To see the pure joy in their faces as they race around the paddock together is the
reason we do the work that we do, and we cannot do it without the generous donations from
our supporters. Sometimes, even the impossible is possible.
Thank you to each and every person who donated
towards the care of these beautiful horses - we couldn't have done it without your
support.
Hakuna and Matata on the road to recovery
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