Working Equids
The following is excerpted from an article by Alexandra Beckstett for thehorse.com
Out of sight, out of mind. This is often the harsh reality for working equids, while owners and veterinarians in developed countries are busy caring for their own horses. But, argues Derek Knottenbelt, DVM&S, Dipl. ECEIM, MRCVS, these animals serve a very important role across the world and need our attention.
A longtime equitarian (volunteer veterinarian on trips to developed countries) and professor of Equine Medicine at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Science, in Scotland, Knottenbelt described the working equid’s plight as well as importance during the 2015 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 5-9 in Las Vegas.
His philosophy, he said, is that by improving working animals’ welfare, we are in turn relieving human burden.
More than 100 million families in rural communities worldwide depend on working equids for transportation, farming, economic value, and social value. “They play a fundamental role in individual family prosperity and in the local and national economics,” Knottenbelt said. “Indeed, it could be said that if the working horse or donkey were to be removed from society, the economy of the world would collapse.”
Unlike in the Western World, however, where equids generally come at a high price and enjoy quality veterinary care and legislative protection, working equids aren’t blessed with trained veterinarians, well-educated owners, or government support. They’re victim to ill-fitting harnesses, malnutrition, and preventable diseases, such as tetanus and rabies.
This is not, however, because their owners don’t care about them. “A donkey can increase a family’s income by up to 500%,” Knottenbelt said, so it’s in a family’s best interest to keep it healthy. It’s because they’re caring for these animals the only way they know how, while doing all they can to care for themselves.