28. June 2019

Poland | Swietokrzyskie | Monthly report June: Farm Animal Service

Zlotniki. Now, the dog can run around freely without any risk of escaping through the poor-quality fence.

Dabrowa Gorna. An abscess in a claw was the reason for the lameness of this cow.

In Bronkowice we trim the hooves of a lame foal.

Jegrznia. The foals are wearing halters and have their hoofs trimmed for the first time

First, we return to a farm in Zlotniki to implement our idea which will allow the dog to run around freely the narrow yard. We install a metal wire that goes from one side of the yard to the fence at the other end. Then, we attach a lightweight chain to this wire which allows dog to run without risk of escaping through the poor-quality fence. The dog seems surprised but happily explores his new possibilities.

The next farm we visit is the one in Boronkowice, where we need to check if the foal’s skin infection is cured. It looks better. Unfortunately, the young horse started limping. During the trimming of the lame foot we do not find anything serious. We are asked to trim all hooves. Unfortunately, we must refuse our services, because the owner did not fulfil his task and thereby breaches the rules of the programme. He promised to buy and use halters for his three bulls, but they are still tied by the horns. He gets a warning. We will trim the remaining hooves of his foal when he also looks after his cattle. We will be back soon, to check if the bulls are finally wearing halters.

Then we are called to Jegrznia to help with very young foals. We put halters on their heads and trim their hoofs for the first time. Moreover, we are happy to see that the farmer has moved his herd to a new shed. Unfortunately, we find a metal sheet sticking out from the ground in the middle of the box, but the farmer removes it immediately.

Next, two limping cows on two different farms need the help of our farriers. The farm in Dabrowa Gorna is too large to join our program but we decide to help the animal in pain regardless. During trimming we find an abscess. In Zbelutka, on the second farm, the lameness is caused by overgrown claws. We emergency trim two broken hoofs. We explain to the owner the rules of Farm Animal Service (FAS) programme and leave him our guidelines. If he decides to join our programme and starts to improve the welfare of his animals, we will come back and trim the remaining hooves.

On the way back we visit our regular attendee in Starachowice. We have not heard from him in a while and we would like to check if everything is fine. It turns out that he sold the mare. However, he does not feel good without a horse and he is considering to buy a foal. Then, he will need our help again.

In total our farriers visited 18 farms and trimmed hooves of 18 horses and the claws of 2 cattle. Also, 3 horses were dewormed.