30. March 2020

Poland | Swietokrzyskie | Monthly Report March: Farm Animal Service

Lomno. A hematoma is causing the lameness of this horse.

Nowy Jawor. A new doghouse was built by the farmer. However, the surroundings are too messy and unsafe for the dog.

Zbelutka. We are trimming the claws of a lame cow

Niedospielin. We are collecting a skin sample of this foal to find out what is causing his skin infection.

This month, the work for our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team starts on a farm in Lomno. A mare on this farm is limping. We are inspection her hooves and find a hematoma. We disinfect and protect the wound with a spray. We will come back to trim the hooves after the wound healed.

Our next visit is on a farm in Nowy Jawor. We want to check whether the promised improvements were made on the horse stable. The improvements are far from what we expected, but the stable looks better than before. After all, the most important aspect for us is that the new surrounding is safe for the horses, and the farmer fulfilled our requirements. Moreover, the farmer built a new doghouse. It looks good. However, we are not pleased with the location of the new doghouse. He placed in in a messy corner of his yard. Therefore, we require him to either clean the yard, or move the doghouse to a clean and safe place.

Next, our team is driving to Zbelutka. We trim the claws of two limping cows. In both cases, the reason for the lameness is an abscess. We clean the wounds. They should heal within a few days.

Our next visits are on two farms that are interested in joining our ATET-programme. The first farm is in Wola Zamkowa where an old lady is keeping a 22-year-old horse and a dog. The second farm is in Kozie Pole. Here, the farmer is keeping two mares to help him with his work on the fields. We sign contracts with both farms and are happy to welcome them to our ATET-programme. From now on they will belong to an engaged group of farmers in Poland who are willing to improve the living conditions of their animals.

Afterwards, we drive to Niedospielin to check on a foal that was suffering from a skin infection. Unfortunately, the infection spread around the whole neck of the foal. We are taking skin samples and send them to a veterinarian for consultation. Hopefully, we will soon be able to find an effective treatment for the foal.

In March, we visited seven farms in total. We trimmed the hooves of two horses and the claws of two cows. Moreover, we welcomed two new farms to our ATET-programme. Unfortunately, the spread of the coronavirus in Poland and the national health restrictions forced us to pause our work for the farm animals during the crisis. Next to our team members, we also need to protect the farmers in the region of Swietokrzyskie. They are mostly elderly people. We are hoping that we will soon be able to continue with our Farm Animal Service as soon as it will be possible again.