25. October 2019

Poland | Swietokrzyskie | Monthly Report October: Farm Animal Service

Brody. Our team is trimming the hooves of a limping mare.

Brody. The hooves of this small pony are in horrible condition.

Zelutka Nowa. This cow injured her udder with her overgrown claws.

Porudzie. A finished shed for the farm machines. Now, the owner can build a paddock for his horses in the place where he used to keep all his equipment.

Zlotniki. The owner gets a last warning regarding the treatment of his dog.

Wola Zamkowa. The owner is learning how to teach a mare to pick up her leg.

On our first visit this month, our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team is going back to Zlotniki to speak with the owner about his dog and reprimand him because he locked the dog away in a barn again. We let the dog out and inform the owner about the consequences if he will do it again. This is our last warning.

On our next visit, we are called to the farm in Brody. One of the mares has recently started limping. She received an antibiotic prescribed by the veterinarian and now the pus begins to flow from the coronary line. We trim the hooves and try to open the abscess from underneath as well to give some pressure relief. However, this is all that we can do for now. Then, the owner shows us a small pony that he adopted a few days earlier. The hooves of the mare are in a terrible condition: They are overgrown and twisted. We do our best to help. But trimming the hooves just one time is not enough. This will require a longer treatment, and therefore more visits.

In Wola Zamkowa there is another limping mare. During trimming we find an abscess in the front hoof. The mare suffers during trimming. So, we decide come back in few days to trim the other hooves. However, this time one of the helpers is not cooperative. He wants to force the mare to pick up her legs instead of teaching her with patience how to do it voluntarily. Our team informs the owner that this is not our way to work and that he needs to follow our rules. Otherwise, he will no longer be able to participate in our FAS programme. In this case he will have to look for another farrier. We agree to come back as soon as possible to show him how to practise with his mare. But for now, the mare needs a rest. 

Later, in Zbelutka Nowa we trim the claws of a cow that has been recently bought by the owner. The cow has even injured her udder with her long claws. Luckily, she is in a good condition otherwise.

Next, we are visiting three farms in Lechow. Two farmers decided to join to our FAS programme and already signed the contracts. Moreover, we are invited by a few owners this month who want to show us their improvements on their farms. In Jegrznia, we are pleased to see a new fence that has been built around the whole property. In Porudzie, the owner completed the building work a shed for his farm equipment. He moves machines from the yard and will build a paddock. On a farm in Lubienia, the owner extended paddock. We are very happy to see all the improvements.

At the end, we make an unannounced visit to the farm in Zlotniki. We want to check if the dog is outside or locked away in the barn again. The owner is not present, but the dog is in the yard. We are happy and hopeful that the dog is no longer being locked away.  However, we will come back soon to check it.

In October, our team visited 20 farms in total, a couple of them even several times. They trimmed the hooves of 26 horses and the claws of one cow. Moreover, two more farms joined to our FAS programme.