Poland | Swietokrzyskie | Monthly report July: Farm Animal Service
Michalow. Our team is placing a special horseshoe on a foal’s hoof. It turns out to be a quite challenging task.
Stryczowice. The reason for this cow lameness is a hematoma.
Lechow. During trimming we notice a thrush in a hoof.
Tarczek. We are trimming the hooves of the pony on the new paddock.
Brody. Removing fur from the leg allows us to put medicine on the cracked heals.
The coronavirus crisis forced our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team to pause their work for three months. Finally, we can continue with our field work programme ATET. Our programme is focused on helping farm animals in need. Due to the long-enforced break, we receive a lot of calls this month from farmers asking for our help. The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated yet again that our ATET programme is the only option in the region for many farmers to seek help in caring for their animals.
Our first visit this month is on a farm in Michalow. On this farm a foal was born with shortened tendons. The owner ordered a special plastic horseshoe that will keep the hoof in a correct position. Our farriers are helping him with placing it on the hoof with a glue. It turns out to be quite a challenge. The foal is very lively and wants to play all the time, but the glue dries within 5 seconds. Luckily, in the end our farriers are successful in helping the young animal.
Next, our team is driving to Stryczowice to help a limping cow. Moreover, the cow’s owner was supposed to build a new doghouse and a kennel. When we arrive in Stryczowice, we are very disappointed to find out that the owner did nothing. We give him a warning for the second time. If he will not fulfil this task, we can no longer continue to cooperate with him. We are helping his suffering cow regardless. She immediately feels better after the trimming.
Next, we are going to Lechow where another lame animal is needs the help of our farriers. We are trimming the hooves of a young foal and find a thrush in the process. Our farriers remove the rotting tissue and put a disinfectant spray on. Now, the owner needs to ensure that the bedding of the stable is dry and clean. Otherwise the thrush will not disappear. We will return in a couple of days to check whether the hoof frog is healing.
A third lame horse needs our help in Brody. During the examination of the animal, we find a swollen knee. The cause is not obvious. Therefore, we advise the owner to call a veterinarian. Moreover, we trim the hooves of two other horses. One of the mares appears to have cracked heels. After the owner removed the fur from the legs, we are able to treat the affected area with a spray.
Next, we are visiting a farm in Bieliny. We are trimming the hooves of two ponies here. During our absence, the owner moved the horses to a new stable. The new stable is further away from the road. Therefore, it is much quieter and closer to the paddock. We are very happy about this improvement. Also, in Tarczek we are happy to see improvements. Recently, the owner bought a neighbouring farm and built a paddock for his animals. As a reward we trim the hooves of his pony.
This month, our team has visited 18 farms in total. We trimmed the hooves of 24 horses and the claws of three cows.
