Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/717204
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 AUGUST 2016 16 MARTINA BORG AS an animal loving child, I remem- ber one of the most brutal pills to swallow, was the idea that some animals, namely racehorses, were only useful as long as their legs were strong. But two organisations are challenging the old adage, and prov- ing that there is indeed life after in- jury… MaltaToday visited the Malta Horse Sanctuary stables in Siggiewi and RMJ Horse Rescue stables at Salini, to find out how some lucky animals are being given a second chance… "If it weren't for services like ours and the Malta Horse Sanctuary, these perfectly healthy horses would have been put down," RMJ horse rescue founder Korin Farrugia said as she took us around the stables to see some of the horses under her care. A quick glance around both the RMJ and Siggiewi stables shows horses trotting majestically around their paddocks, or up to some sort of mischief in their stables, as they fol- low us around and demand our at- tention as we tour the premises. At face value, it might be hard to under- stand or even imagine that any of the horses had been in need of rescuing. "There is a lot of awareness about cat and dog rescues, but what we mean by rescued horses can be dif- ferent," Farrugia says, explaining that horses in need of rescuing are a little harder to spot. "Rescued horses can include cases of mistreatment and inappropriate care, but in the most part, they are horses that are perceived as useless," she said, explaining that once they are no longer fit for racing, many horses were considered as an un- necessary expense, and ultimately done away with to make way for new horses. Estelle Duca from the Malta Horse Sanctuary explained that retired racehorses, which make up the bulk of the horses treated at the sanctu- ary, would ultimately have been res- cued from a slaughterhouse fate. "We get a lot of cases where own- ers call in saying they intend to put their horses down, either because they cannot afford to keep them, or because they do not have space for them, despite the fact that they may be in perfectly good health," Duca said, adding that of the 14 horses currently in their care, USA-born Confidence was one such horse. "He was reportedly a winner in his homeland, but the local climate slowed him down for some reason," Duca said, explaining that such cas- es were, although not unique, truly heart-breaking when not reached in time. Farrugia tells similar tales, and adds that although these horses were generally not so difficult to rehome, not all owners turned to rescue homes when they needed to make space for new horses. Indeed, even then, that was no guarantee that the horses could be rescued, given the high demand for rescue services. She explained that since she first began rescuing horses some seven years ago, at her own stables, the demand had grown, to the extent that the or- ganisation often had to made tough decisions about which horse to save. "The growing demand is a good sign, and we truly believe that lives shouldn't be thrown away just be- cause they are no longer perceived as useful. We are currently working on building better stables to house more horses, but the focus remains on rehoming the horses, rather than becoming a sanctuary for unwanted horses," she said, adding that the or- ganisation had successfully rehomed 40 horses during the year so far. "However difficult saying good- bye can be, we try to do our best to train the horses for different uses once they come to us, but rehoming some of the horses can be difficult," she said, adding that they also had one permanent resident, the docile Totti, who suffers from a number of medical conditions, making his adoption a remote prospect. Farrugia said that the organisa- tion, which had become a registered NGO in September last year, typi- cally rescues race-horses that were no longer fit for racing, either due to age, or small injuries. However, she points out, many might still be suit- able for other activities like dressage, jumping and leisurely riding. "Many of these horses still have a number of years in them, but they will require a much more relaxed lifestyle that people in racing un- derstandably cannot afford to give them," Farrugia said. Similarly, the sanctuary, which currently homes 14 horses, counts five horses amongst those that will probably never be rehomed given their injuries or medical conditions. "This doesn't mean they are use- less, though," Duca said, pointing out that many of the horses were central to the children's parties or- ganised by the association on the premises. Indeed, 14-year-old Ka- tie, a former Polo horse who suffers from arthritis, was used for therapy with autistic children. "The parties and activities are an important source of income for the association, and they are also ways to bring children closer to an animal they might only ever have encoun- tered in a story-book so far," she said. Duca acknowledges however, that caring for such horses is literally a labour of love, requiring endless patience and finances, with medi- cations reaching something akin to €200 a month in some cases, exclud- ing the cost of farriery services and fodder, which were made worse this year due to the sparse rainfall. Farrugia pointed out that although the reality of putting horses down despite their good health seemed somewhat barbaric, neglect could often have even more devastating Feature The horse Challenging misconceptions: How horses perceived as useless are being given a second chance Korin Farrugia with Tiny, one of the horses rescued by RMJ