On a parched coastal plateau in northwestern Peru, Saturday dawns like any other morning. The biting night air gradually yields to the sun’s bone-drying rays. Wind whips up dust from the arid earth. A line of thin-looking mules treks up a narrow footpath, but instead of heading into the fields for their usual day of toil, they are guided into the village of Colán, where they are greeted with a palpable aura of excitement.
“Bienvenidos Amigos de Los Animales!” (Welcome Friends of the Animals!) reads a colorful, handmade sign beside a registration table in the town center, vibrant with the sounds of chattering children and a growing number of mules and horses.
A farmer, horse in tow, listens to Rosemary Gordon of the Humane Society International (HSI) make what seems to him a very strange request: to give the animal a name. Gordon, HSI’s local contact in Peru, smiles and gently explains that this previously unheard of practice is necessary for registering the horse.
Ethic of Equine Care
Gordon is part of HSI’s Working Equine Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) Clinic, a mobile service that travels to remote villages, providing health services to overworked animals, and support to their owners. Launched four years ago, the campaign has helped foster a new ethic of equine care in a part of the world where horses exist principally to work. The hard labor leaves many animals dehydrated, underfed, riddled with worms and suffering from rotting teeth and hooves. It’s not that their owners don’t care. They simply lack proper resources and education.
“In rural Peru, there’s no veterinary health or dental care, no vaccines, no desparacitante or de-wormer,” says HSI program manager Christina Gabela. “Many of these people have never heard of a veterinarian.”
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For 5 soles, or about $1.75 per visit, the RAVS veterinarians provide two vaccines—one against rabies and one against tetanus—plus a dose of de-wormer, which is administered orally. The doctors carry out castrations on request, at no extra charge, and tend to horses’ hooves, which are often in bad shape due to the sandy terrain and persistent thrush infections. Older horses receive dental work to alleviate difficulties eating.
“All of this work could amount to a value of several thousand dollars,” Gabela says. “The reason we charge this nominal fee is to communicate that this service has value.”
On this particular Saturday in Colán, Dr. David Turoff of RAVS and a colleague, Dr. Melinda MacDonald of the University of California-Davis, bend over a prone patient, and examine her abdomen, hooves, and teeth. The vets are using their vacation time to provide care to dozens of horses a day and perform open-air operations. They are assisted by a group of five veterinary student volunteers.
This year, for the first time, the RAVS campaign enjoys the services of a California-based farrier, who finds himself shoeing some 30 horses a day—about five times more than he does in the United States. By the time their two-week stint in Peru ends, the Working Equine RAVS Clinic will have provided veterinary services to more than 500 horses and mules in the Colán area.
Sustainable Change
Further down the dusty square, a scene unfolds revealing the campaign’s long-term vision. There, under a lone tree, a group of wide-eyed school children gathers around an animated program volunteer for a discussion about animal care.
“Throughout the class we keep reminding the kids, 'Why do animals need to be taken care of?’” explains Gabela. “We try to teach that our animals are our friends because they help us. Horses provide transport; dogs guard the house.”
Gabela says the program ultimately aims to empower the local populations to provide proper care to the animals that sustain them. During her visits to Peru, she coaches local volunteers on how to educate children in their communities, and she supplies them with the materials they need to do so successfully.
“Although it has taken a while—four years—we are changing attitudes, the key to sustainability,” she says. “It’s not just us coming and putting a band-aid on it.”
