Kate Goes Adventuring in Africa with the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust!

It was with more than a little trepidation that I set off on a cold, snowy afternoon to catch my plane to Gatwick and then on to The Gambia. I had never been to Africa before and travelling there alone made me more than a little nervous. It had not been a good day, I had managed to crash my car into a ditch whilst on my morning calls and then there was a power cut whilst I was having my last hot shower for the next couple of weeks. I wondered if there was any chance I was going to make it back alive!

I had heard about The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust from some other vets who had visited previously and having checked out the website I thought it would be a good adventure and a great opportunity to learn. The trust work to reduce rural poverty by increasing productivity of the horses and donkeys through welfare and management education.

When I eventually made it to Banjul airport I was incredibly relieved to see Anna who is the manager at the charity base in Sambel Kunda. With her was Tammy, an equine nurse who was also volunteering. We spent the night near the airport and then began the long journey to the charity base at Sambel Kunda in the mid river region. Even the ferry journey was an experience, it seemed that there was no limit to the number of people allowed on board, they seemed to keep boarding until the people stopped coming! The last part of the journey in the boat was very welcome, it was cooler on the river and we saw some beautiful birds and monkeys.

I was to see my first patient sooner than expected and we were flagged down on the way to camp to see a collapsed horse. There was nothing that could be done; he was suffering from a neurological condition. The horse had been born blind and the family had managed to train him to pull the cart. They had recently lost their donkey and so it was a double blow and hard as Anna said they were a family that took very good care of their animals. We lifted the horse onto the back of the truck and took him into the bush to do a post mortem and collect the samples that we hope will help find the cause of the condition. The bodies are left for the hyenas and vultures.

The following day we were off to the lumo (market). My bedroom was right at the front of the house and between the ducks, donkeys, horses, dogs, chickens, calls to prayer and other night noises I was a little light on sleep!

One of the important things the trust does is provide education about harnessing. Many of the horses and donkeys were wearing Senegalese bits or rope bits which cause a great deal of trauma to the mouth. On the way to market we stopped many carts and swapped the Senegalese bits for snaffles. It was incredibly satisfying driving along the road when you would see a few horses in a row with comfortable bits.

At the market we treated many routine conditions and I was lucky to see some that I had just read about in my text books. They have many diseases that are notifiable in this country and many things we deal with here. At around 40 degrees it was very hot for rasping teeth!
The next few days were spent in a similar way at various markets.

On the 3rd day I was there we visited a donkey that was off his food. Terrance, as he became known, had puncture wounds at the base of his tail and had developed tetanus, a condition that is usually fatal but is preventable with vaccination. He was the first of 2 tetanus cases I was to see whilst I was there and it was very frustrating as we had no antitoxin and despite careful nursing from the clinic staff nothing could be done and both donkeys were euthanased. It is hard to understand why these vital animals are not vaccinated but when we asked neither are the people and that puts it all in perspective.

We were invited to a naming party in the village. The whole village and many from the surrounding villages attended. It was very surreal dancing in the heat of Africa under the stars surrounded by mud huts having left Scotland only a couple of days earlier. The people were incredibly welcoming and friendly although when Anna disappeared to chase the dog and I was left sitting in one of the mud huts for a moment I did wonder if I had been sold as a wife!

Anna had to head back to the coast to meet some specialists who were coming to investigate the neurological problems so Tammy and I were left running things and spent a couple of days in the clinic castrating some of the young donkeys, treating a few of the inpatients and painting the stable block. It got dark around 8pm and as we had no electricity it was lovely to sit outside with a cold drink and watch for shooting stars. We were very relieved when Anna returned; everything seemed to have run smoothly in her absence although we had acquired a couple of human patients including a 5 year old boy who had been kicked right between the eyes by his donkey. He had a massive bump on his head but was so brave, he did not cry once when I dressed his head each day.

The next few days were spent back at the markets and in local villages, we were taking lots of samples to try and identify the cause of the neurological disease as well as the routine conditions. We spent a couple of nights in the lab until well after midnight fixing the slides and checking the blood samples.

Before we left Anna kindly arranged a trip up river for us so we could see some more of the local wildlife and we were lucky to see chimps and hippos as well as some beautiful birds. Watching the kingfishers diving and a tree full of pelicans taking flight was particularly special.

On the whole the horses and donkeys were in better condition than I expected although there were a few cases that were heart breaking. It is hard to get cross with the people when you see how little they have and understand that they have never been taught how to properly care for their animals. I have seen horses in this country in just as poor condition or suffering just as much from preventable diseases such as laminitis and we do not have the excuse of lack of education. Education is probably the most important thing the trust is doing. There are some very simple things they are teaching that greatly improve the welfare of these vital animals. We were lucky enough to get to attend some of the lessons that the trust provide in the local schools where the children are taught about proper care, harness for their animals and common diseases they suffer from. Even simple things like wound care and that battery acid and engine oil will not help wounds heal makes a difference.