Happy New Year!! Let’s make it a Happy one ;)
Ok, so we finally delivered our Dakota to her new mom after finally deciphering that she was not pregnant as initially told.
Our sweetheart daisy and her companion have been surrendered back to the unit after her family have moved properties. Two wonderful girls if anyone is interested in adopting them please contact us.
A freak accident resulted in a tragic loss of foal at a foster home. RIP little man Can never quite get over losing foals or babies of any form, they have so little time on this earth just can’t understand it..
Four donks went walk about early morning , owner was contacted and returned home safe and sound.
A complaint of some donkeys and a pony being kept in unsuitable conditions. Visited and met the owner and the herd. A few pointers were given but generally healthy, happy children. Thankfully
One of our fosters had a bout of colic in her new home, which had us all in spin . Thankfully all resolved. Just a reminder to always change a horses diet slowly , especially with our tender TBS..
A Complaint of a domestic issue may have resulted in unnecessary sabotage of a donkey, will have to be followed up as soon as we go that way. Donkey is fine for now though..
We have officially taken on our new auditors – Thank You to NOLANDS for coming to our rescue!
Five donkeys hooves tendered to And two ponies.
We then received a late night call of a beautiful, healthy horse loose on the M20 between Uitenhage and Motherwell. After getting the facts from the eye witness decided it would not be viable to go out then 1am as we would only would get there at least an hour and a half later and horse would be gone. Unless you are able to stop and restrain the animal until we get there it is not likely we will make it to collect so please be advised if the horse or donkey is healthy looking and in no apparent danger they are better left alone. Along with the rest of the animal spectrum kept by rural/urban communities, they are unfortunately left to their own devices but some do perfectly ok that way . We did go and check the following day and no trace of any horse , just the motherwel farms where it must have come from.
Nine donkeys and two horses hooves trimmed.
The NEDBANK Paddock Challenge ladies had a Farwell picnic to thank all the sponsors who helped and donated toward the challenge , ie us . Of course there were some yummy and useful presents for us too. Thank you Liezl and Team, we will miss your enthusiasm and are so grateful that you reached out to us. THANK YOU XXX
Moses tying his donkeys up again gets people in a panic understandably but we can vouch for him, he does give them water and he is just trying to follow the bylaws , which is more than a lot of us ..
Returned two special donkeys home to a happy dad after things on the property sorted for the better. We all understand life gets hectic, sh..t happens and we need to deal with changes all the time. We are always happy to take our kids in for a while to help you get back on track. Please remember that.
One special little white donkey and a feisty little pony had their hooves carefully trimmed ..
On collection of a young jack who needed to be gelded, things went slightly wrong when the guard dog started attacking the boy relentlessly! No one could control it ,not sure who of you have been involved when a dog latches on then switches off but very scary. Eventually managed to get the dog off after what seemed to be hours but only a minute or two.. Lesson learned all round though. Tricky life we live having to keep guard dogs we have no control of.. Anyway luckily he wasn’t hurt badly more in shock and a few nips and scratches.. Went on to be gelded with no hiccups.
A recheck and dewormer administered the, boys looking fantastic . Always a great feeling ;)
Our What a Prince that was surrendered to the unit after his traditional racing career had ended went to a retired sports horse sanctuary. Yes I didn’t know we had one either! Newly established. We wish them best of luck on such a noble idea. Live out your days in peace boy X X
WILBUR WALK – The Wilbur Walk had a fantastic turn out! THANK YOU! The morning was great fun with lots of hot dogs.. and great prizes ;) Congratulations to all who won and The biggest of Thank you to Nicky and Jaz from the GRASS ROOF,you organised such a fantastic morning. Marizanne, thank you for networking the way you do, your endless energy is so appreciated. Thank you ladies and all those that supported in any way. We managed to raise a whopping 18k for Wilbur’ s buddies at the unit!!
Our scraggly colt that found himself in the middle island of the Highway at Sundays river, finally got to go home with his new mom, one of the initial good Samaritans that stopped to help actually. After being gelded he blossomed into a very handsome young man indeed. Go well Highway so happy for You X
Four previously guilty assailants were caught in the road once again, all fine though and electric fences are now in order !!
One of our fostered moms gave birth to a beautiful sleek baby boy. Welcome to the world Charlie! All safe and healthy thankfully
Complaint received over insufficient shade in camps on hot sweltering days. Yes this may not be absolute top of our list but please make sure your horses are adequately protected ie: reflective Fly sheets /masks etc and enough fresh water if you really can’t make a plan with a shelter or trees for some reason..
Stray donkeys in uitenhage , by the time we could get there nothing , no one..
And Yes we don’t do cows but an animal is an animal, young calf reported to have a broken leg in residential area. After a visit and assessment, the kindest decision was made. RIP little one
Rechecks on five horses = looking fantastically well! However two more rechecks resulted in missing horses. We can’t always keep up with all our adopted out children but we do try and on noticing two missing more than once the disconcerting realisation was made that they had been handed over to someone else. We are inn the process of locating them , crossed fingers..
We actually managed to have a Christmas lunch this year! We invited a few die hard volunteers who have supported us through the year . We wouldn’t have coped without you all! THANK YOU
Cleaned our camps from Cynanchum again, nasty little creeper.
A very sad story of a broken leg sorted by Michael from Kragga Kama Game Park. Thank you for always being there for them Michael, you are SO appreciated.
A complaint re bad donkey hooves , So Stan made a special visit. All fine and sorted
Stan ventured off to the Transkei on two missions. One to assist an old man with the care, maintenance of his donkeys.. Who we might add put his hand up for help and we were impressed with The cart(actually a sled). It was pulled by six uniform donkeys, all guided by their owner with no bridles what so ever! Love it Donkeys were actually in good condition as well , just needed a dewormer or two SEE BELOW:
Second part of Stans trip was a bit wasteful unfortunately .. Miss communication on that side of the world can be a costly one...
Then yes ,Christmas Eve started with a stolen horse, all caught on camera. The accused using profane language, assaulting the home/horse owners and destruction of property at like 8am in the morning! All the right authorities managed to assist in retrieving the horse back few days later, none the less this type of behaviour is simply barbaric and unacceptable!
TB Gelding being surrendered in next few weeks.
Lastly , a panicked call from a lady in humansdorp , witnessing a horse with, what looked like colic and plastic coming out of the rear.. Horse could not be found after so hopefully it passed. . The Horses in this area are constantly on the road. Please, if you see them injured or else can contain/restrain them in an enclosed area, call us !
Also some Stats for the past year : We carried out 142 complaints and 191 rechecks . We adopted out 14 TBs, 6 Cross breeds and 18 Donkeys after 26 donkeys, 11TB s and 9 cross breeds were brought in.
Here s to the new year ! Let’s hope peace love and rationality prevail..
Carla
GENEROUS DONATIONS RECEIVED DURING December FOR WHICH WE ARE MOST THANKFUL!
DONATION – Two bags of tack and chips for guys – Erin De klerk
DONATION – BSP Construction 6/7 loads of soil delivered
DONATION – Ralston - lots of fresh Spinach
DONATION – Sonja and FUDLY – Re installing our electricity cables and re -connecting for free , THANK YOU SO SO MUCH !!!
DONATION - Grit delivered to UNIT from Nedbank The Paddock
DONATION – PE saddlery - Two big bags of lots of second hand tack
DONATION – PE Riding Club - Christmas party R1170 cash and cards! Thank you
DONATION – Jess - Water Shop - 2 x tins money Thanks Jess!
DONATION – NEDBANK the Paddock – Wheel barrow and tools ,lots of treats to all with Picnic
DONATION – Chris Galvanised Burglar Bars
DONATION – Staff treats - Sherry
DONATION – 6 bales Lucerne - Anon
DONATION – Ascendis – Diomec and Eye cleanser
DONATION – Two bales teff - anon
DONATION – Feed N SEED 3 x bags of cubes
Please note we also have donators who put money into our account every month, even though we don’t mention your names and amounts, please know how grateful we are to you for it!
VOLUNTEER – Alex
VOLUNTEERS – Brett
VOLUNTEER - Philippa
VOLUNTEER – Shannon
VOLUNTEER – Chris – Burglar bars
VOLUNTEERS – Sonja and Kierra
VOLUNTEERS – Susan
VOLUNTEERS – Connor and Kita
VOLUNTEERS – Gemma
VOLUNTEERS - Eugene
Banking Details: Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit: Standard Bank Current Account 080733875, Code 051001. Reference: Your name. Facebook: EAST CAPE HORSE CARE UNIT Contact numbers Office cellphone 072 357 2505 NO LANDLINE email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.