6th October 2009 - Help these horses please!
Last Updated: 06/10/2009
I am travelling to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2 weeks on a agricultural scholarship that I have received from the Royal Highland Show Society. The trip is an Understanding and Assistance Mission during which myself and a dozen other young farmers will be advising and assisting farmers in PNG. This will involve 'on farm' advice as well as helping out at the annual agricultural show. Today, I received the following extract from an email which tells me more abou t what I will be doing there with specific reference to the horses I will come across.
"We will likely come across many station horses and owners with very poor horsemanship and animal welfare skills. Anything we can take to leave with=2 0people in the way of horse gear, vet products etc will be very useful. We will definitely see people using pieces of barbed wire as bits, horses with saddle sores, poor feet, teeth and so on. If anyone has access to different sorts of bits (even just to show people what different bits do if not to leave with them), bridle parts including nose bands, old girths – really any gear at all - even parts of gear will be useful so we can help people in the marshalling area at the show. Most riders in PNG will be using stock or western saddles. Shoeing gear, gear to do teeth etc etc will all be of use. Most people won’t have saddle cloths (hence the prevalence of saddle sores and fistulas) but these will be bulky to take so we may be able to find suitable material at a market when we are there and show them how to make their own saddle cloths (otherwise we could steal all the hotel towels). Brushes, shampoo and general grooming gear will also be of use to demonstrate grooming techniques."
If anyone has any horsey things such as that mentioned above that they no longer need=2 0and that is not too heavy or bulky that I could take and donate to these farmers, I would be very very grateful. I dont have much space as will have a weight restriction on my luggage but could fit a few things in. Happy to forfeit some of my stuff to take equipment out for these horses. I was thinking along the lines of taking some snaffle bits, synthetic bridles, hoof picks and thin western type saddle cloths and maybe some old books of horsemanship or tack making or kids type books. I doubt the horses will be big, probably around 15hh-ish. If you want more information or have anything that you would like to donate, please contact me on kcraig216@aol.com and I will also be at the Combi ned Training on Sunday if you want to find out more.
