The UEF Charity Foundation, focused on helping equestrians and their horses during the war in Ukraine, has helped over 3500 horses in 150 stable yards in Ukraine by assisting in the evacuation of horses to safe areas, providing food and bedding for their inhabitants
But over 20,000 horses remain in the critical welfare zone in Ukraine and require help, says the UEF Charity Foundation. Restricted food intake, risk of starvation and colic due to poor feed quality and inappropriate nutrition, wounds, injuries, stress due to war environment, and relocation are still among commonly mentioned challenges.
“The health of horses is getting worse over time due to the need for regular relocations, restricted food intake and stress due to the war environment. An equine veterinary survey in Ukraine shows that the main need to help Ukrainian horses, after food and vets medical supply, is portable diagnostic equipment and mobile clinics”
A survey undertaken by the Foundation in May/June identified four major problems faced by veterinarians. These problems are not only related to the lack of medicines and medical equipment, but also to the loss of income for horse owners.
1. Lack of medicines, including painkillers, anesthetics, sedatives, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs etc. Sometimes drugs are available, but horse owners can’t pay for the service
2. Qualified professionals need equipment, including portable x-rays, ultrasound, endoscope machines, etc.
3. No equine mobile hospitals to provide emergency help to the horses on recently liberated territories.
4. Many horse owners have no resources to pay vets for their service.
“Despite the summer period and humanitarian help with horse food, the risks still remain, as the war does not stop. The needs for relocation horses continue. This leads to a decrease in immunity and diseases that end in complications and deaths” says Mykhaylo Parkhomchuk, founder of the Ukrainian Equestrian Federation Charity Foundation
“In these critical moments, the lack of medicines and medical equipment for veterinarians is the main challenge for saving the horse's life”
The Ukrainian territory is equal to France, but only 30 equine veterinarians are available for the increased needs of horses in the whole country. The survey shows that many of them do not take payment for their services because horse owners don't have money to pay for services. Often veterinarians ask to pay them only to cover fuel expenses due to the fuel shortage in the country.
The war in Ukraine has been going on for 146 days and the humanitarian crisis deteriorates at alarming speed. The problem is getting worse by the fact that horse owners are losing their jobs and can’t pay for medicine and veterinary services. Ukrainian veterinary professionals are very concerned about the horses´ welfare and accessibility of professional veterinary help
“It is probably worth thinking about a separate fund to pay for the services of veterinarians who care for horses for free or at a minimal cost. They do a great job over a large area and in particularly difficult and often dangerous conditions” says Taisia Stadnichenko, head of Ukrainian Operations for the UEF-CF.
UEF-CF has developed all necessary logistics and partnerships to deliver aid to veterinarians and is calling for partnerships to source and deliver the portable diagnostic equipment to increase the availability of diagnostics facilities in at least three Ukrainian regions.
“Thanks to the generous support of international organizations and private persons, the urgently needed basic veterinary supplies are shipped regularly. But due to the weakening health of horses, these basic supplies are not enough for more serious cases”
