Improved lives for horses – and their owners – in Haiti

We have recently completed our community-based project in Haiti and we’re delighted to report that over 2,000 owners and 2,000 equids have been helped directly. In addition, the training of 35 Community Based Equid Advisers (CBEAs) who have been added to the local network, means that many more Haitians and their equids will be supported by the legacy of this project into the future.

We have worked with in-country partner agency Fondation Quatre Pattes since 2013 and in 2019 we launched a UK Aid Match appeal, where the UK government matches every £1 raised by the British public, to help deliver a project to make a real difference to Haitians and their equids.

Families living in rural Haiti, the third largest and most populous Caribbean country, rely on their equids for day-to-day life. These animals are vital in supporting livelihoods by undertaking agricultural roles, ferrying water for people and livestock, taking children to school and even transporting the sick to help. There are fewer than 40 trained vets on the whole island of more than 11 million people and days lost through equine sickness, injury or lameness has an immediate knock-on effect on their owners’ livelihoods.

The trained CBEAs are able to share their knowledge with local communities, directly increasing the number of days that equids were able to work by correctly treating wounds and other health issues and improving the handling the animals receive.

Now ended, the project’s legacy will continue thanks to the increased expertise around saddlery, horse care and handling and veterinary treatment, directly benefitting equids and their owners in the area. 

The money raised allowed us to expand our existing work in Haiti even though the project delivery would be challenging due to the island’s turbulent and unstable security situation. Even worse, early into the project Covid-19 hit to further complicate matters.