Jan. 15, 2013

A trio of Michigan State University professors traveled to Mexico last month to provide veterinary care to working equids – horses, mules, donkeys and burros – and educate the people who depend on the animals for their livelihood.

Susan Ewart and Hal Schott of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and Camie Heleski of the Department of Animal Science were part of the third Equitarian Workshop, organized by the American Association of Equine Practitioners. The term equitarian combines “equine” and “humanitarian.”

Ninety percent of the equids in the world are used for hard labor, largely in developing countries. Owning a working horse, mule, donkey, or burro is often the single most important factor keeping families in third-world countries out of abject poverty. The equine member of the family plows the fields, hauls loads to the marketplace, and carries water and firewood to the home. Unfortunately, most families cannot afford veterinary care for their working family members, as many struggle to provide food and shelter for the family, which is a problem if an injury or illness prevents the animal from being able to work. The family’s productivity drops precipitously and any slow rise out of poverty is suddenly reversed.

“There’s a growing awareness that we as veterinarians can help not only the animals we’re trained to help, but also the people who rely on them,” said Ewart. “I love helping animals. But as I get further into my career, I want to help people too.”

The team from MSU arrived in Mexico City and joined a group of 30 veterinarians and animal scientists from across the globe. They also got local veterinarians involved in the clinics, with the hope that care programs will continue after the workshop. For a week, the group travelled to five remote villages in the state of Tlaxcala and provided free veterinary care for nearly 600 horses, mules, donkeys, and burros. They were hosted by a crew of faculty and veterinary students from the Universidad Nacional Autonimo de Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City that has an ongoing equitarian program supported by The Donkey Sanctuary, a large non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom that supports donkey-care projects in several continents.

The UNAM faculty and students provided transportation to each village and also served as translators for those that had little Spanish language skills. Mobile clinics were set up at community soccer fields and work stations included reception, medicine, reproduction, surgery, dentistry, hoof care, harness fitting, as well as an education station that was focused on teaching children the basics of equine husbandry. The only resource provided by the community was water: the UNAM group and other participants provided all the equipment and supplies needed for the daily clinics.

The MSU team now aims to establish an equitarian program of its own. In addition to organizing future clinics in the developing world, their goals include partnering with other veterinary colleges and getting students involved in the initiative.