Shaaban Fayez (Giza, Egypt)
In many villages, there are no local farriers, so the prevalence of the hoof lameness is high. The animal owners depend on themselves or carpenters to trim their working animals. ESPWWA (Egyptian Society for Protection and Welfare of Working Animals) is an animal welfare organization developed and established farrier program for rural areas. In this program, we are increasing the owners' awareness of hoof care, we are carrying out training for vets about hoof lameness, and teaching local farriers about hoof care and trimming. For example, in the brick kilns where donkeys and mules are used for pulling carts, there was no local farrier. We did a survey to identify the hoof problems of the donkeys in the brick kilns. At the same time, we were increasing the awareness of owners about the hoof care. Then we selected three people to train to be local farriers. We gave them three CPD farrier courses throughout the year 2016. After training, they are now working inside the brick kilns and the incidences of the hoof lameness has been reduced. I am really a proud to improve the quality of life of these working donkeys and mules by training the local farriers. The same happened for different rural areas where we are working.
— Shaaban Fayez (Giza, Egypt)
