On March 2nd and 3rd, Animal Action Hellas’ Equine Care team visited the region of Mount Pelion.
According to Greek mythology, Mount Pelion was the home of the mythical Centaurs, creatures who were half-men and half-horses. Ancient Greek heroes such as Achilles, Jason and Theseus came to Mount Pelion to master the arts taught by the Centaurs.
Our equine team, veterinarian Kostas Okkas, equine dental technician Alkis Geskos and farrier Tasos Skyllas did not of course meet the Centaurs, but traveled to six villages around Mount Pelion and offered their services to 31 equines, 14 mules and 17 horses. All of these are working equines, used in agricultural work carrying products and in forestry carrying logs.
Almost all the animals were in ideal body condition score and good general health condition. All the animals required rasping of their dental sharp edges and hooks, while a loose wolf tooth was extracted as it was causing pain and annoyance to the horse. The majority received hoof trimming and correction, while three animals benefited the most, due to their overgrown hooves.
One animal with respiratory problem, three with lamenesses, one with low vision, two with osteoarthritis, one with severe white line disease are some of the animals that were found with health problems.
Two very elderly horses, found abandoned and rescued by a young couple, were happy to receive our team’s care, especially for their long and cracked hooves in need.
One of the cases that stand out is the case of a mule in the village Pouri. Last year the mule was found with overgrown hooves in very poor condition due to chronic laminitis. This year, since his owner had followed our instructions, the hooves showed an impressive improvement.
It was a difficult trip, with long distances in the mountainous area, while many parts of the road were dangerous or completely destroyed, due to the enormous catastrophe caused in the area last September, by the weather phenomenon Daniel. This was also the reason why the team could not have access to all the areas and treated fewer animals than planned. However, the fact that we managed to offer our services under these conditions gave satisfaction to both our team and the owners, who thanked us and renewed our appointment for next year.
