On October 25-28, the Animal Action Greece Equine Care team made a four-day visit to the island of Skyros, in order to provide veterinary, dental and farriery care to the island’s equines.
Veterinarian Kostas Okkas, equine dental technician Alkis Gkeskos and farrier Tasos Skyllas travelled around 15 villages and offered their services to 93 equines; 90 were horses (most of which Skyrian), 2 were donkeys and 1 was a mule.
Skyros is a remote island near the centre of the Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Sporades archipelago and has a long written history beginning from ancient times. It is there where the legendary Greek hero Achilles was taken by his mother, a sea goddess, to prevent him from participating in the Trojan War. In nowadays, Skyros is best known for being the native habitat of a very special horse breed, the Skyrian horse.
The Skyrian horse is a small-sized breed, which is unique in the world. The Skyrian horses constitute an important part of the island’s tradition: their participation in the social and economic life of the island used to be crucial, since horses were part of agriculture for decades. The mechanization of agricultural production and the excessive grazing of the growing sheep and goat population leaded to deterioration of the natural diversity, as well as a decrease in available food resources for horses, therefore threatening the species with extinction. In recent decades, private efforts have been made to save the breed, either through the creation of non-profit conservation centres or individually. The Skyros horses are not used anymore in agricultural work, but are kept as pets in order to preserve them.
Animal Action Greece offered, once more this year, its unique professional services to an important part of this isolated equine population; half of the island’s Skyrian horses that are either under the protection of these conservation centres or in the hands of individuals, were treated.
Through our Equine Care Programme, Animal Action Greece helps to increase their level of welfare.
Our team happily met our precious contact Manolis at Mouries Farm and treated the horses he protects and carefully allows to reproduce. Since all horses were caught one by one, it was a good opportunity to also worm and vaccinate them. In spite of time pressure, Manolis’ donkey was not left out of the treatments and was put in the programme to be checked. It was depressing to find out that two spiny rostral upper hooks were causing him extreme pain. Both were rasped swiftly by Alkis allowing him to be instantly relieved, while an injury in his hind leg was treated by vet Kostas.
The team also paid a visit to the Skyros Island Horse Trust installations where they treated mainly some geriatric patients.
This year Manolis managed to take the team around the island in many more private farms compared to last year, therefore a big number of Skyros ponies never treated in the past were treated in this visit.
Most of the animals on Skyros were found in a very good body condition and general health, without serious health problems. One case was sad, this of an elderly gelding, which was emaciated, in a bad state regarding its teeth and feet. The animal was completely neglected and the owner, although he had given his approval to the team to treat the animal, did not even appear to hear our vet’s educative lesson, neither was he able to be contacted on the phone, something that the locals will pursue. One more sad case was that of a young female horse, that suffers from chronic laminitis, overgrown hooves and difficulty in walking. Our vet had previously advised the owners which seemed to have understood, however the situation remains the same and even worse. This year, since the animal’s life seems to be in danger, our team suggested to the owners to rehome the horse to a new owner, who will be able to give better care. The current owners agreed, so we are looking forward to hearing the good news in her new home.
Our team came also across a – not so common in our outreaches – case; the owner of a stabled goat with overgrown hooves and one of the horns turning around and penetrating the head, reached out for our help. Tasos managed to cut the horn and the overlong hooves, offering relief to the goat and satisfaction to the team, while receiving gratitude from the owner.
Gasterophilus eggs and horse flies were found in many of the animals, therefore ectoparasitic treatment and advice were given. Most of the owners were interested to learn, about correct feeding, deworming and preventive measures for a good health.
Almost all the animals required routine hoof trimming, while several had overlong hooves combined with chronic laminitis, which were treated as needed.
Regarding dental treatments, motorized equipment was necessary for some cases. The Skyros ponies seem to develop big hooks and ramps in their mouths, probably due to the shape and size of their head and jaws. Alkis found several big hooks, the most dangerous being on the back of the upper jaw of Beyonce, a tiny cute mare, who certainly felt relieved and healthier after the dental treatment. It was a great satisfaction to realize that most of the animals treated in the previous years required nothing but routine floating for sharp edges. As usual, many animals were slightly unhandled and tried to escape their oral checking.
Manolis Trahanas’ hospitality was superb, as he organized the 4 days’ programme on the island and offered all our team’s meals, while volunteer Danae assisted during the work in Mouries farm. We would also like to thank, once more, Ioannis Evgenikos for offering the accommodation in Hotel Nefeli and the Skyros Shipping Company for offering free ferry tickets.
Gentle winds let the members of the team have a safe trip back to continental Greece and their homes. In the end, it was satisfying to feel that we had contributed to the welfare and preservation of these magnificent animals.
