How it all started...

...when I, Astrid, the German, joined in 2010, Shiju's two rescue horses had already turned into eight. I had recently started a job in Nigeria and I too had no idea how this “adventure” would turn into a passion and commitment to help abandoned, injured or neglected horses.

Shiju’s four-legged friends gradually stole my heart. Soon, four Polo horses also joined our horse family. As I had taken over more responsibility for the horses, I started reading everything about horses I could lay my hands on. I also had the fortune to meet like-minded people who gladly shared their vast knowledge with me. They were willing to go (and even fly!) the extra mile for the love of horses and have very much shaped my idea of “horsemanship”. Together with the knowledge and experience of the local grooms we were trying to make a difference for the horses in our care.

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Being located in a part of Nigeria where medical facilities for horses were almost non-existent, we lost many horses simply because the medical facilities were not available. I sat with many a dying horse because we had no vet on call or drugs available to end their suffering. What do you do with a broken leg and no vet around? It is a nightmare. Our worst enemy was colic. Horses were dying like flies. Hoof care was also non-existent. Imagine an infected hoof in a wet environment and nothing is done about it, ever.   

 

One of our biggest challenges apart from proper health care has been teen pregnancies in horses. Our aim has always been to provide the best horse-appropriate life possible to the horses that were already there and not bring more animals into this world. Unfortunately, that proved very difficult under the circumstances. We are now using a birth control that seems to work and most importantly is tolerated by our mares. They no longer have to undergo the strain of going through a pregnancy year after year.

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However tough things were sometimes, the good times always prevailed. Seeing a foal try their legs for the first time makes your heart jump for joy. We raised orphaned foals, collaborated with local and international veterinary doctors, dentists, hoof specialists, and chiropractors who came to Nigeria to support us and train the local grooms. We tried to raise awareness for horses’ health and wellbeing. We had groups of Nigerian veterinary students from other states come and visit us to see how we do things.

In 2015 I had to return to Germany. After 5 years of doing what I loved. Devastating news for me! But our project continued. Giving up was never an option so the crazy horse lady carried on. 

Right now we have 18 boys and girls living happily with us. We have a trustworthy team on-site who take good care of them. We have great grooms and a vet looking after them and the whole circumstances in which they are living now have greatly improved compared to when we started over 10 years ago.

The past years have been an incredible ride (forgive the pun). There was so much love and joy, fun and learning, but also heartbreak and desperation and responsibility that weighed heavy on our shoulders. But if you know what it means to have found something that makes your heart swell, that has become a part of you, then you understand that this is not something that you can give up.