A visit was made by Animal Action Greece to provide necessary veterinary, dental and care to 14 equines. The following is the article they wrote about their visit to our site.

Source: Animal Action Greece

On August 10, 2024, at the request of Arcadia Animal Care, our veterinarian and Equine Care Program Coordinator Eliza Geskos and equine dental technician Alkis Geskos visited Paralio Astros to provide veterinary and dental care to the shelter's equine animals. Our farrier Vaios Bakratsas had provided a ferry service a few weeks ago on July 25th.

The team treated all 14 of the shelter's residents, except for a mare and her foal who had been rescued by the team, but were always hard to catch. Although we fully understand the lack of time these volunteers have as they also care for a very large number of dogs, our team explained to them the importance of equine handling and showed them ways of working to catch and handle them. .

Most horses were found in relatively good body scores, except for several horses and one old donkey. Our vet diagnosed from the history and exams why each of these animals had lost so much weight. Dental check-ups and treatments were given and advice was given to feed them separately, feed extra soft food and add supplements to help them gain weight.

There were absolutely no ectoparasites on the premises, even non-fixed flies, which pleasantly surprised us. However, one of the horses suffers from sweet itch, an allergy caused by midge bites, which is very troublesome for the horse during the summer. Volunteers regularly apply dewormers and care for itchy wounds so that the horse's skin remains in relatively good condition. However, he is obese and has been instructed to lose weight.

All equines that had sharp edges, hooks and ramps received dental treatments. Dental treatment is very important for underweight horses and we will see the difference in a few months. Marcos, a "wild" donkey who likes to run and kick, was caught after several attempts and although he continued to misbehave and turn his back legs to kick, he seemed to be enjoying Alki's dental care.

Elisa showed the volunteers how to groom and pick up the feet of the 'difficult' equines, as this will help the latter to trust their carers and be easier to handle. He measured the heart circumference and height of the animals in order to calculate their weight, so he guides the volunteers about the amounts of food and worm pastes. Our contact was also a grooming day for all the animals. as our team worked, the volunteers took some time to make all the animals pretty with a curry comb, brush and mane clippers!

Vaius had cut off the hooves of the equids that needed animal husbandry. A lot of them had grown and broken, so a good scrub fixed all the problems. Vios did not forget Willy the goat and cut off his hooves so that he could walk better.

Machos the donkey recently passed away from old age, but he managed to live happily in the last period of his life. Pyrimachos, who survived the fires, and Poulagris, who was bitten by wolves, continue to live happily in the shelter.

Our team had the pleasure of meeting again George, Petroula and Christos, the volunteers - heroes as we like to call them - from Arcadia Animal Care. They care for literally hundreds of animals every day, dogs, horses, donkeys, pigs, goats. They are doing a great job and need everyone's support to continue to look after them all.

Emily Woffindin
August 10, 2024