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XLEquine Making A Difference In The Gambia

10 years ago
2815 views

Posted
28th July, 2014 12h05


Louise Cornish and Paul Smith Louise Cornish and Paul Smith Following the reformation of the Gambian Department of Livestock Services, XLEquine vets Paul Smith BVM&S CertEP MRCVS of Westmorland Veterinary Group, Kirkby Lonsdale and Louise Cornish BVMS Cert EP MRCVS, formerly of Clyde Veterinary Group, who has since become a lecturer in equine practice at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (pictured [No 15]) were inspired to assist equine charity, The Gambia Horse & Donkey Trust (GHDT). The pair recently spent two weeks providing veterinary treatment to horses and donkeys in the West African village of Sambel Kunda, the base of the GHDT charity and five of these days were spent providing CPD to the veterinary teams that are based there permanently and to Government paravets. The Department of Livestock Services was reformed in January after several years of closure, and Paul explains the motives behind the trip: “Louise and I volunteered for the overseas programme following an excellent presentation given by a member from the farm side of XLVets, who run a successful voluntary scheme. Although ours is on a much smaller scale, it’s great to know that we were able to make a difference. “There are very few vets in the Gambia, with the majority either being based at the coast or working for the Government in the agricultural sector or in administrative jobs, and responsibility of animal health and welfare falls is placed on the livestock assistants or paravets. The hope is that by training these assistants in basic veterinary medicine/first aid, they will be better able to serve the wider equine population, reaching much further than the charity itself can currently do, and being more sustainable in the longer term,” explains Paul. “Since the reformation of the department there has been has been great co-operation with the charity, so this seems like a good time to try to provide practical and financial assistance. We could not have been made more welcome, either by the Gambian charity workers, international volunteers or local people.” The trip was also a bit of a fact finding mission to see what XLEquine, as a whole, can offer the charity and to see if we can forge a long standing link/relationship with them, notes Paul. “One aim is to forge a long term partnership with the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, developing a series of training modules that can be developed as a series over the next three to five years, with vets from the XLEquine practices visiting twice yearly. We are also fundraising for the trust and gathering unwanted tack and equipment that the livestock assistants so desperately need such as stethoscopes/thermometers/dental kit etc,” he adds.

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