A community-based project in rural communities surrounding Port-au-Prince, Haiti has succeeded in improving the lives of working equids (horses, ponies, donkeys and mules) – and subsequently the people who depend on them – despite the challenges that Covid-19 presented.

In 2019 World Horse Welfare raised £826,153 to set up the project in Haiti with local charity Quatre Pattes, including £396,988 of match funding from the UK government. The project shares knowledge through community-based local agents with members of the horse owning communities. By providing training in saddlery, horse care and veterinary treatment not only does the project support owners in improving the health of their working horses, but it also opens up income generation opportunities for local people.

Working horses, donkeys and mules are an essential for transport in rural communities in Haiti – carrying produce to be sold at markets, ferrying water for livestock, transporting children to school and even playing vital roles in wedding and funeral ceremonies. Learning how to keep their horses strong and able to work is important to the people who depend on them, and World Horse Welfare’s project helps communities learn new skills that can be passed down from generation to generation.

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