Dear Brooke,

I do so enjoy your Tweets and follow them closely. They are informative and
manage to convey the plight of working equines in the developing world with
sincerity and compassion.
I am fortunate enough to have seen first-hand the Brooke in operation and can
be in no doubt about their mission to eradicate the mistreatment and suffering of
equines worldwide. A tough call by any stretch of the imagination!
The veterinary care and training offered by them does much to alleviate the
suffering of both animals and people who have the misfortune of being born into
regions of the world less fortunate than our own. May you continue to be
stalwarts for working animals everywhere.
I responded to one of your tweets that resonated with me in my role as a Saddle,
Harness & Horse Collar Manufacturer. We share concerns about working animals
with my interests confined to the apparatus that enables them to apply their
strength in the form of draught.
In the developed world, injuries to working equines are indeed rare. Harness
related injuries (HRI) as a consequence of defective equipment i.e. harness,
saddles, collars etc. are thankfully just as rare.
Reasons for this are simple enough to explain. Firstly, in our modern world,
dependency upon working animals has all but vanished, the advent of the
infernal combustion engine put paid to that along with many of the affiliated
trades people needed to provide for them .
Secondly, those that continue to work, are fortunate enough to be adequately
equipped allowing them to work unhindered and with minimum discomfort.
Being appropriately harnessed and hitched up to implements/carts/wagons
designed for mobility, along with knowledgeable handlers and reasonable
working hours much of the potential for suffering is kept at bay.
The tweet that caught my eye was fancy doing some fund raising for working
horses and donkeys overseas?
My response was to ask if the working horses and donkeys in question were used
cost-effectively. By this I meant had any in-situ surveys been made to assess the
output and efficiency of working equines?
Your reply was to assure me that your welfare and veterinary team work
incredibly closely to inform and train owners and service providers Of this I have
no doubts, but I remain none the wiser.
A request for funding begs the question of how funds are managed. Are they
focused on welfare and/or training? If welfare is the central focus, and I take
welfare to mean the physical wellbeing of working equine, then will funding to be
applied to veterinary training programmes per-se? If so, this then raises another
question. Is welfare solely dependent upon veterinary input?
In recent years I have come to realise that this is not the case.
Let me try to explain. The term working horses and donkeys suggests just that.
I.e. equines capable of draught or load bearing activities. For equines to engage
in such activity there are rules of engagement or certain criterion that needs to
be complied with.
First and foremost, animals are required to be fit, healthy and physically able.
Fundamentally an owner/user/ veterinary undertaking.

Secondly, and perhaps of equal significance is the means by which draught is

made possible, namely the harness. Here too, a set of long established
principles needs to be observed and adhered to. This is the work of harness
specialists.
Given the above, it would seem safe to say that the welfare and wellbeing of
working equines is not solely dependent upon veterinary input. Equines ability to
work is also heavily dependent upon a range of affiliated skills that requires the
knowledge and input of specialist trade/craftspeople. Harness development is a
key skill requiring a profound understanding of equine draught.
The success of working equines lies in its harness, its design, suitability and
fitting. Without it, equines serve little purpose.
Appropriate skills training is essential and not only beneficial to equines but also
their owners/users.
Skills training in harness production offers up the opportunity of potential
employment, business start-ups and the provision of a local service designed to
accommodate the needs of local equine users who depend upon their animals for
their livelihoods.
This brings me back to funding. What proportion of funds raised is likely to be
streamed into training programmes? When you say your welfare/veterinary team
work closely with owners and service providers, what form of training is applied
and in what subjects? What qualifications do trainers/service providers have in
their given roles?
These are pertinent questions that, to date, I have had little success in finding
answers to.
It has been established that the welfare/wellbeing of working equines is largely
reliant upon vets. Included under welfare is the treatment HRI, most of which
are preventable.
In treating such injuries and being aware of their cause, the vet, unacquainted
and ill-equipped as he/she is, is unable to take the necessary steps of making
adjustments to the offending harness nor is it part of their remit to do so. So far
as I am aware, harness development, its dynamics and production methods play
no part in the core curriculum of veterinary training.
In the same respect, it must be said that saddle/harness/collar makers receive no
training in the treatment of fistulous withers!
At this point, I hope it can be agreed that the provision of welfare becomes
divided between the vet and the harness specialist. With the same objectives in
mind, both take two very different approaches to the same subject, namely the
welfare and wellbeing of working equines, yet neither of them can claim any
independent success in resolving the issues before them.
Perhaps there is more to be gained by closer cooperation between vets and skills
trainers. If equines could speak, I am sure they would welcome this approach.
I appreciate you referring me to your website where it was suggested more
information could be found. This I have done. Your new website is impressive and
very user friendly, even to a fumbling, novice techy like me.
The information contained therein was both enlightening and clear to
understand. It does not however, deliver any definitive answers to the questions
I was asking. I found little information on the harnessing of working equines or
training programmes designed to address this important issue.
It was interesting to note that the Brooke does not appear to have an in-house
authority to deal with the enduring and largely misunderstood subject of equine
harnessing.

Visits made to Luxor and Kenya in 2012 confirmed this. When I asked to be
introduced to your
harness specialist, I was informed there was no such a person present within the
Brooke. Further information revealed that harness and harness related
injuries/issues came under the umbrella of veterinary care??
Further confirmation of this came at a harness development seminar hosted by
the Donkey Sanctuary in Honiton, Devon that same year and attended by Brooke
representatives.
The following year, in 2013, at a one-day master-class I presented at Acton Scott
Historic Working Farm in Shropshire on the dynamics of equine draught and
harnessing methods, this was further corroborated by a member of the Brooke
overseas team who was in attendance. The event was well attended by
representatives from SPANA, the Donkey Sanctuary and WHW all of whom found
it informative and highly relevant to overseas projects they were involved in.

I hope this will help emphasise the need for greater focus in skills training
programmes and closer cooperation between all parties in the quest to improve
to the lives of both working equines and their owners/users where the need is
greatest.
If any of the above is found to be of interest can I urge you to read the attached
report I published in 2008. It still remains very relevant today.
https://www.scribd.com/doc/312606637/Harness-Dev-Suevey
On a final note. I am currently in negotiation with a small charity operating in
Uganda. It is hoped that later this year a skills training project in harness
production will take place where a newly designed donkey collar, one capable of
being produced locally will be introduced.
Last year I attempted to present this to animal welfare charities in the UK by
asking if anyone was interested in trialling it. Regrettably, there was no
response.
Wishing you every success in your endeavours.
Best Wishes,
Terry Davis
(Saddle, Harness & Horse Collar Maker)