Until now, any horse that suffered a serious injury in Nicaragua, where equines in urban areas suffer exploitation, was condemned to death, but a group of young animal lovers is slowly changing the situation and today equines have a second chance to continue living, or at least have a dignified death.
Creole horses that right now would be dead, today gallop on a farm in the Pacific of Nicaragua without carrying loads, receive special care and have at their disposal five blocks of land (3.52 hectares), divided into large corrals, pasture production areas , recovery areas, and individual spaces for each equine, which contrasts with the hot streets of the cities that almost led to their death.
Although the equines, 16 horses and a donkey, look well cared for, none of the young people is a specialist in animal care. What they do is contact everyone who can help, including volunteers, veterinarians, even authorities or transporters when the case warrants it, and carry out rescues every time they receive a report of an abandoned specimen.
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“The owners occupy them for transportation, but when they no longer have the conditions, they simply leave them to their fate, then people file a complaint with us and we come to rescue them. We bring him to the shelter, we rehabilitate him, and once he is rehabilitated we leave him in areas where they can be free, they can live their lives in peace during the time they have left”, explained one of the leaders of the youth group, Giovanny Murillo.
At first glance, equines look beautiful, but some lack an eye, others live with the aftermath of a traffic accident, survived broken legs, have deformed limbs, or, as in the case of the donkey, lack of teeth.
According to Murillo, except for two foals that were born in the shelter, where the mares arrived pregnant after receiving mistreatment, the rest of the horses arrived after being victims of cruel treatment in different municipalities of Nicaragua, where they were used to pull heavy loads, or even walk tourists in the luxurious carriages of the colonial city of Granada, Nicaragua.
In some cases, the owners try to get the horse back, sometimes with violence, after knowing that the young people want to give it a better life, but those inconveniences are worth it in a country where there are no public hospitals for animals, Murillo insisted.
But not all rescue stories have a happy ending. In fact, only between 25% and 30% manage to survive, according to data from the group of young people, known on social networks as “El mirador de Galán”, in honor of the look of the first horse they rescued four years ago. .
“Well, it’s hard to lose one (…). It is a loss, it is like the death of a loved one, a friend, even if they met the day before. What happens is that you create a friendship with them,” said Xochitl Martínez, a business administrator who currently cares for the horses on a voluntary basis.
Despite volunteering, care is not cheap. The recovery alone costs at least 1,000 dollars, especially in medicines, transportation and food, expenses that are covered exclusively with donations from people, including sponsorships, or collections on specialized fundraising websites, Murillo explained.
For horse lovers, it’s all worth it.
“Once they are here and rehabilitated, they have a free life, they can live here without working, without being exploited, they simply live the life that every animal should have, a quiet, relaxed life, without being exploited,” he concluded. the young man, with Achilles, Pegasus, Cupcake, Rayo, Peillo or Donkey, hanging around the cameras.
