Horses and donkeys are a vital form of transport for millions of people and their goods. Throughout the world WSPA is seeking to ensure that working animals are not forced to be beast of burden and are provided with adequate food and water, and veterinary health care.

All too often, horses and donkeys suffer because people using them in the work place are among the poorest groups in society. This can mean that animals are forced to work as hard as possible just to provide a living wage for their owners. WSPA aims to show that taking proper of working animals is in the best interest of both animals and their owners. Through a range of projects, WSPA is working to ensure that individuals responsible for working animals know how to care for them properly and have the right equipment for the tasks they are undertaking.

On the Greek island of Crete, for example, donkeys have traditionally been tied up by their legs to prevent them wandering off. This practice, known as 'hobbling', can cause a great deal of pain because the rope or wire used to tether an animal's leg frequently cuts into its skin. In response, WSPA has set up a project with the Cretan Animal Welfare Group to encourage donkey owners to stop hobbling their animals and use head-collars, which enable working animals to be secured safely. Over 200 animals have already benefited from this scheme.

The practice of hobbling is not unique to Greece; it has been identified by WSPA staff throughout the Mediterranean. In extreme cases a donkey's feet or legs have literally been cut off by wire hobbles left tied for weeks on end.

In Latin America, WSPA runs an active programme of clinics and training workshops to which owners bring their horses for veterinary treatment, while at the same time learning how to care better for their animals. At each workshop, WSPA experts, supported by local animal welfare groups, give advice on providing a balanced diet for working horses and how to maintain healthy hooves and teeth. In the past year, clinics have been held in Chile, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti. In Zimbabwe, WSPA is supporting a similar scheme run by the Donkey Protection Trust, which runs a shelter for donkeys and organises free clinics throughout the country. A new programme, is shortly to begin operation in the Afghan city of Jalalab, in conjunction with the Brooke Hospital for Animals.

Elsewhere in the world, as economies develop and the use of working animals becomes more restricted, WSPA is seeking to help those horses and donkeys that are abandoned or become redundant. In Colombia, a law was introduced in 2002 banning the use of cart-horses from all major cities. This will have an impact the lives of thousands of horses currently used for transporting materials in the country. In Colombia's sprawling capital city, Bogota, there are thought to be at least 15,000 working horses.

WSPA already operates a large rescue centre for abandoned and neglected horses from Bogota and this will become increasingly busy as the new legislation comes into force. The centre is home to around 30 equines on any given day, some recovered from the city's illegal slaughterhouses and others confiscated from owners who violated animal welfare laws. At the rescue centre, all new-comers receive expert veterinary care and once they have regained their health are able to roam the acres of green pastures that surround the stable area. As suitable new owners are found, most of the horses are re-homed outside of the city area.

Key WSPA equine projects

• Latin America
  Workshops for owners of working horses
  Working horse rescue centre

• Meditteranean
  Eliminating the 'hobbling' of donkey's
  Setting guidelines for trekking centers

• Zimbabwe
  Support for the Donkey Protection Trust

• Afghanistan
  Workshops for owners of working horses