Romania

Located in eastern Europe, Romania has an estimated one million working horses. With many farming communities reliant on horsepower, these hardworking animals are a vital part of rural life.

 

Historically, Romanians have had a long and proud partnership with the horse. However, during the Communist era, many traditional skills were lost when horses were replaced by tractors. As a result, a vast proportion of the working horses suffered from poor farriery, worn-out harness and poor veterinary care.

 

Training Initiative

 

Following extensive research, World Horse Welfare's International Training and Campaigns teams developed Project Romania. Through this joint approach, our intention was to redress the welfare concerns through training, veterinary education and improved legislation.

 

Since the project was launched in 2006, we held training courses in five locations across Romania - Târgu Mureş, Dumbrava, Sinca Noua and Rădăuţi. Our final training course was undertaken in 2010 in Suceava.

 

We focused our efforts on researching the northern regions to ensure we covered the breadth and depth of the country. Upon of the project, we trained 53 farriers and 35 saddlers, who are making a difference within their communities.