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 inadequate 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 have held training courses in three locations across Romania - Târgu Mureş, Dumbrava and Sinca Noua. Our 2009 was undertaken in Rădăuţi, training 10 people the skills required to care for horses.

 

We are focusing our efforts on researching the northern regions to ensure we cover the breadth and depth of the country. To date, we have trained 30 farriers and 18 saddlers, who are making a difference within their communities.