UK farriers head to Egypt to help suffering horses
Top riders including Mary King and John Whitaker are lending their support in an effort to get a team of British farriers to Egypt.
Devon-based farrier Kris Parsons and his apprentices Alex Eltringham and H&H blogger Roland Thompson are travelling to Egypt to provide professional hoofcare to suffering horses.
More than 2,000 Egyptian working equines are suffering as tourism nosedives through a time of political unrest. This has left owners unable to earn a living to feed their horses.
But the team need to raise £2,500 to get to Egypt and have set up a Cairo Farrier fundraising appeal.
Those who want to help can bid for lessons with top riders including Mary King, Sharon Hunt, John Whitaker and Lucinda and Clayton Fredericks on a Facebook auction.
The team will provide urgently needed care and run workshops for existing farriers in thecity. They will be in Cairo for a week from 24 March.
Kris, from Axminster, has been a farrier for 13 years, but the trip to Cairo will be a first for him.
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He said: “I’m a little bit apprehensive – but I don’t want to let the horses down. They are in such a state, both through poverty and the lack of knowledge of their owners. I want to help as many equines out there as I can.”
Roland added: “As an apprentice, it will be an amazing opportunity to see a whole other side of hoofcare – though I expect it may be hard to stomach at times.”
To donate, email cairo.farrier@gmail.com.
To bid for a lesson visit: http://www.facebook.com/CairoFarrier
The auction closes on Saturday (25 February) at noon.
This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (23 February 2012)
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.