The other day I travelled to the next island, Gili Trawangan, where they were holding a horse clinic. In my opinion, the horses on Gili T, as it’s known, are not in as good condition as the horses on Gili Meno. And they are worked much much harder. Gili T is a very busy party island, and there is a lot of development going on there. The horses are used to pull small carriages to transport tourists and their luggage, and to pull the carts to transport all the building supplies, groceries, rubbish, you name it.
There is a lady over there who works tirelessly to protect and rehabilitate the coral and the marine life, she is working hard to fix the rubbish problem, and for this clinic she worked together with a local cat lady, and an ex-vet nurse who has set up a makeshift cat hospital over there. Together they organised to bring over an equine vet from Australia. The vet also did a lot of work before coming, and had raised funds and collected a mass of medicines, riding bits and better quality gear for the horses.
The clinic was held each morning for 5 days, at the art market site along the beach front. And each afternoon the vet and her 3 vet students, plus the organisers and two local farriers, rode their bikes through the island seeing other horses who were not brought to the clinic.
This was the 5th or 6th clinic they have held. I was absolutely blown away. Of the 215 horses on the island, almost 200 were seen! Each horse was wormed, had its teeth check and done, received a vitamin shot and had any wounds or sickness attended too. Education about diet, water, and equipment was a big focus. For the first time this year, their rusty, old-fashioned, harsh bits were replaced by good quality soft bits from Australia. Girth sleeves were given out, as well as padding for the harnesses.
To see that many of the horses on the island, given the cultural difference and the politics on the island, was phenomenal. Apparently over the years the clinic has been held, the life span of the horses has increased quite a bit.
I went over there just to lend a hand, and to learn. The horses on Gili Meno have it very easy compared to Gili T (and Lombok), but sometimes I see them being pushed too hard, or pulling too much weight. Too many of them drink the salt water as their only water supply, and I’m told that as a result kidney disease takes a lot of them. I hope that one day the horses can be replaced by solar driven tuk tuks. It is too hot here, and the work too hard for them. Many of the horses seen were suffering from heat stress.
Yes, it is a traditional method of transport, and perhaps quaint, but not suitable for today’s requirements. In the meantime, the clinic does a great job at improving their lot. Hopefully one day in the near future a horse clinic will be held on Gili Meno as well.
