Meet the donkeys of Mashreq Shams

The donkeys of Mashreq Shams came in a variety of ages, colors and sizes - weanlings to old aged; white, grey, brown and black; large pony sized to very small. One thing they did seem to have in common was a need for dental, hoof or wound care. Many needed a bit of husbandry advice diplomatically directed to the owners. Most donkeys had curious handlers who were amazed at our ability to easily work with the donkeys, especially looking in their mouths.

Here's a few unique characters we met:

A sweet guy with broken ears - perhaps from rough handling because we did see a few owners restraining the donkeys by twisting the ears.

This young donkey was the recipient of a creative approach to weaning (metal spikes attached to halter so his mother would discourage him from nursing)

Even though he doesn't look too happy here,  this donkey was one of the better cared for donkeys whose owner recognized the importance of using sturdy but soft material for halter and pad rigging.

Many owners worried about the donkeys biting and some used muzzles

this donkey waits in line next to a motorbike

Our exams began with getting baseline information about sex, age, purchase cost, and value; then we noted the body condition score and obvious lesions. Getting consistent records was a challenge - some handlers were not the owners or didn't have the info; the men tried to interrupt the women; many owners expressed the donkey didn't have any health problems. However, in addition to widespread low body condition scores, the primary issue we observed was overgrown and chipped hooves. We were able to trim most of the hooves with nippers, but a few required the toeing knife.

Tricia and Jaber use the toeing knife to remove excess toe as Lina watches the new technique

Almost all the donkeys' legs had bands of ruffled white hairs - signs of scarring from being tethered and hobbled. We had one case whose legs had several fresh rope burns. He was the only donkey to be resistant to treatment and tried to bite and kick as we tended to his wounds. The owner said she just keeps putting the ropes higher up his legs and wonders why she keeps him. We showed her the felted ankle rope cover Tricia made and she nodded in agreement that padding would help prevent more wounds. Perhaps if his wounds have a chance to heal and he is in less pain, he will have a better demeanor.

We saw a donkey with a deep wound on its poll (area on top of the head behind the ears). This gave Tricia the opportunity to show the other version of the felted rope cover which was on the halter she had purchased on the way to the event. This halter caught the eye of three women sitting nearby who spent a fair amount of time checking out the novel felting cover idea. We didn't exchange too many words, but the smiles and nods were evidence a creative seed was planted.

Not all the donkeys had sharp dental points, but they all received a basic dental filing because we wanted the owners to know they were being treated equally. We saw an extreme dental case early in the day and asked the owner to bring the donkey back at the end of the event. This older donkey was very thin with long rostral (front) hooks on the upper first cheek tooth on both sides of his mouth.

He had an obvious external abscess on one side. Upon closer look inside his mouth we saw the cause of the abscess was due to the tooth hook penetrating the inside of the cheek and there was actually a fistula. He also had sores on his tongue and other places on his cheeks.
We started working on his mouth before we took pictures. It's really hard to get a good photo of the inside of a equine's mouth, especially a small donkey.

This photo shows the hook on the side without the abscess after we had started to file down the point. Tricia's hand is holding the tongue out of the way and you can see the lesion on the tongue right next to her pinky finger. The tooth is twice as long as it should be and interferes with the normal grinding process as well as cutting the inside of the mouth.

Ideally, a veterinarian would use a molar cutter or power tool and full mouth speculum/head stand system and chemical sedation to deal with this extreme case. We didn't have those luxuries. What we did have was patience and humanpower and a very well behaved donkey.

 

We took turns filing and holding the mouth open and managed to get the tooth reduced by half which was enough to be certain it would not protrude into the cheek allowing the abscess to heal.

We tried to convince the owner he could use a file to keep the point under control, but like most of the other donkey owners he was very reluctant to go near the donkey's mouth. We were able to explain to him the importance of providing softer feed.

It was a long hot day for the team and the owners but the donkeys didn't seem to mind waiting around. One by one they got their turn and then headed home. A few people said they had to leave to go have their afternoon tea.
 


We were fairly exhausted but satisfied we'd made a good impression on the community and knew we had made a few donkeys' lives a little better for at least a little while. We may have even inspired a few kids and adults to pay more attention to their donkey's health. With time our hope is that the community will notice the donkeys can do their jobs more efficiently with a better husbandry.

Tricia (kneeling), Zouhair on the special dental patient, Lina, Ahmed, Shadi, Jaber, Amine and the donkey owner (with his father looking on in the background). Thanks to Emna (not shown) who took the photo !

We packed up our tools confident the veterinary students would be welcomed back to Mashreq Shams for another donkey care day.

the remains of the day in the truck bed bid goodbye to Mashreq Shams

On the road to Mashreq Shams in Kasserine

One of the highlights of our project was the day we spent in Mashreq Shams treating the community donkeys. It was such a full experience we're breaking the description of the day into more than one post, primarily because we have a lot of pictures that tell the story. (click on photo to see full image)

The idea to work on donkeys in Mashreq Shams, Kasserine came about after participating in the school backpack distribution event:

https://www.facebook.com/mashraqashams

While handing out the backpacks, we saw there were many donkeys in the community and three donkey owners were very happy to receive our unplanned services.  Would it be possible to have a day to attend to just the donkeys? The answer from the community development group was yes. However, we all agreed we would have to plan carefully to have a positive outcome for the donkeys and the community.

The plans fell into place after our meeting with Dr. Ghalia Drissi, and multiple phone calls with Mohamed Amine Ben Jemaa (from the Mashreq Shams community development group). We began by gathering a crew to work with us. Jaber enlisted Dr. Emna Brour (the veterinarian who helped us in Tataouine) and Shadi Henchiri (senior veterinary student who is chairman of the animal welfare committee of the International Veterinary Student Association). Shadi managed the task to identify 4 veterinary students to help us (there were more that wanted to come). The director of the Sidi Thabet Veterinary School donated a truck and driver to transport the students.

We met with students at the veterinary school to tell them about the community event for donkeys

We had our extra tools from the local blacksmith, and our donated anti-parasitic and wound supplies from Medivet. Tricia and Shadi drafted a short questionnaire for the donkey owners to aim for collecting some basic background information. Amine contacted the community to estimate how many donkeys would show up to be treated. Tricia made felted wool samples (from raw sheep's fleece) to cover the rough nylon ropes that are used as halters and ankle hobbles.

The planning and the conversations continued for a few days; then we met at sunrise in Tunis on September 14 to caravan in two vehicles for the four hour drive to Kasserine.  We made good use of the travel time to fine tune our game plan.

Shadi listened carefully as Jaber laid out logistics while driving

Pit stops provided opportunities for team meeting time

The drive to Kasserine was filled with many working equines, especially ones pulling carts.

not sure if this pair was picking up or dropping off supplies, but they were moving fast

this colorful fellow was transporting water from a community cistern

and he had a drink from the cistern, too

a white pony carts a young man, woman and baby towards a town marketplace

children cart fresh cut stalks for livestock forage

this equine looked like pony mule

All along the way,  we saw grazing donkeys, sheep and cows scouring the dry landscape for feed.



Tricia was thrilled to purchase a typical rope halter from a roadside vendor (who declined to have his picture taken). She put her handmade felted wool cover over the section that sets behind the ears where it often causes rope burn wounds and she was delighted to have a complete sample to show the community.

premade rope halters purchased in the city, sold in the countryside

As we got closer to Mashreq Shams, we passed by Roman Ruins in Sbeitla. Check out future post for details of this historical area which we visited at the end of the day.

treasures in the fields of Sbeitla

We made a final stop for bottled water as we saw we were almost to our destination and the water in the community is not particularly drinkable. The village's source of water is a distant well and water is transported to a cistern via a truck. The community has had health problems mainly due to the particulate matter in the water. The stop gave us time for one last team check-in before we meet the donkeys of Mashreq Shams.

stocking up on bottled water for a long day in the heat

We wondered how many donkey owners would show up and if the donkeys would be amenable to being worked on. But more importantly, we questioned how the owners would receive the offer of outsiders wanting to provide care for their donkeys, but not their more valuable sheep.

A day off but still brainstorming donkey solutions

After our activity in Tataouine, we sort of took Saturday, September 6, as a day off. After a morning of writing the posts, we had a delicious lunch at Jaber's father's favorite restaurant, Un Punto Macrobiotico in Tunis. The Italian chef prepared a delicious macrobiotic meal that was colorful, flavorful and satisfying. Ingredients included rice, carrots, ginger, beans, squash, salad, parsley and many unidentified savory spices. We also had a dairy free apple tart and barley cafe for dessert. This was an exquisite eating experience that left us full without feeling groggy.

After lunch, Jaber's mother took Tricia to the marketplace in central Tunis to view beautiful architecture and contribute to the Tunisian economy with a little shopping. (Jaber took a much needed rest after doing all the driving and translating for the last four days in addition to his veterinary work).

gorgeous tiles, woodwork and stairways captivated Tricia

treasures old and new can be found at the souk: animal hides, jewelry, baskets, clothes, and more

The marketplace was full of inspiration for donkey welfare and economic development. The shoemakers' scraps of leather and the craftsmen's felted hats got Tricia thinking about possible solutions for creating padding to prevent rope burns on the donkeys' heads and legs and maybe create a cottage industry for a villager. 

The essential oil vendor probably had something good to treat the wounds. (Tricia did wonder about the possible unhygienic use of the recycled medicine vials though - see the glass vials in the bottom of the picture).

Jaber's mother negotiated a good deal for Tricia with the rug vendor

Tricia's two rug choices from many options

Back at homebase, Tricia prepared tools and Medivet supplies for a long day on Sunday with the community development group, Mashreq Shams. We had two seats reserved for us on the bus and we gave the second seat to Shadi Henchiri, the veterinary student who is the chairman of the IVSA animal welfare committee.

Evening fun for vets: looking at veterinary tools and supplies

We didn't pause for very long after checking into the hotel in Chenini before we got back into the truck to drive to Dr. Ahlem Lahmar's hometown, Ksar Oun. It was very late in the afternoon and the temperature had cooled off so we optimistically thought we could see a few donkeys before night. The drive to Ksar Oun took longer than expected (about an hour) - a winding and windy journey through the mountains. The rock formations turned to sand and the road became quite narrow as the wind blew sand drifts and the edge of the road disappeared. There were places with barriers to stop the sand which was very interesting for Tricia who is used to snow drifts and snow fences in the northeastern United States.

We were greeted warmly by Ahlem and her extended family at their beautiful home. Tricia goofed up and said goodbye instead of hello in Arabic which elicited a few giggles. 

An impromptu veterinary seminar was held at the back of the truck as the sun set, and we showed our tools and the donated supplies from Medivet we had brought.

We had a brief viewing of the animals in the family compound, and then all thoughts of work came to an end, because in normal Tunisian style - it was time to eat!  A welcoming feast had been prepared for us which we ate outdoors under the stars.  It was delicious: tunisian pepper salad, soup and bric (a savory fried pastry dough filled with potatoes and other veggies). We ended up spending the night because it had gotten so late and we needed to start our rounds early in the morning. We were serenaded to sleep by an amazing symphony of animal noises - mostly dogs - but a few other odd noises - including some very confused roosters.