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Horse Care Unit

Established in 1995, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s Horse Care Unit – one of only three horse care units in South Africa – is dedicated to preventing cruelty to all equines.

In addition to local stud farms, stables, trainers’ yards and riding schools that are home to hundreds of equines – dozens of horses, ponies and donkeys live in densely populated impoverished communities, often in near-slum like conditions in the greater Cape Town area. Some are kept in poorly ventilated, parasitic and unsafe conditions and fed a poor diet of mainly cow meal.

These horses and ponies are often worked long, exhausting hours, pulling unroadworthy, overloaded carts.

Two full time Inspectors
Every week the SPCA Horse Care Unit's two full time Inspectors carry out dozens of inspections at the most unsuitable and desperately inadequate places where horses are kept.

Our first approach is to remedy a problem through education. We try to first convince the owner to improve the care and condition of the equine before we will consider removing it.

If our Inspectors don’t believe an animal is safe, they seek a warrant from a magistrate to seize the animal and take it into safekeeping.

abused donkeyUnwanted, abused, neglected, sick and injured horses, ponies and donkeys are brought back to the specialist unit in Grassy Park where their condition is assessed and where they are nurtured back to health if at all possible under expert veterinary supervision.

The facility includes 17 outdoor and 4 indoor stables for animals requiring intensive or specialised treatment and can at any time accommodate up to 30 equines. The unit, which costs around R50 000 a month to run, has two horse boxes and three vehicles capable of getting to locations situated off the beaten track. The Aubrey Jacobs Feed Store enables the unit to keep adequate supplies of feed for its horses, ponies and donkeys.

If you would like to contribute to the cost of caring for rescued horses, donkeys and ponies, please click here to make your donation online.

ponies

Love horses?

Then why not join our band of SPCA volunteers? Willing hands are always needed to help groom horses and clean stables and your help is particularly valuable if you have experience in caring for horses.

We also have a number of ponies, donkeys and horses in need of loving homes. If you have the space and facilities necessary to adopt one of our rescued equines, please click here.

stable master

Meet the Team

Louis Joubert – Stable Master
As an experienced horseman, Louis oversees the day-to-day operations of the unit, ensuring that the horses, ponies and donkeys receive individual attention and are adopted to new homes as soon as possible.

Louis has owned horses for more than 25 years as well as a riding school, which helped him gain valuable experience in how to teach people, especially children, about responsible equine care.

He works closely with two HCU Inspectors and grooms as well as a select group of volunteers to ensure that the many equines in his care get a second chance at life.

In addition, the SPCA’s team of veterinarians are on call to attend to emergencies and to undertake routine treatments and geldings.

Kyle Peterson – HCU inspector
Kyle is a qualified and experienced inspector, who is responsible for investigating all cruelty cases relating to equines. He also assists the Stable Master in running the unit.

Janine Nieuwoudt – HCU inspector
Formerly with the Inspectorate, Janine assists Kyle with all cruelty cases and follows up equine inspections. She also assists with the general maintenance of the unit and controlling stores.

Isaac Majokweni – Groom
A former racing yard groom and work rider, Isaac is an enthusiastic, hard working member of the team who is able to handle the most temperamental and difficult horses. Affectionately known as our ‘Horse Whisperer’, Isaac has a genuine love of horses.

Goodluck Gwadiso – Groom
Goodluck is a new member of the HCU team with a wealth of experience, having worked for fifteen years at reputable racing stables.




 

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