Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe

One of the hardest things we face at the Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe is a heavily ingrained mindset about treatment of horses in the Roma community.  Sons and grandsons have the same approach their fathers and grandfathers did and as grandad is often still living with the family, his voice still carries. Tradition, how wonderful! we might say. Or we could interpret the repetition of behaviours as failure to adapt to knowledge based on science and study with a preference to follow patterns that have obtained for centuries, because that's how things have always been done. These are some of the traditions regarding horses we see practiced in Roma communities here:  A horse is bought to earn for the family. If it's a mare she's put to a stallion young so there's another horse in the pipeline. As soon as the foal arrives it's dominated by restraint. Generations of arms go around it to make sure it grows up easy to handle. Small boys hang on the edge of the crowd wield...

In December 2020, a Roma contact told me of a foal who'd been kicked by his mother, who didn't want him. I was heading in the direction of that village, delivering food to puppies the Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe , supports near there, so dropped by. The yard was messy, with rickety fencing, discarded machinery and trampled-in manure to negotiate on our way to a narrow outbuilding which the owner said housed the foal. LIFE's Roma helper, Ilia, was with me. We'd already concluded that the owner was fattening the foal for Christmas. No doubt he hoped I'd pay more than the meat man. Fattening foals for the Festive season is common in backwater Roma enclaves. The two of them chatted in their own language as we sidled past discarded car parts and a thin, dejected donkey. It was dark in the shed. Peering in, I could only see the foal's face, which was trying to peer out. A  pretty face topped by a tufty two-toned fringe. When the owner moved past me with a stick the ...

At the Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe (LIFE) we're accustomed to ups and downs; after all we work at the sharp end of animal rescue so we're bound to win some and lose some. The past fortnight, however, has been unusually packed with highs and lows.  The lowest point for me was the mystery of eyeless cat Kolio's disappearance. It happened  the same day we had a major success - sending four rehabilitated rescued horses out at on a  mini-trek, ridden by local helper,  Daniel, and volunteers. Those heaven-sent volunteers also ran errands for LIFE, fetching meds for sick cats from town, mending gates, giving attention to dogs who never get enough.  They also left us with  masses of second-hand towels and enough dog bowls to hand out during Outreach work for months to come - ultimately practical gifts. I'd dreamed of being able to put my hand on a towel for kittens or puppies whenever needed; now I can. Above all, I'm grateful for the time those people gave selfl...

The Lucy Irvine Foundation Europe (LIFE) has rescued many horses, dogs and cats over the years but some stand out in my memory more than others. Maybe because she was the first foal I rescued, the story of Amber’s rescue is special to me. I've chosen to tell it here. My mission that day was to treat dogs against ticks and fleas in a rough Roma area. To this end, I was walking between mud-brick hovels, followed by a mob of barefooted children dragging dogs on leads made from string. I’d already treated several puppies and had stopped to remove a wire collar cutting into the neck of another, when a shout made me look up. Yanko, a man whose stallion I wormed last year, wanted me to look at his mare. He said she needed an injection because she’d had a foal he must ‘throw away’. I finished fastening a collar onto the puppy and told its five year old owner to loosen it as the puppy grew. I’d seen deaths due to throats severed by string or wire collars on older dogs Yanko showed me hi...