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...

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...