Friendicoes Sponsored Animals Update
Animal Aid Abroad sponsor the animals below at Friendicoes’ Gurgaon Sanctuary in New Delhi:
KANHA
As the herd at the Friendicoes country sanctuary increases with more bulls coming in every month, the cow sheds had to be expanded and now we have three sections of cow sheds with more field space to accommodate them all. Kanha still manages to hold his own amongst a herd of 100 odd cattle heads. He is mellowing with age and, while he was never one of the troublemakers, he was also not very receptive to being touched. Of late, however, we have noticed he is more tolerant and more welcoming to being approached and touched, whether it’s for routine medical checks or otherwise. In fact, he seems to enjoy back scratches, but only from his favourite caretakers. While other bulls make the team sweat during their medicals, Kanha just needs his favourite caretakers around him and he is a walk in the park in comparison.
Kanha passed his recent routine medicals with no hiccups. He continues to thrive and stay fit. He weighs a healthy 700+ kilos and continues to love his food as always. In the decade that he has lived with us, Kanha has never had any medical complaints. The only medication he has ever needed is his de-wormer. We hope it stays this way and our beautiful boy continues to lead a blessed life.
VAYU
Vayu is quite ancient now, at almost 20 years. More than his age, his battered, bruised body gives one that impression. It’s like he has seen too much pain this lifetime. In fact no one expected him to make it to 2022. He has no vision but makes up for it with very sharp ears and a mean kick. He knows when the food trolley is coming his way and is always standing at the gate of his enclosure to welcome it. Fortunately, he is eating well for his age.
Winters are hard on his old bones and last winter he had a few very hard days. Luckily, our new stable block was of great benefit for old and sick animals like Vayu. While the stable sheds are wind proofed, it still can get very cold out in the field for senior animals. But the stable blocks are designed to keep the wind out and the spacious, compact individual stalls were a boon last winter. With little sun and a harsh cold wind blowing, Vayu spent most of his time snug inside the stables, only coming out to stretch his legs occasionally.
But the long summers in India are good for animals like Vayu. They enjoy the outdoors with some shade and plenty of drinking water around. So, these days Vayu is spending 12 hours of his day outdoors unless it is raining.
ILA
Ila remains the socialite. This girl is one for parties and living the high life. She is better now that the pandemic has stabilised and visitors have started showing up. She loves nothing more than welcoming guests, asking for scratches and then toddling after visitors in her field. It has been 8 and a half years since we welcomed Ila to the sanctuary. She is at least 12 years old but does not show her age either in looks or behaviour. She is like a happy puppy who is always looking forward to good things in life, though she does also have a stubborn side. Her sunny disposition makes her a very popular girl at the sanctuary, especially amongst the team.
Ila hasn’t suffered any illness in a long time. The deep saddle wound that led to her rescue is the only long-term medical care she has ever needed. She is still best friends with Snowpea and the pair are often sighted together.
MUDRA
Her senior years and loss of sight have made Mudra slow, inactive and solitary. She has been moved from the main donkey enclosure and now spends her time hanging out with older and new rescues in a less crowded field. Mudra hasn’t suffered from any major illnesses in spite of her age. She is doing well but eats very little. The vet says it cannot be helped due to her age, so she gets multivitamin supplements with her meal. She has had a quiet year doing nothing much except hanging out with other rescues living the retired life.
It gives us pleasure to know that we have been able to make her golden years comfortable after the hard start to life she had. She is easy to care for and not fussy about anything. Her joints bother her so she does not walk around a lot. She is mostly seen at the same spot for hours but a little nudge gets her moving, unlike many of the stubborn donkeys we have.
TAPI
Tapi is still living at the sanctuary amongst her donkey friends. As always, there’s not a lot to report about her as she does not engage in anything or with anyone. She picks at her food, eating just enough to survive. The vet says, as with all old animals, her appetite is low, so her food is boosted with nutritional supplements. She has had no health issues in the past year except for joint pain and stiff limbs. Tapi spends her days just hanging out around the field and sheltering inside the shed shelter when the weather turns harsh. The last vet check went smoothly for her.
Tapi has completed 10 years of rescue and it warms our heart that she had some good years at the sanctuary just enjoying life without starving or being worked to the ground. And as long as she is with us we will do everything in our means to look after her.
KOYNA
Koyna has “settled” down a bit. She no longer behaves like a teenager who needs to have her nose in everybody’s business. Her curiosity and inquisitiveness have reduced and she no longer runs an “inquiry commission” on new rescues. From an awkward teenager, she seems to have flowered into a young lady. Now her nudges are gentle, she walks gracefully instead of stomping through the herd and behaves like a grown up. And it’s time. She is now 10 years old after all!
She has parted ways with Poker, the orphaned baby donkey she had “adopted” and now socialises equally with everyone. She has also become calmer around food and doesn’t try to gobble down a large part of the meal served. She definitely waits for meal times and tries to sneak a bit or two from the trolley but is more sedate about it now.
She got a clean bill of health from the vet during her last medical.
RADHA
We did not think Radha would live another year but she has! She is weak, emaciated and her body is starting to give way to age but she is still strong in spirit. Her health has been stable for the last year, with only some joint issues during winters. She needed extra care, which her caregiver was more than happy to provide.
Radha spends her days mostly in her stables, snug as a bug with only couple of hours walking around the field and soaking up some fresh air and sunshine. She prefers to stay inside, so no one pushes her to do anything she does not want to do. The vet said she is fine apart from a reduced appetite and a loss of muscle mass. Every effort is made to keep her comfortable and content.
SUNDERI
Sunderi does not look a day older than when she arrived at the sanctuary 10 years ago. This evergreen beauty is enjoying good health and remains her joyful self. Recently, we discovered that Sunderi is extremely gentle and patient with children when one of our team mates’ 8-year-old nephew came to spend some time with the animals. Sunderi is known to be a trickster. She can mislead you with her friendly approach and take a playful nip at you when you least expect it. And it can hurt! Therefore, we have never allowed kids to have one on one interaction with her. But Sunderi surprised us with her sweet, tolerant behaviour around this child who petted her and even fed her treats. He went back claiming she was the best horse in the world.
Overall, she is doing well and leading all of her caretakers on a merry chase when her mood turns to mischief. But she gets along with all the new horses and it has become something of a tradition to put new, shy and docile rescues in the same field as her. She is doing well in the new field she was shifted to about a year back with her now not-so-new field mates.
TRUFFLES
Truffles is in good spirits and fit as a fiddle. She has had no health complaints this year and is flying through her medicals with no challenges. The only blip on her horizon is the poor health of her best friend, Meethi, and Truffles is missing her friend’s company. While the harsh summer sun and the monsoon rains send most of the animals into their stable sheds, not our Truffles. Her energy cannot be contained come hale or storm and she is the one horse who can always be spotted outdoors.
She is spending more time with the other girls in her field now that Meethi is mostly indoors, but whenever she enters the stable shed she is found standing next to Meethi. It feels like she only goes indoors to see & comfort Meethi, who is spending most of her time lying down and resting these days.
Truffles is still a nervous, wary horse around new people and can only be handled and approached by her old caretakers. But she is a cool girl with any new horse she meets.
MEETHI
Our darling Meethi, the most even-tempered & friendly girl around, has been having a hard time with her health – and it’s laminitis again. Four years ago, she had her first episode of laminitis due to weight gain. She is a greedy little girl and group stabling means the horses have free access to large meal troughs and can eat a bigger share than the others if they are quick. And that’s exactly what happened with Meethi. Since then, her diet has always been monitored and she is fed a low grain, low carbs diet separately.
Unfortunately, laminitis is more complicated than it appears to be and Meethi had a relapse 2 months back. And she is not really healing. Xrays show while she has laminitis in all 4 legs, the pedal bone (bone inside the hoof) in both fore legs has rotated and is causing her a lot of pain. The pedal bone often perforates the casing and that is the end of everything. We are looking at immediate surgical intervention now to reverse the condition and inviting a specialist to do the surgery. Surgery is her only hope but things can go wrong during surgery. She has once again been put on a special diet of zero carbs to reduce her weight further and take as much load as possible off her legs.
TITLI
Nothing much has changed with Titli since she lost her mom. She remains aloof, content mostly with her own company and in her own world. She has developed a bond with Shravan, our supervisor in charge of the large animals (seen in the image here) and is comfortable being groomed when he is around. Otherwise, medicals and grooming are not really her thing and she is always skittish being touched, even by her caretakers. Since none of our horses are ridden, they are given enough field space to run and gallop around when the mood hits them. And no one enjoys a gallop like Titli. She is a joy to watch when she gets the wind in her sails.
Titli has enjoyed a good year of health and fitness. There have been no complaints and she has cleared every medical without a problem. We hope this is the case for many more years to come. She is a fussy eater, who doesn’t really like to share her “meal bucket” or food trough with other horses. This is a habit leftover from her mother’s time, when the duo used to share a trough amongst themselves. So, she is fed alone otherwise she leaves her meal halfway through if other horses joins in.
BADSHAH
It’s been two years since Badhshah came to the sanctuary. Love, patience and time has won him over, but he cannot be called friendly by a long shot. Yet, he has learned to trust a couple of his caretakers like Gopal & Shravan, the two pillars of our large animal team. New people are warned not to approach him, especially from behind. He has his own stable stall because he cannot be trusted with other horses in close confines. He is allowed to mingle with laid back senior mares out in the field under supervision, but male horses are a red zone.
Badshah has done well last year. After the initial struggle with his gut health, his tummy has more or less settled down and there has been no more colic episodes. His meals are still small and frequent and he is fed in solitude. Apart from some joint issues, he has been fine in the last year. He has shed a bit of his muscle mass but, with his senior years, that is expected. We are glad he is at least enjoying some good years at the sanctuary.
