Edenvale SPCA tends to stray horse in Thembisa
“The horse was used to being handled, so we used a lead and walked it towards the school,” explained Mokalapa.
Edenvale SPCA assisted a stray horse in Thembisa after the branch was informed that the horse was running through traffic on a busy road.
Inspector Hope Mokalapa, from Edenvale SPCA, said the horse, which was on a road in Umthambeka Section, was reported to the SPCA on October 12 by a concerned community member.
After receiving the information, Mokalapa rushed out to tend to and assist the animal with the assistance of field officer Peter.
Mokalapa said once in Thembisa, he and colleagues moved the horse from the road into school premises in Umthambeka Section where it could be secured.
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“The horse was used to being handled, so we used a lead and walked it towards the school,” explained Mokalapa.
He said while trying to locate the owner of the horse, the SPCA contacted the Society for Animals in Distress, which works closely with horse and donkey owners in the community of Thembisa.
Mokalapa said in Thembisa, horses are used to transport materials such as coal and scrap metal within the community.
Manager of Edenvale SPCA Marita Acar said attempts to locate the owner of the horse were a team effort.
She explained that while Mokalapa was in the field, she liaised with the Society for Animals in Distress, communicating and sending photographs of the stray animal.
Acar said after sending photographs of the animal to the Society for Animals in Distress, the SPCA was informed that the horse was new to the area.
However, with the assistance of the Society for Animals in Distress, the SPCA was put in contact with the owner who sent somebody else to collect the horse.
“We learned the reason the horse ran away was that it was a male and there is a stallion on the owner’s property,” said Mokalapa.
He believes there may have been a territorial dispute between the two animals, which resulted in the younger horse escaping the owner’s property.
Mokalapa said once the SPCA made contact with the owner of the horse, he escorted the animal and the individual who was sent to collect it back to Dalimpofu informal settlement.
Mokalapa said because the owner of the animal lives in Dalimpofu informal settlement, which falls under Kempton Park SPCAs jurisdiction, Kempton Park SPCA will conduct a general welfare inspection and issue relevant warnings to ensure the situation does not reoccur.
Although Kempton Park SPCA will conduct a follow-up inspection, Mokalapa said the stray horse did not appear to be neglected.
He said at the owner’s property there were four other horses.
Mokalapa highlighted that from his initial assessment, all the horses appeared to be in a good condition.
Despite this, he said Kempton Park SPCA will need to conduct a thorough assessment of the animals.
Mokalapa said inspectors from the Kempton branch will assess the condition of the horses’ hooves, teeth, mouths and skin, in addition to harnesses and the tires of any carts being used.
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