Pearly whites??

A few men, a small child and some donkeys that were waiting to see the doctor, was the first sight I was greeted with at ACE this morning.

Only 8am and the heat was heavy and stuck in your throat a little. It was going to be one of those days, where you just could not find a deodorant powerful enough or drink water fast enough to match the speed it was leaving your body!

This man and his incredible silver teeth, were sat against a pillar under the shade of the hospital work area. Even though, his smile sparkled at me, I quickly noticed that his eyes were just as sparkly and had a genuine heart attached to them.

The hospital has 23 equine inpatients, which means only room for 2 more animals to stay, as our capacity is 25.

The assortment of injuries currently in, are both astounding and shocking. The volume of work the vets have to have to deal with everyday with inpatients, daily equine visitors and having to think outside the box with the severity of the cases coming in, I feel such admiration and an immense feeling of pride for their focus, dedication and skills.

A donkey injected with arsenic.

A wound that is so deep, it is taking in air and the horse has ballooned.

An eye infection on a horse transported 150km from a village as there are no vets in that area they trust to treat their dancing horse.

An emaciated donkey that has not eaten for weeks, possibly longer.

A donkey that was attacked by another and almost lost it's tail. The severity of it's wounds on it's face, means the food it eats actually pass through.

A mare that did not accept a stallion and so he bit her front leg, which now has a terribly smelly infection.

This is just a handful of what we have seen today and what will be treated tomorrow and the next day, until they are healthy, happy and ready to go home.