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Aid mission to help working horses

Holly ThompsonManjimup-Bridgetown Times
Georgia Ward, 18, will head off to the Gili Islands to help take care of the working ponies there.
Camera IconGeorgia Ward, 18, will head off to the Gili Islands to help take care of the working ponies there. Credit: Supplied

An 18-year-old Manjimup woman will jet off to Indonesia next month to take part in a veterinary aid mission to help look after work ponies on the Gili Islands.

Georgia Ward will help perform free clinics for the ponies, supported by Animal Aid Abroad, alongside a team of trained veterinarians, specialist farriers and translators.

Ms Ward said she had been given the chance to go on the trip as a veterinary nurse assistant and will work closely with the Horses of Gili and the Gili Eco Trust.

“I have a friend from pony club who is a veterinary nurse in Bunbury and she goes every year and she invited me to go with her this time,” she said.

“I am looking forward to seeing the difference in lifestyle over there, here you ride horses as a leisure activity, but over there they are used for work.”

Ms Ward said she had a bit of experience in the veterinary field, after working at the Manjimup clinic for more than three years as a kennel hand.

“They are taking me on as an extra hand to help out and I know I will learn a lot from the experience,” she said.

“We will be working with the local people and helping to educate them on horse care and providing veterinary treatment free-of-charge.”

Pony-sized bits, lead ropes, halters and towels can be donated to Bridgetown Community Resource Centre, Landmark Manjimup and the Better Life Centres in Busselton and Bunbury, which Ms Ward will take to the islands with her.

A wood raffle will be held outside Manjimup Newsagency on October 12 to raise money for the trip.

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