A group of Irish volunteers have arrived in Kyiv to bring medicines and feed supplements to the city’s horses.
Hundreds of horses have been trapped in the city since the start of the war and have suffered neglect given that the priority is to feed and care for the human population.
Project Cossack was started by John O’Connor of Ballykelly Stud near Cashel to raise money to help Ukrainian horses. He said Ukrainians have lots of oats, but not the supplements that go into horse food.
“We got a lot of offers of manufacturers of kit. We are getting it all to Kyiv. Some of it will stay there to help look after the horses there and the balance will go to Odesa and the racehorses down there,” he said.
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The team took a week to travel in Ireland in a pair of 4x4 and crossed the border near Lyiv and arrived in Kyiv via a circuitous route avoiding road damage done by Russian missiles along the way.
They arrived in the Hippodrome, Ukraine’s largest racetrack, in Kyiv on Saturday morning. It is home to 250 horses. Many had to be abandoned because of the war.
One horse was “orphaned” when a missile hit his owner’s home and he was headed to the meat processing plant until volunteers from Kyiv Hippodrome rescued him and are now training him.
Ukrainians love harness racing, also known as trotting, which the Hippodrome hosts along with conventional flat racing though that pursuit is mostly confined to Odesa.
Volunteer Bradley Reed said they brought oat balance supplements for the horses feed, intravenous medicines including antibiotics, bandages and poultices alongside food for the horses’ human carers including pastas and canned meats.
Mr Reed said the border guards allowed them through without much of the usual bureaucracy because of the nature of their mission.
“They told us that they loved what we did and they will make it easier next time. I find it extraordinary in a time of war that they reached out to us like that to thank us,” he said.
The volunteers with Project Cossack intend to bring more veterinary supplies for the horses next month.
