Horses of Gili
My name is Tori Taylor and I helped found the Horses of Gili. I am a veterinary technician who moved to the island in 2014 to manage a dive resort. It became quickly apparent that animal welfare was an issue on the island that hit close to my heart. I began assisting with a spay/neuter program for island cats and soon thereafter became involved in the care of the horses. The island already had twice annual free horse clinics but more was needed. In 2015 we founded Horses of Gili and began a comprehensive program providing medical care, education, rescue, and rehabilitation. In August of 2018 a series of devastating earthquakes hit our island the neighboring island of Lombok. Our stables were badly damaged and all our funds depleted by purchasing food and medical supplies for the horses of all 3 islands. Fast forward to now and we have located new property to locate our stables. It is a more visible location and less prone to flooding. We just now need to raise funds to build new stables to continue our work.
The plans
We have had a builder help draw up a plan for low cost stables made of mostly natural materials such as bamboo and wood. The floors will be concrete due to the heavy rains we get here and a tack room and feed storage room is included. We have planned for 7 stalls each with an individual exercise area off of the back to ensure the horses get the best care possible. An isolation or stallion stall is also included to keep horses separated if needed.
Make a difference
These stables will provide a clean and easy to care for environment for sick or injured horses. They will help us to continue our work of education, medical care, rescue and rehabilitation. In the last 3 years we have rescued 16 horses and rehomed most of them. We have also helped with free horse clinics treating hundreds of horses and see 4 to 6 horses per week for minor medical care. Currently we work mostly out my work and my boss is very tolerant but a dedicated location is needed.
Risks & Challenges
Not only do we have to build stables but we will need to arrange for electricity and fresh water to the stables. These costs have been included in our estimate. And we will have to find time to build the stables while we all work our regular jobs since we are volunteers. Fortunately it is low season so hopefully we can complete them prior to the island getting busy again!