Love My Bay chats to Carla Hazel from Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit

Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit was founded in June 2006 as a division of the Highveld Horse Care Unit, but has run independently since 2012. Its purpose is to provide services to ensure the wellbeing and ongoing care of equines in all Metro Townships. These include Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), Uitenhage, Despatch, Humansdorp and Grahamstown. The unit also maintains good working relationships with the NMMM Cowboys and SAPS.

Love My Bay has the pleasure of chatting to ECHCU Manager Carla Hazel this week.

LMB: You have been part of the Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit for the past 8 years. What made you get involved with them?

CH: I was following the unit’s page on Facebook and was submitting a monthly donation, as well as keeping up to date with happenings via their monthly newsletter. It was here that I saw the late Megan Hope advertise a potential position at the Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit.

The advert stated that should you get to the end of the newsletter and think you can do the job, to please apply. I jumped at the opportunity and whether or not I was the only person to apply, I got the job and have not looked back since.

LMB: Since the unit opened in 2006 and you joined 8 years ago, what changes have you seen happening? Positive and negative…

CH: Positive changes, is definitely less donkey carts, which we know were in abundance a few years ago. Now in Walmer we only have two reasonably responsible ‘carties’ left. In Uitenhage we have seen a decrease, however it is still unfortunately a problem, but one that we, along with the SPCA in Uitenhage, are working on.

Negative impacts have definitely been more since the outbreak of Covid. The pandemic saw a loss of some big funders, volunteers and money to cover finances in general. A lot more people, also affected by the pandemic financially, were not able to afford to keep their horses anymore and therefore surrendered to us. This obviously has increased our costs as well as the number of mouths to feed and the amount of equine to maintain.

LMB: Social media definitely helps provide exposure by reaching large target markets at a time. Do you feel you have benefitted from social media in terms of volunteer increases, donations, fundraisers etc?

CH: Yes most definitely!!! Social media plays a huge part in our adoptions, complaints / abuse reports and of course fundraisers.

LMB: The Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit houses ponies, horses and donkeys. What is the main reason you find they end up in your care?

CH: Just as with the surrender of household pets due to owners no longer being able to maintain them, the same applies with your larger pets and animals. When big changes happen in people’s lives such as divorce, death, disability and of course job loss or financial problems, pets are usually the first to be surrendered and unfortunately horses do cost a lot more to feed and maintain than dogs and cats.

LMB: Just like your neighbours AWS (Animal Welfare Society), you rely solely on donations and sponsors to keep the unit going. Besides fostering where can the public get more involved?

CH: Any form of funding is always appreciated, especially monthly donations as this allows for more sustainability in the long run. Fodder is always in need – even a few bales here and there adds up and helps tremendously. Another area we need assistance with are vet bills of course.

Once or twice we have had the wonderful surprise of a good Samaritan paying off some of our vet bill at 9th Ave Vet (Dr Hayward). Every month there are vet bills, so anyone wanting to assist with this is encouraged to please contact the 9th Avenue Vet for more information.

LMB: Educating people about the responsibility that comes with any animal is extremely important. What valuable advice would you want to share with anyone wanting to invest in a equine family member?

CH: Firstly, please make sure you are aware of the monthly costs and ensure you can cover them. Not all equine’s cost the same to maintain. A Thoroughbred is going to cost more than a donkey to keep for example. People need to be prepared to spend at least R2000 to R3000 per horse per month depending on the individual horse’s needs.

Secondly, be patient when looking for your new forever equine friend. Never rush the process!

Thirdly, if you have made the decision to add an equine to your family, give it the best chance you can, by allowing them time to settle properly first before making rash decisions to send back or pass on. It takes at least 6 months to a year for any animal to settle properly in a new home.

If after that, you still think it is not going to work, then at least you know you tried your best for them. Horses especially are very sensitive to change. They need time to adjust and feel safe. Patience is key.

LMB: Are there any animals currently available for adoption? If yes what policies and procedures are involved?

CH: Yes. Most of the animals in our care are up for adoption. However, some of the equine surrendered are from the underprivileged areas and so those animals are brought to us for urgent vet assistance, gelding etc and are reunited with their owners when they are 100% fit to be returned. Please always first ask who is available so we can assist you in the best way possible. It is one of our main focus areas that we always try to find the best home for an animal.

The three main conditions on adopting are:

Property checks are conducted and are an imperative part of the decision making before adoptions are approved. Properties must have all amenities required for the safe, sheltered and secure upkeeping of our animals.

No sales or rehoming of the animals yourself. If you cannot keep the animal for whatever the reason, it must either be returned to us at the unit or be rehomed through us.

We do not allow any breeding! Adoption fees are R650 for a donkey, R1000 for a pony and R2000 for a horse. The adoption fee does not cover gelding – however so if the animal has not yet been gelded it would be a requirement for the adoptive family to cover this when the time comes.

LMB: Do you have a dedicated fundraising team for the unit?

CH: Unfortunately not. A lot of different people have helped through different projects over the years. But if anyone wants to take that on for us please feel free to contact us. It would be greatly appreciated

LMB: In terms of donations. What do the unit accept from the public in terms of blankets, tack etc.? Can they drop off directly at the Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit? Anything you particularly are always requiring like lucerne etc?

CH: Yes all suitable donations are welcome and fodder is ALWAYS a big yes please!  We welcome any donations of second hand tack or goods that can be sold on our auction site on Facebook if not used for the animals directly. For those interested in the page it is called the “ECHCU Auction Room” and is run by one of our very committed directors, Tracy Schoeman.

LMB: What do you hope to see happening in the next 5 years?

CH: I would love to see another piece of land available for the horses to move to and maybe a few of our donkeys. The space we have at the moment at AWS gets overcrowded very quickly and due to lack of grazing available, we have to acquire more feed constantly. So we definitely hope to have more land available at some point. Hopefully, somewhere safer than the area we are currently are in.

We will also be needing another committed staff member in the near future, to hopefully take over the reins at some point. This type of work is exhausting mentally, emotionally and physically and so the baton will need to be passed on to someone who can ensure the unit can sustain itself for as long as horse care rescue is needed.

To adopt please contact Carla Hazel on 072 357 2505 for appointment and property check.

Visit the Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit’s Website or find them on Facebook.

Horses Available for Adoption:

DONATIONS CAN BE MADE TO: