On Saturday 30th July 2022, the Equitrans road fleet completed a successful equine-mercy-dash to the Emirate of Fujeirah to rescue horses trapped by the recent torrential flooding.
In total, 21 horses were evacuated free of charge from the Fujeirah area and taken to MBH Private Endurance Stables in Marmoom Dubai.
Over the past few days, the emirates of Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujeirah have been experiencing torrential rains, resulting in substantial flooding, which is considered the worst in 44-years.
And, while the government has been overseeing human evacuations across the three Emirates, the team at Equitrans coordinated its own mercy-dash, with three large equine transport vehicles relocating and rescuing 21 horses in total.
Equitrans Founder and Managing Director, David Robson said, “we couldn’t just standby and watch the horrendous images coming out of the Northern Emirates, as a team we knew we needed to act swiftly and get onboard and help.”
“At the stables in Fujeriah, the water was already up to the horses’ bellies and continuing to rise. The yard manager had been moving them to higher ground but remained worried at just how high the water would go.”
“At this point we were beginning to receive messages from a number of people asking for help and we got onboard straight away. Penny Amond from Pets Passport was the first to contact me for help and then there were a few others in the equestrian community that reached out to me via WhatsApp and social media.
“The messages began around 2pm and we jumped into action finding out more details of where the horses where and we had a team member go ahead to explore the safest ways into Fujerah as a lot of the roads where still flooded. We sent a ten horse lorry, a nine horse lorry and one two-horse van to remove 21 horses, including two Arab stallions. Thankfully we were able to get the lorries to the place the horses where being held temporarily just as it began to get dark.”
“In many places, the water was so deep we needed a lead pick-up truck to scout the roads and ensure the route was safe for the trucks.”
“We started loading around 7pm last night and the whole operation finished around 3am this morning. The whole team worked throughout the night, but talking to everyone this morning, they would all do it again in a heart-beat.”
“As always, i would just like to give a big shout out to the Equitrans team and most importantly Bin Ham stables and Penny Amond from Pets Passport that worked together to ensure the horses got to safety in Dubai where veterinary care was accessible.”