Wow, what a situation! One tends to think of cats and dogs and zoo animals, but Spartak...! I appreciated how the loading was managed. It's a situation which happens also outside a war zone... You spotted it immediately: a narrow dark space is something to be avoided, especially by a young horse with no previous experience and no expert companion to show it's ok. It may have been easier without the pallets, but it looks like they were transporting other stuff also, so it may not have been possible. (In my times, it was thought that a narrow slot helped the horse balance by leaning on the sidewalls, while now the prevalent opinion is that it's better to have the horse free to balance on its own). The photo of Spartak inside the van shows a moderately relaxed face. Hooray for Kolia!
Yes, there was a lot of stuff that had to be taken along with Spartak. I admit I thought after about 20 minutes that this was just not going to work and he would be left behind. But the guys persisted and triumphed!
With horses, as a rule, if you behave like you need to do it in 2 minutes, you end up taking 2 hours. If you start like you have 2 hours, it only takes 2 minutes. 20' is not much or unusual in the given situation! no question of leaving him behind. Good job, all!
It actually took about 40 minutes in the end, but they started having some gradual success after 20. After watching the process, I can definitely see the wisdom in your comment about hurrying!
It's maddening. I'll off back to east Ukraine in three weeks' time and will be on an even more focused mission than ever to try to match tiny volunteer groups to at least some Western funding.
Wow, what a situation! One tends to think of cats and dogs and zoo animals, but Spartak...! I appreciated how the loading was managed. It's a situation which happens also outside a war zone... You spotted it immediately: a narrow dark space is something to be avoided, especially by a young horse with no previous experience and no expert companion to show it's ok. It may have been easier without the pallets, but it looks like they were transporting other stuff also, so it may not have been possible. (In my times, it was thought that a narrow slot helped the horse balance by leaning on the sidewalls, while now the prevalent opinion is that it's better to have the horse free to balance on its own). The photo of Spartak inside the van shows a moderately relaxed face. Hooray for Kolia!
Yes, there was a lot of stuff that had to be taken along with Spartak. I admit I thought after about 20 minutes that this was just not going to work and he would be left behind. But the guys persisted and triumphed!
With horses, as a rule, if you behave like you need to do it in 2 minutes, you end up taking 2 hours. If you start like you have 2 hours, it only takes 2 minutes. 20' is not much or unusual in the given situation! no question of leaving him behind. Good job, all!
It actually took about 40 minutes in the end, but they started having some gradual success after 20. After watching the process, I can definitely see the wisdom in your comment about hurrying!
Just got back from Ukraine, including a few days there… so much respect for all the volunteers…
It just gets harder, doesn't it! Hardest for the people doing the most with the least support.
Exactly, and it seems so unfair that they take such huge risks to help others and also have to fund everything themselves
It's maddening. I'll off back to east Ukraine in three weeks' time and will be on an even more focused mission than ever to try to match tiny volunteer groups to at least some Western funding.