Moyogalpa, Nicaragua, January 18th, 2013
Muriel Gomez, one our must important local contacts on Ometepe, predicted as many as 100 horses at our clinic in La Concha yesterday, and, as usual, was not off by much: 112 horses were seen, a phenomenal turnout for a first visit to a new community.
Yesterday went about as well as it possibly could have, for several reasons. The worksite was physically well suited to the task (which is, to say the least, not always the case, as some are pretty inconvenient, and some are downright dangerous).
The response from the community was almost universally positive, with, among other things, several young children gathered around Chris Hadel, our farrier, to watch him work. Most importantly, many spontaneous and independent comments from community members led several of us to believe that La Concha would be
receptive of, and willing to support, a local veterinary practic
e. This was of especial interest to the Nicaraguan students with us as part of our group, and is one of the explicit goals of the HSVMA-RAVS program in every country in which we operate.
The case load was the usual mix of routine preventive care (vaccination and deworming), dental work and hoof care,
and castrations (we did 12), with no major (or even minor!) complications. We saw a few cases of hoof lesions that might have been ascribed to Vesicular Stomatitis, but no oral lesions. VS, on this island at least, appears to be a disease very amenable to prevention by isolation, as we have historically seen many cases each year here in Moyogalpa, only about 12 kilometers away.
Later this morning (it’s 5AM here), we leave for Urbaite and Balgue, two communities we have visited many times in the past. Balgue is the end of the paved road, and it’s 4WD all the way from there to the far end of the island. More reports to follow as we make our way around the island, internet connectivity allowing…..
David Turoff, DVM