OUT OF AFRICA
By Teena Payne

Motivated by a keen sense of adventure, Teena Payne headed to Africa from Perth in 2003 and now lives in Arusha, Tanzania, which is situated in the eastern part of Africa.

Along with her husband Steve Chumbley, Teena spent the first few years managing safari camps in wilderness areas of Tanzania, returning to Arusha, the heart of the Tanzanian safari industry, to set up their own safari company, The Infinite Horizon.

Apart from differences in horsekeeping practices, equestrian pursuits in Africa, and Tanzania in particular, take on a whole new meaning when compared to those in Australia. Horses are often trucked to neighbouring Kenya for competitions, which Teena describes as a bit like bit like going from Kalgoorlie to Perth only with an international border crossing in between, a lot of paper work and very big pot holes! Teena’s driving stints from Morawa to Perth with her event horse years ago now seem pretty tame, as do her worries over colic, a pricked hoof or hard ground. Keeping horses alive in Tanzania is another story and emphasises the need for travellers and importers to observe the country’s protective customs regulations.

Although Arusha is only four degrees off the equator its elevation means the temperature range is similar to Perth, WA, only with two wet seasons - long rains during April and May and short rains in November. It gets cold June through August and hot from October through January.
Stabled in airy cement stables, three quarters open to a high makuti (grass) roof with sawdust bedding, the horses are turned out during the day, stabled overnight and lightly rugged during the colder months. Every stable has a number of grooms to assist with the day-to-day running of the yard.

Horses are fed on a locally made horse meal, comprised of maize bran, wheat bran, cotton seed, sunflower seed, minerals, salt and limestone. In contrast to Australia, where many horses are fed on oats or oaten hay, there are no oats grown in Tanzania as there is no human need for it. Maize is the local staple grain and wheat is grown for bread. Grass is cut by hand and stored in the stables, hay - when it can be obtained - is poor quality and really just baled grass, rather than a crop that has been specifically grown for hay.
Fencing is generally post and rail or stone walls, and horse owners generally have some form of security - often enlisting a security company and dogs - as there is a big difference between those who have and those who do not, so often small items like a rope, bucket or jumping rail become desirable to those who do not have much.

BREEDING AND IMPORTING
A few owners breed horses, but generally horses come from Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, and these are mostly Thoroughbreds, a few Warmbloods, some Appaloosas and a couple of Australian Stock horses. Imported horses require health certificates showing a current vaccination against African horse sickness; that they have originated from an area free of Glanders disease, (a highly contagious bacterial disease of the lymphatic system spread by inoculation, inhalation and ingestion, which is transmissible to humans through cuts, scratches and abrasions); and that they have been sprayed and de-wormed. Even within Tanzania horses travelling through national parks are required to show a clean bill of health before being issued with a ‘movement permit’, for the health and safety of the wildlife.

DISEASES
It is said ‘prevention is better than cure’ but for many exotic diseases there is no cure, so those folk who have the greatest success in keeping horses healthy follow strict routines. Preventative measures not only keep livestock healthy but also prevent outbreaks of disease in wildlife and the spread of zoonotic diseases (those that can transfer from animals to humans), such as rabies.
Horses are vaccinated yearly against rabies, tetanus and African horse sickness. A pour-on insecticide is used quarterly to discourage ticks and tsetse flies from biting and thus preventing the spread of tick fever and sleeping sickness. Further more, the horse’s legs are periodically sprayed to impede ticks from climbing aboard in the first place. All horse’s temperatures are taken daily and this is on top of a regular worming and shoeing program!

Whilst this is the general health care routine for horses in Tanzania, environmental diversity such as rainfall can affect vector (a creature that can carry disease) populations and parasite reservoirs within livestock and wildlife, as this may provide ideal breeding conditions. This means horses in different regions are vulnerable to different diseases. For example, horses ridden on safari in the Kilimanjaro region are prone to tick fever as the grassland in this region supports dense populations of ticks, whilst horses ridden on safari in coastal regions are prone to sleeping sickness, a disease transmitted by tsetse flies. Even with precautions and careful monitoring a disease can wipe out a stable with the diagnosis being inconclusive and the result heartbreaking for horse owners.

Recently a disease presenting as ‘strangles’ killed horses (but oddly not ponies) from two neighbouring stables. Extensive post mortems could not confirm strangles nor the pathogen that caused the disease. The result was immediate closure of the border between Tanzania and Kenya for the import and export of horses and both stables were quarantined for 12 months.

There is a resemblance, in some ways, to rural Australia where access to vets is limited and where horse owners need to be largely self reliant with regard to their horse’s health. Early detection is the key factor in ensuring the best chance of survival for a horse in this country and, since an elevated temperature is the first sign of the body’s immune system being activated, temperatures are routinely taken and recorded every morning. This may seem an ‘over the top’ measure to those horse owners living in Australia’s relatively safe horsekeeping areas, however in countries such as Tanzania, an elevated temperature combined with a loss of appetite and/or pale mucous membranes are the initial signs of a number of potentially fatal diseases, some of which, with early detection can be cured and limited from spreading further.

Methods that play an essential role in the prevention of disease in horses in Tanzania include reducing exposure of susceptible animals to vectors (stabling horses at night), controlling vector populations by utilising tsetse fly traps, burning off) to destroy their habitats and egg reservoirs, and reducing potential pathogen reservoirs (vaccinating other susceptible species such as cats and dogs as in the case of rabies).
In addition to microscopic pathogens, predatory animals can also be a cause for concern. Horse riding safaris usually involve camping in the bush overnight where horses are either tied to a line or corralled in a thorn-bush yard. Depending on what plants are around, yards are made of one of the many species of armed acacias, ranging in height 1 to 6 metres high with thorns from 2 to 20 mm, an effective guard against wild animals! Added to this barrier, fires are lit in the vicinity and guards posted to keep watch for lions and leopards. Fortunately mounted horses are considered too menacing to be edible!

It is however the puff adder, which relies on camouflage and concealment to ambush its prey, that in fact causes the most problems. Since the adder is reluctant to move, it is often trodden on and so snake bite from an adder is not uncommon amongst humans and animals alike. Though necrosis of tissue at the site of bite is common, treatment of adder bite in horses is generally successful if tended to immediately. A combination of antibiotics, relaxants, bute and vitamin B are used over seven days to treat adder bite, the main aim being to protect against infection, reduce swelling and pain and boost the immune system.

Keeping horses in Tanzania certainly has it’s challenges and rewards, however for Teena and Steve it is their home - a country of remote wilderness with a startling depth of beauty and at times unforgiving aridity. It is a land of contrast, colour and culture and remains one of the most peaceable and delightful African countries to visit.

About the Author
Teena Payne was raised on a wheat and sheep property in Morawa, WA, before pursuing a successful career in education and following her love of eventing. After teaching in the Middle East and West Africa, she gave up a position as Principal in Nigeria to follow a shared dream with her husband Steve of establishing a business in tourism in Tanzania. Teena and Steve have jointly managed properties in beautiful and remote areas such as the Masaai Mara (Kenya), Tarangire National Park and Mahale Mountains National Park(Tanzania).

For more information contact: The Infinite Horizon phone: +255 784 910331
email: safari@theinfinitehorizon.net
www.theinfinitehorizon.net