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A14 LOCAL
Wednesday 13 november 2019
Faye Ranch, a special horse sanctuary hidden in Jamanota

ancing of horses hooves, she does
not believe in the need of iron
shoes. In fact she wonders whether
people understand the damage
a horse shoe does to the health of
a horse or any other equine, like
donkeys, particularly, if the hooves
are not regularly trimmed. “Hooves
are more important to the animal’s
health than most people realize.
Iron shoes do not only weaken the
hooves but also affect the nerves
connected to the feet. Because of
the iron shoes horses do not get to
feel the ground or floor. And as a
result, most develop arthritis or oth-
er issues that cause lots of pain and
suffering.”

Drost assures that a horse or a don-
key for that matter do not need
iron shoes. “Their hooves are made
by Dilma Arends Geerman pathways in the thorny acasia tor- unbearable and she had to be of keratin, the same as human
SANTA CRUZ — Aruba has one spe- tuosa or as it is known, the Hubada euthanized. Rocky luckily has im- nails. And like nails, hooves grow.
cial horse sanctuary and it started tree which is abundant in the area. proved and is now accompanied But natural movement keeps the
with a Holy Communion gift de- The family ensured to create shady by Prince. “Faye Ranch cannot growth under control. This explains
cades ago. The stead is an effort spaces and enough safe areas take more than four horses at the why donkeys and horses need big
by Frederique Drost, her husband for injured horses to move around same time. That is the maximum spaces to roam around and thus
Oliver de Jong and their children. and hide from the sun. The first two number for the space we have,” keep their hooves under control in
Together they founded the Equine horses that arrived at Faye Ranch says Drost. a natural way.” A horse needs to
Sanctuary Aruba, ESA, which is were Olympia and Rocky. Frede- walk at least 16 kilometer a day in
called Faye Ranch. The ranch is rique always looks first at the legs Why the hooves order for its hoof not to grow too
dedicated to the rescue of weak, and hooves of the horses and in Drost is a specialist in equine hoof much and become a problem
sick, and even mistreated horses. the case of Olympia she was unfor- care. However, unlike most farriers she says. “A hoof is like a nail but
tunately too far gone. Her pain was who do also the trimming and bal- one that is needed to hold up the
“The name Faye is based on where weight of the animal. An iron shoe
we lived before moving perma- is like an acrylic layer on the natu-
nently to Aruba. We lived in Hous- ral nail. This means that like with
ton, on Faye Road. There, I worked human nails this unnatural mate-
with a horse sanctuary as well,” rial will debilitate the nail or in this
Drost explains. Drost was born and case, the hooves.” Moreover, an
raised in The Netherlands and was iron shoe can even take away the
always interested in horses. Her par- stability of a horse. Horses can eas-
ents gave her first horse, a pony, on ily lose their footing because of the
her Communion Day. But Parinka, iron shoes, which contribute to the
as she called her pony, was to be animals experiencing 800 times
shared with her younger sibling. She more impact when walking.
got her own horse when she was a
little older and called it Lightfeet, Horseback riding
which is the name of the horse in Frederique encourages horseback
the popular Dutch children series riding tours on the island as it is one
book Arendsoog (Eagle’s Eye). way to get the animals out walking.
Since then, Frederique dedicated She urges the ranches however to
her life to the care of horses and take the time of the day into con-
has over 40 years of working direct- sideration to avoid harsh sun. “And
ly with horses and other equines. they truly should focus on the care
of legs and the hooves. Take care
Her husband’s work allowed fam- of the wellbeing of the animal. Ide-
ily De Jong/Drost to travel around ally, remove the iron shoes to avoid
the world, visiting Aruba once be- slipping and the negative physical
fore. After Houston they decided impact.”
to return to Aruba and bought
their home close to the Arikok Na- With a little help
tional Park. The location and spa- The work at Faye Ranch is sub-
cious property was exactly what stantial. Trimming and healing
the family was looking for to realize deformed hooves is not easy as
their next plans. Frederique was al- horses do not always cooperate.
ways set on having a horse sanctu- Drost keeps a log on everything
ary on the island. she does and photographs the de-
velopment of the hooves.
The initial work was hard. Husband
and children all helped in creating Continued on Page 15