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Saturday 12 OctOber 2019

Faye Ranch, a special horse sanctuary hidden in Jamanota

by Dilma Arends Geerman the care of horses and has
over 40 years of working di-
SANTA CRUZ — Aruba has rectly with horses and other
one special horse sanctu- equines.
ary and it started with a
Holy Communion gift de- Her husband’s work al-
cades ago. The stead is lowed family De Jong/Drost
an effort by Frederique to travel around the world,
Drost, her husband Oliver visiting Aruba once before.
de Jong and their children. After Houston they decid-
Together they founded the ed to return to Aruba and
Equine Sanctuary Aruba, bought their home close
ESA, which is called Faye to the Arikok National Park.
Ranch. The ranch is dedi- The location and spacious
cated to the rescue of property was exactly what
weak, sick, and even mis- the family was looking for
treated horses. to realize their next plans.
Frederique was always set
“The name Faye is based on having a horse sanctu- be euthanized. Rocky luck- “Hooves are more impor- horses need big spaces
on where we lived before ary on the island. ily has improved and is now tant to the animal’s health to roam around and thus
moving permanently to accompanied by Prince. than most people realize. keep their hooves under
Aruba. We lived in Hous- The initial work was hard. “Faye Ranch cannot take Iron shoes do not only weak- control in a natural way.” A
ton, on Faye Road. There, I Husband and children all more than four horses at the en the hooves but also af- horse needs to walk at least
worked with a horse sanctu- helped in creating path- same time. That is the maxi- fect the nerves connected 16 kilometer a day in or-
ary as well,” Drost explains. ways in the thorny acasia mum number for the space to the feet. Because of the der for its hoof not to grow
Drost was born and raised tortuosa or as it is known, we have,” says Drost. iron shoes horses do not get too much and become a
in The Netherlands and was the Hubada tree which is to feel the ground or floor. problem she says. “A hoof
always interested in horses. abundant in the area. The Why the hooves And as a result, most de- is like a nail but one that
Her parents gave her first family ensured to create Drost is a specialist in equine velop arthritis or other issues is needed to hold up the
horse, a pony, on her Com- shady spaces and enough hoof care. However, unlike that cause lots of pain and weight of the animal. An
munion Day. But Parinka, as safe areas for injured horses most farriers who do also suffering.” iron shoe is like an acrylic
she called her pony, was to to move around and hide the trimming and balanc- layer on the natural nail.
be shared with her young- from the sun. The first two ing of horses hooves, she Drost assures that a horse This means that like with
er sibling. She got her own horses that arrived at Faye does not believe in the or a donkey for that mat- human nails this unnatu-
horse when she was a little Ranch were Olympia and need of iron shoes. In fact ter do not need iron shoes. ral material will debilitate
older and called it Light- Rocky. Frederique always she wonders whether peo- “Their hooves are made of the nail or in this case, the
feet, which is the name looks first at the legs and ple understand the dam- keratin, the same as hu- hooves.” Moreover, an iron
of the horse in the popu- hooves of the horses and age a horse shoe does to man nails. And like nails, shoe can even take away
lar Dutch children series in the case of Olympia she the health of a horse or any hooves grow. But natu- the stability of a horse.
book Arendsoog (Eagle’s was unfortunately too far other equine, like donkeys, ral movement keeps the Horses can easily lose their
Eye). Since then, Frede- gone. Her pain was un- particularly, if the hooves growth under control. This footing because of the iron
rique dedicated her life to bearable and she had to are not regularly trimmed. explains why donkeys and shoes, which contribute
to the animals experienc-
ing 800 times more impact
when walking.

Horseback riding
Frederique encourages
horseback riding tours on
the island as it is one way to
get the animals out walk-
ing. She urges the ranches
however to take the time
of the day into consider-
ation to avoid harsh sun.
“And they truly should fo-
cus on the care of legs and
the hooves. Take care of
the wellbeing of the ani-
mal. Ideally, remove the
iron shoes to avoid slipping
and the negative physical
impact.”

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