Page 32 - Appaloosas Now October/November 2020

Helping The Horses Of Gili
MBy Tory Taylor
y name is Tori Taylor and I am a born and bred
redneck Oklahoma girl. I got my first horse when I was 13 by hitchhiking to an auction and purchasing a POA who was being sold by the pound for meat.
I attended OSU and have a bachelors degree in Animal Science/Pre Veterinary Medicine and also a two year degree in Equine Management from Rogers State College in Claremore, OK. I spent a good portion
of my teenage years and early 20’s training, riding,
and competing in horse events. And in the end my career became Veterinary Technician moving up into management. I of course then did the silly thing and married a non horse guy. We traveled a lot and became dive instructors and decided to move to the islands...he hated it....
Fast forward a few years. I got new husband who was more into my animals and started again to chase my dream of living in the islands. In 2014 we found a management job at Lutwala Dive on the island of Gili
Trawangan near Bali, Indonesia. The unique thing about this and two neighboring islands is that motorized vehicles are not allowed only horses, bicycles, and your own two feet. So we sold everything and moved to the other side of the world!
It has been destiny it seems for here we can live a simpler life, enjoy the ocean and good weather, have a decent income, and there are HORSES! Being used for local transport on the 3 islands are hardy locally bred ponies and small horses that are wiry, tough, and strong. There are also larger horses with some more western influence used for beach rides. In all usually around 400 horses and ponies live on these three tiny islands. But what I quickly learned was that despite local efforts husbandry and care was severely lacking and there was no veterinary care except at once or twice yearly free horse clinics.
In 2015 I founded a charity called Horses of Gili. This charity was designed with the purpose of helping to
Currently we are helping to provide food for around 250 horses
on 3 small islands.
32 Appaloosas Now - October/November