Hundreds of ponies and horses used to pull tongas (two-wheeled passenger carts) will be better off from now on, thanks to Animal Rahat’s farriery lessons. Farriery is the skill of shoeing horses, which also entails—or should entail—cleaning and trimming their hooves. The fact is that many traditional farriers in rural India do a haphazard job, often affixing shoes crookedly, using inappropriate tools, or driving nails in ways that cause pain.

Last month, Animal Rahat brought in a farriery expert and held training workshops for horse owners at tonga stands in numerous villages. The owners’ response was extremely positive—especially because they understood that proper shoeing is not only safer and kinder for the horses but also likely to lessen the chance that an owner will lose work because of a horse’s injury.

On behalf of all the animals who received vital help from Animal Rahat this past month—and the tens of thousands more whom we help throughout the year—thank you so much. With the generosity and compassion of our supporters, we are changing many people’s minds and changing many animals’ lives for the better.