Mongolian Herder Veterinarian Training

This winter is extremely cold (-15 to -38 °C) and challenging to herders, especially in western areas of Mongolia, including Erdenemandal, Khairkhan, and Ulziit Soums of Arkhangai Province. Steppe and Hoof team with head veterinarian Batzorig.Ts worked in 10 different Bags (the smallest territorial administrative unit in Mongolia) of as mentioned Soums in Arkhangai Province, crossing approximately 2100 km, from dawn to dusk everyday. 

In the scope of the Autumn project for herders, we reached out to herder families in their pastures. We visited 72 herder families and delivered veterinary medicine packages respectively alongside professional veterinarian advice and instruction on proper usage. The veterinary medicine package included Orondo wound spray for superficial wounds and anti-infection, anti-parasite drops and medicine including ivermectin and deltamethrin, Albendazole liquid for treating gastrointestinal worms and worm infections, Vitamin E- Selenium for preventing from Tocopherol Deficiency,  anti-inflammatories such as AINIL, eye ointments, 18G needles and 10ml syringes.

Ruminants have been suffering from open wounds and lacerations as the ground was covered with icy snow with a 15-80 cm thick layer in the areas. Unfortunately, herders did not have proper knowledge of treating such wounds and cuts which made the animals cope with the condition naturally. Our veterinarian Batzorig.Ts treated sheep and goats in their fences by disinfecting the wounds, opening abscessed lacerations, and then applying antibiotic ointments and putting sprays on top while instructing herders about the appropriate treatments and further steps to take. Therefore, feeding animals in autumn was quite unfamiliar to herders this year, especially this time of the year (early November). We have discovered that baby animals including kids, lambs, and calves have been suffering from diarrhea because of their newly harvested grass and diet in the feedlots; our veterinarian advised herders on how to feed animals with proper amounts and mix of herbs, grain, and grass in feedlots.

Cordial greetings and special thanks to our donors who made our project possible and helped us reach out to those herders in the remote area during such a difficult time of the year. 

In addition to donating directly to our projects, GlobalGiving allows our supporters and donors to create their fundraising pages to invite their networks to support Mongolian Herders and their livestock. Also, becoming one of our monthly donors is always open to everyone. Recurring donors are very helpful as these resources enable us to continue our work.