We have been trying for several years to provide fresh, clean drinking water for the working animals of Marrakech. ‘Not very difficult, that,’ you might say, ‘Build a couple of good, old-fashioned water-troughs’.

Ah, but you haven’t reckoned with the bureaucracy of the Moroccan authorities, nor the cunning of its citizens.



After several months of petitioning, we did indeed finally get permission to build a couple of troughs around the city. ‘Water is expensive’, they said.…

SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad) is one of the world’s oldest international veterinary charities, providing practical care for around 380,000 working animals a year in 8 countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Millions of people around the world still get their income from a working animal, be it a donkey, mule, horse or camel. For thousands of years they have been the only truck and taxi that millions of…

After the heady success of what was to be our first fundraiser, Colleen and I agreed that we wanted to keep it going - and so, Special Horses was "born." We kept the site, and began designing our next fundraiser. We decided it should coincide with Rolex and the Kentucky Derby (so, just about a year ago), with the tag line, "They are all Winners." The hook - we would open up the site to entries, for a $10 donation, payable directly to one of four participating groups (True Innocents Equine…