The Equid Power Network is a coalition created by:

• European Draught Horse Federation (FECTU)
• The Donkey Sanctuary
• World Horse Welfare

With the aim to highlight the benefits of working equids by promoting their responsible use and care, recognizing them as a valid, affordable, clean and renewable power source, as well as their value in human livelihoods through their contribution to financial, ecological and social capital.

Our general aims and objectives are:

• To promote the potential of working equids as a valid and sustainable energy source, for sound techniques in agriculture, forestry, environment management and mobility.
• To raise the profile and protect the welfare of working equids, by increasing recognition of their value in human livelihoods through their contribution to financial, ecological and social capital.
• To promote the recognition of the importance of working equids by decision and policy makers and by civil society at all levels, ensuring a real development and improvement of this technology.
• To demonstrate that healthy working equids play a key role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by increasing productivity and income (reducing poverty and hunger), by reducing time and human labour in the production chains, by empowering women and enabling education (by greatly reducing the working effort of family members, mainly women and children), but also by promoting working equids as an affordable, clean and renewable energy source, able to carefully manage and protect natural resources, including soil, water, landscape and biodiversity.
• To promote modern small-medium scale equipment specifically developed for animal traction use.
• To demonstrate the increasing progress and professionalisation of the sector related with animal traction tools in recent years, for crop production (in all phases of the process), harvesting as well as post-production operations, among other areas.
• To create a comprehensive specific database of manufacturers dedicated to animal traction (both implements and harness).

If you want to be added to the database of manufactures please send us an mail to info@fectu.org

Many of the world’s most urgent Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved by cost-effective and simple solutions that benefit some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society. The most striking example is the welfare of working equids (horses, donkeys and hybrids - mules and hinnies).

The vast majority of the world’s equid population remains working animals. An estimated 112 million working horses, donkeys and hybrids are essential to the livelihoods of some of the poorest communities in Africa, Asia and South/Central America. The traditional beast of burden, their socio-economic value is often taken for granted, with people taking advantage of their hardworking traits.

In rural areas, working equids are often used in farming and as transportation: they pull ploughs and carts, deliver goods to market, herd livestock and collect water from wells. In urban areas, they are mainly used in construction, transport of people and goods, and refuse collection. By enabling their owners to participate in work, they boost economic capacity, with further benefits from enabling education to promoting gender equality by allowing women to be economically active.

Simple interventions can empower owners to keep their working equids healthy and ensure their continued productive benefit. These interventions include improved access to good, affordable harnessing, hoof care and veterinary interventions, and, above all, the empowerment of their owners with better knowledge of equid management.

When referring to animal traction and the use of this source of energy, donkeys assumed an exceptional role worldwide, providing power and transport at low cost, representing in the last thousands of years a cornerstone in the development and support of populations worldwide.

The history of donkeys (Equus asinus) is tied to human history. According to archaeological evidences of ancient Egypt where entombed equids’ bones were found, they were consistent with heavy load carrying due to evidence of strain found on their backbones suggests that the donkey was probably domesticated around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.

The domestication of the donkey was a pivotal point in human history, leading to a large-scale revolution in the organization and life-style of cities and pastoral societies, improving transport systems and promoting overland trade in Africa and Asia. Donkeys probably reached the Iberian Peninsula by the hands of Phoenician traders and with the expansion of the Roman Empire, during the Roman conquests, reached all points of Europe.

Thousands of years later, donkeys are still kept for draft purposes and relied upon as a major source of traction all over the world, because of their desirable traits. Donkeys are able to work and tolerate extreme weather conditions, have enhanced disease resistance, and can survive on minimal amounts of food. They are essential to the agricultural and industrial activities, but also play a key role in the social and economic support in many of these countries, particularly in rural areas of limited income, where they present unique characteristics for sustainable animal production.

Even in countries in the process of rapid growth and industrialization (for example China, Brazil or Mexico), the populations of working donkeys remain relatively stable, mainly owned by a large rural and urban population with low incomes and little or no access to motorized modern technology, and where animal energy clearly represents a vast and extremely important power resource.

Despite the high and increasing number of donkeys worldwide, the number of donkeys in Europe suffered a major decline in recent decades. The technology improvement and mechanization of agriculture registered during the 20th century in Europe, together with the rural exodus, greatly reduced the need of equids as animals of draft and burden, leading to a drastic reduction of the number of donkeys. This process was somewhat slower in the southern European.

Reference:

Rodrigues, J. B, McLean, A, Garrett, C. (2015) Animal traction and work. Volume 2: Functionalities of the donkeys. Current Donkey Production and Functionality. In Press.

When referring to animal traction and the use of this source of energy, mules assumed an exceptional role worldwide, providing power and transport at low cost, representing in the last thousands of years a cornerstone in the development and support of populations worldwide.

Mules (from a jack and a mare) and hinnies (from a stallion and a jenny) are the most successful hybrids in the family of equids. It has been claimed that mules combine the virtues of donkeys and horses, in what is known as the hybrid vigor: improved or increased function of any biological quality in a hybrid offspring.

Reputed for their hard work and strength, mules and hinnies were of paramount importance for centuries as robust working animals, usually performing heavier functions. These animals can effectively work in harder terrains, with its use being often favoured in more mountainous and humid type climates.

Thousands of years later, mules/hinnies are still kept for draft purposes and relied upon as a major source of traction all over the world, because of their desirable traits. Mules are able to work and tolerate extreme weather conditions, have enhanced disease resistance, and can survive on minimal feed inputs. These animals are essential to the agricultural and industrial activities, but also play a key role in the social and economic support in many of these countries, particularly in rural areas of limited income, where they present unique characteristics for sustainable animal production.

In the developing world, working equids are the most important source of agricultural energy and transport for resource-poor communities, in both urban and rural areas, and it’s even been suggested that animal energy supply approximately 50% of global agricultural power needs.

However, a collective ecological (but also economical) consciousness and an increase in awareness of public opinion about the need of reducing the excessive industrialization and mechanization of agriculture and forestry, along with an increased and renewed interest in energy and environmental issues has led some sectors of society to consider the use of animal traction as a valid modern source of energy. The need of maintaining biodiversity, reducing carbon emissions, encouraging self-reliance and reducing consumption of resources also contributes to this trend.

The emerging importance of animal traction as an alternative / complementary option to mechanical traction is highlighted by the increased use of such technology in small and medium sized farms (horticulture, vineyards, etc), where it has proved to be economically perfectly viable, but also in urban surroundings, in the collection of garbage in countries such as France or Austria. Even though horses are most widely used in modern animal traction, there is still a privileged space for the use of working mules in the same conditions, especially large European breeds, whose preservation depends directly on the need to reinvent functionality that adds value to these animals.

Reference:

Rodrigues, J. B, McLean, A, Garrett, C. (2015) Animal traction and work. Volume 2: Functionalities of the donkeys. Current Donkey Production and Functionality. In Press.

In Western Europe, very few people recognise the draught horse as a working animal any more. After the Second World War it gradually disappeared from the public’s awareness and this state of affairs is only changing thanks to a combination of current concerns over ecological issues and the danger of losing forever various rare breeds of domestic animals. At long last, those individuals and organisations who have been positively committed to the use of the draught horse since the 1990s are being noticed and listened to.

The draught horse is being seriously re-evaluated as an energy source that has already been in use for thousands of years, and moreover one that is at the same time infinitely renewable and totally eco-friendly. With the greatly increased European interest in energy and environmental issues, it is a most appropriate moment to bring together under an international umbrella-organisation all the efforts being made to encourage a modern, effective and well managed means of using animal traction once again. This is the thinking behind the creation of the Fédération Européenne du Cheval de Trait pour la promotion de son Utilisation (FECTU) (European Draught Horse Federation), one of the Equid Power Network's' partners.

Reference:

Fédération Européenne du Cheval de Trait pour la promotion de son Utilisation website.