FECTU Webinar with Albert Schweizer: Workhorse as pack animal - an almost forgotten work with equines The webinar is in German. Albert Schweizer is a well known expert in Europe for pack animals. He is often on the walk with his donkey on pack tours through the Alp. Albert Schweizer was a board member from the Austrian draft horse organsisation ÖIPK. For his efforts regarding pack animals Albert Schweizer got the "Eiserner Gustav" Award from the Bavarian organisation VfD.

In this new FECTU webinar, Alfred Ferrís talks to us about Modern Animal Traction in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), its evolution, its challenges, directions and future lines. Alfred Ferrís García is an organic farmer and has worked with animals (mainly mares and horses) for more than 30 years. He currently works as a self-employed person doing work with animal traction for third parties, as well as consulting work, mainly in the field of viticulture and forestry, both in the private and public spheres. Valencian of origin, of traditional Valencian horticultural training and self-taught. It collaborates periodically with training schools, entities and associations offering courses, training, talks or demonstrations on the modern use of animal traction in agriculture or forestry. He is a founding member of the Spanish Association of Animal Traction (Anta-La Esteva). He is recognized as a trainer in Animal Traction by the "Lycee Agricole de Montmorillon" (France) within the training and quality program Equus-Gaia. This webinar is in Spanish.

Draft horses and mules among the Amish of North America About speaker, Dale K. Stoltzfus: I was born in 1951 on a dairy farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. My father and mother and my 5 sisters and I all worked hard to take care of the 45 dairy cows and their replacements as well as the 2000 laying hens we kept. We carried all the milk from the cows in buckets to pour into the bulk tank in the milk house and we carried all the eggs in baskets to be washed and packed into cartons to send to a wholesale egg processor. I spent many happy hours playing with my dog Lady too. I spent 11 years managing my own retail food business and then 25 years as a Realtor helping people to find homes and farms. I have always had a special affinity for animals, especially horses. In 1988 I bought a pair of Belgian mares. I chose heavy horses so that I could further my latent horse interests by taking my family and friends on wagon rides. As I learned more about heavy horse activities that were going on around me, I became more drawn into life-fulfilling experiences I could not have imagined. These include my volunteer work with Horse Progress Days and my work with the annual Pennsylvania Draft Horse Sale, both of which have had major impacts in the Draft Horse culture of North America. I grew to adulthood in a community-at-large that, because of a major Amish presence, has always taken the presence of Draft animals for granted, but my own interest has always been extra keen; partly because of the horses and partly because of the unlikelihood that a group of Christian religionists who relied on horsepower to farm could exist and thrive in modern times; this in a country that prides itself on what it defines as progressive innovation in all things. Furthermore, my involvement with Horse Progress Days has unexpectedly opened my life experience into developing friendships and acquaintance with people from many parts of the world. Lately I have become aware of the "Millenium Goals" of the United Nations to eliminate hunger throughout the world by the year 2030. I believe draft animal power could play a major role in this effort if it is recognized for what it is and what it has to offer. My latest efforts include working toward a cultural exchange program supported by a partnership between Horse Progress Days and the international aid organization Mennonite Central Committee that is making plans to bring a Tanzanian agricultural engineer to eastern PA to work with local Amish shops to develop equipment and harness for oxen and donkeys to be made with components that are readily available in Tanzania. I also take great pleasure in working with my own horses making hay on our own land and on the lands of a neighboring Amish farmer.

Accepting the challenge proposed by the Mountain Partnership, the Equid Power Network* (www.equidpower.org) organised a virtual event to promote the importance of Working Equids in Mountain Areas, as a contribution to the celebrations held for International Mountain Day 2020. During this event, four guest speakers present different case studies from different parts of the world, highlighting the economic, ecologic and social importance and of working equids in mountain areas. Study cases: Case 1. Soil Conservation in Mountain Areas: Challenges and Threats. The (low) impact of animal traction in agroforestry management in mountains. Tomás de Figueiredo, IPB - Polytechnic Institute of Bragança / CIMO - Mountain Research Centre, Portugal. Case 2. Working Equids and the Production Chains in Rural Communities in the Central and South American Mountain Areas. Eduardo Santurtun, The Donkey Sanctuary México. Case 3. The Importance of Working Mules in the Tourism Sector in Nepal and How They Contribute to the Livelihood of Mountain Communities. Hari Joshi, Animal Nepal. Case 4. The Contribution of Working Equids to Sustaining the Livelihoods of Ethiopian Highlanders. Bojia Duguma, The Donkey Sanctuary Ethiopia. *The Equid Power Network is a coalition created by: - FECTU (European Draught Horse Federation) - The Donkey Sanctuary - World Horse Welfare with the aim to highlight the benefits of working equids by promoting their responsible use and care, recognising them as a valid, affordable, clean and renewable power source, as well as their value to human livelihoods through their contribution to financial, ecological and social capital.