Ponies salvati dal villaggio di Frontline: “Il nostro obiettivo ora è portarli ai prati, lasciarli sentire la natura e fare il bagno nel fiume”, dice il volontario che li ha salvati.

The rescued ponies are named Orlyk, Lusia, Valia, and Varana. According to a volunteer, they waited for a break in air raids before evacuating the animals.

“We waited for a moment when there were no strikes or air raid alerts. We loaded them calmly. The road was very difficult – we thought they would lay down during the ride, but they stood the entire time. We were worried about injuries from the bumps and potholes along the way,” said Maksym Shunkin.

The animals were in poor physical and emotional condition, the volunteer said. Due to constant shelling, they were frightened and at times aggressive.

“Now their emotional state is much better. They’ve started interacting with people, whereas before they were afraid of both children and adults. We still have occasional explosions in our area, so they get scared, but overall they’re much calmer,” the man said.

Maksym said they decided to bring the animals to his father’s village. There, a paddock was set up for them.

“We built everything ourselves, with help from my father, and friends. We don’t have many resources, so we’re doing everything we can with our own hands. Right now the goal is to take them out to the meadows so they can experience nature and bathe in the river,” said the volunteer.

According to the volunteer, once the animals are fully rehabilitated and comfortable around people, they plan to organize hippotherapy sessions for displaced children and war veterans.

“Many of our guys are now coming back home, and their emotional condition is very challenging –  some recover quickly from the front line, others have a harder time. But we’ve seen that when people spend time with horses, they get distracted, they enjoy feeding and petting them,” he said.

For now, the main focus is on the ponies’ recovery, Maksym emphasized. They plan to continue improving the paddock and are funding everything themselves. Before winter, they hope to bring in sand, finish construction, and insulate the stables.

[https://suspilne.media/dnipro/1038933-vratuvali-z-pid-obstriliv-z-prifrontovogo-sela-dnipropetrovsini-volonteri-evakuuvali-poni/](https://suspilne.media/dnipro/1038933-vratuvali-z-pid-obstriliv-z-prifrontovogo-sela-dnipropetrovsini-volonteri-evakuuvali-poni/)