Prince Fluffy Kareem

PFK is a UK-registered charity based in Cairo, Egypt. Our mission is to help the animals working by the pyramids of Giza. We treat mainly horses and donkeys but we also treat ANY animal that is brought to us including camels. Our location in Abusir is known as Fluffyland. We are a sanctuary to many retired horses and donkeys, and a permanent home for many street dogs, 8 cats, 2 camels, 2 goats, 2 sheep and multiple chickens and geese! 

Animals here are used to take tourists and Egyptian locals on rides around the pyramids and in the surrounding desert, they are used as transport and they pull carts selling local produce. 

Many of the pyramid horses are in shockingly poor condition, usually caused by a combination of reasons. The uprising in 2011 caused a dramatic drop in tourism, and similarly affected the income of local horse owners. But the revolution in 2011 and then the contra-revolution in 2013 are only parts of a large, complex puzzle. Covid has hugely added to the problem. Most of the owners we work with are illiterate and survive on a low income. In addition to caring for their own family they often support other relatives as well. They have usually dropped out of school early to work for their family – there are lots of children selling souvenirs at the pyramids and many children work with horses as well. Like people, most horses start working at an early age. They are working animals, not pets. The low-income owners can only afford to buy the cheapest horses. These are horses that are underweight, injured and/or sick. It’s not uncommon for sellers to give the horse a good dose of bute so that the buyer will think it’s reasonably sound. Many pay a down payment for a horse that is already in poor condition, and are then forced to work that horse to be able to pay off instalments. A low income means that owners cannot afford the good, experienced vets and farriers and although medication is sold over the counter, they can’t afford to buy it. While there are some excellent vets in Egypt, people generally have poor knowledge of horses. Living in a desert country no one has seen horses grazing naturally, and hard feed like corn, barley and fava beans is considered the best feed. Owners that can’t afford hard feed usually feed chaff and some yellow corn. Hay is not sold locally. Feeding so much grain causes colic, ulcers and laminitis, but knowledge about laminitis is minimal. After nearly 11 years we are still struggling to make people understand that they must be careful with grain. This goes hand in hand with little awareness about healthy eating habits for humans; Egyptians consume a lot of oil and sugar and a large part of the population struggles with overweight and diabetes. Cairo is a city of nearly 20 million people, and like people’s houses, most stables in our area are small and quite cramped. The working horses generally don’t have their own boxes, but are tied up in rows. We see a lot of leg wounds caused by ropes, or other injuries like head wounds after horses have laid down and gotten stuck. Bite wounds are also common since so many horses live in close proximity to each other. Babesiosis, a tick-borne disease, is very common due to enormous amounts of ticks, especially in summer. Clinical signs range from fever, anorexia and lethargy to colic, haemoglobinuria and jaundice. Many horses end up in a downwards spiral of babesiosis – weight loss – anaemia and liver problems – babesiosis again – more weight loss and so on. We have treated many severely emaciated horses whose blood tests show chronic anaemia and poorly functioning livers. Even for us, with brilliant vets, IV fluids, supplements and lots of varied feed, it can be very difficult to put weight on these horses. For an owner with barely any money it’s impossible. Much of the local treatment is considered outdated in Western countries, or it’s based on wives’ tales and superstition. Like in many other cultures, Egyptians believe that the “evil eye”, or the “eye of the envious”, can cause illness and death. The PFK patients that are too injured to have any quality of life are humanely euthanised – these horses are usually purchased by us for market price, but more and more owners let us do it without asking for money. Animals that are too injured to work, but that can live happily as pets, are usually bought by us and retired - more and more owners surrender horses to us without wanting anything in exchange. The animals that heal and become strong and healthy again are returned to their owners. Every owner gets several chances, but if they show us repeatedly that they are not interested in caring for their animals they can no longer leave horses with us. PFK offers all treatment free of charge, whether that is feeding a horse for two months, x-rays, wound care, farrier work or surgeries. Most important of all, we educate. We can’t change the financial situation in Egypt, but we can teach the owners to better understand their animals' needs.