Traumatised horses saved from Israel’s bombs find refuge in Bekaa Valley

Bar Elias, Lebanon – Purebred Arabian horses dart successful the airy of the mounting sun, hooves swirling up clouds of sand. They gallop astir the paddock, encouraged by their handlers astatine a unchangeable built similar a tiny citadel connected the outskirts of Bar Elias.

But contempt the scene’s beauty, arsenic the time draws to a close, a consciousness of sadness pervades.

Eighteen horses survived the Israeli bombs that turned their unchangeable successful southbound Lebanon to rubble, sidesplitting galore radical and horses.

The rescued horses had recovered a caller location successful the cardinal Bekaa Valley. Still, galore died during the bombardment of a neighbouring unchangeable erstwhile Israel launched its battle connected Lebanon connected September 23.

A bloody escalation successful the struggle betwixt Israel and Hezbollah since October 7, 2023, the Israeli attacks connected Lebanon person near much than 1,300 dormant and 9,000 wounded successful conscionable a fewer weeks.

Entire regions successful the southbound of Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley are being carpet-bombed arsenic Israeli troops effort to invade and clasp villages on the border.

Purebred Arabians galloping successful the sunset, carefree for a fewer abbreviated moments on  October 10, 2024 [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

Wounds and panic

Gaping wounds inactive stain the horses’ coats, and their eyes flash successful panic astatine the slightest noise.

“When they arrived, they were exhausted, immoderate [were] injured, and the seriousness of their ailments became evident successful the days pursuing their arrival,” Jaafar Araji, 32, an worker astatine the household stable, told Al Jazeera.

Rescued from the ruins and transported by a convoy of six trucks, the rescued thoroughbred Arabian and European horses present request changeless attraction from the unchangeable employees.

“They had mislaid astir fractional their weight, and we don’t cognize precisely however agelong they were without food… their proprietor couldn’t scope the unchangeable for the archetypal 2 days due to the fact that of the shelling,” Jaafar adds arsenic helium walks astir the stables.

A grey mare with a coiled connected her flank bore what looked similar sadness successful her eyes.

Zakaria Araji pets Jawaher, 1 of his purebred Arabians, connected October 4, 2024 [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

“She had a miscarriage erstwhile she arrived, truthful traumatised and weakened was she. We stayed with her each nighttime to reassure her and marque definite she didn’t suffer her mind,” helium said emotionally.

“Honestly, we could unfastened our ain session present acknowledgment to the galore years of acquisition we person successful tending our horses.”

Jaafar and his household instrumentality the rescuees retired regular and springiness them medicine contempt the lack of reliable – and accessible – veterinarians successful Lebanon and the trouble of uncovering provender during wartime.

“In Lebanon, determination are lone a mates of veterinarians, and they often garbage to assistance those who don’t person thousands of dollars to wage – truthful we had to larn connected our own,” helium said.

The bare medicine boxes stacked adjacent the stalls carnivore witnesser to the hard nights of attraction that the traumatised, wounded horses need.

“We enactment agelong shifts astatine nighttime due to the fact that this is erstwhile astir of their symptoms appear,” helium explained.

But they can’t ever beryllium saved: One equine died of its wounds and terrible weakness, Jaafar told Al Jazeera sadly implicit the telephone days later.

A refuge successful wartime

During the day, the unchangeable hosts a riding academy for children, teaching them however to thrust the famed Arabian purebred.

Now, successful the afternoon’s aureate rays, the unchangeable employees remainder and bask immoderate clip with the horses.

Zakaria Araji, Jaafar’s begetter and the stable’s owner, sits connected a seat adjacent to the paddock wherever the horses train, sipping Turkish java portion watching the horses gallop. He feeds and cares for these warfare survivors astatine his ain expense.

“When I got the telephone from their proprietor asking for help, I instantly accepted without asking for thing successful return. I don’t adjacent cognize his name, but that’s not important.

“The horses are guiltless and axenic beings, and I person to bash everything I tin to assistance them,” helium explained.

This is not the archetypal clip the unchangeable has helped rescue horses – it inactive hosts galore who person been saved from neighbouring Syria.

Empty medicine packaging aft a agelong nighttime tending to wounded, sick horses saved from Israeli bombings. October 4, 2024 [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

Jaafar explains that they volition soon instrumentality successful 20 much horses from the South and Baalbek, whose proprietor was killed by a strike. He is presently gathering caller stalls to accommodate them.

He vows they volition attraction for them “whatever it costs us”.

“When we spot that Israel is bombing farms, stables, and sidesplitting these guiltless animals, it’s unfair. Even if their proprietor was portion of Hezbollah, what was the horses’ fault?” Zakaria asked.

A agelong history

The Arajis are portion of the Bar Elias region’s past and societal fabric.

“I inherited this unchangeable from my father, and helium from his father, this has been the lawsuit implicit generations. In the full Valley, Araji is simply a sanction bound to horses,” Zakaria said proudly.

Most of their Arabian purebreds travel from a agelong bloodline, which Jaafar says primitively utilized to beryllium warfare horses.

“Their agelong necks were clad successful armour, and they would basal successful the archetypal enactment to support the different horses down them from incoming arrows,” helium says.

Jaafar says astir of their purebreds travel from a agelong enactment of godforsaken warfare horses [Philippe Pernot/Al Jazeera]

Centuries later, horses are nary longer utilized successful struggle oregon transportation, becoming a vocation for breeders, racers, and amusement riders.

“There are nary large equine races present and not overmuch nett to beryllium made – we support these horses retired of passionateness and love,” helium explains.

But Lebanon’s economical situation has dealt a terrible stroke to stables, arsenic imported medicine and nutrient prices person skyrocketed.

Zakaria says helium utilized to ain 30 horses, but lone 10 stay aft helium was forced to merchantability immoderate disconnected owed to hard times.

He and Jaafar are determined to attraction for the injured newcomers careless of cost.

For these traumatised horses to spell home, radical person to instrumentality to the southbound and reopen stables.

As a result, it is not wide whether the horses volition ever instrumentality to their homes successful southbound Lebanon, arsenic Israeli bombardments crook the country into a barren no-man’s-land.