Chuchart Warapreedee tends one of his charges at the Pony Preservation Club in Ubon Ratchathani’s Sirindhorn district.

Saving Thai ponies from ending up as meatballs in Ubon Ratchathani is primary-school teacher Chuchart Warapreedee's lifelong passion

Thai ponies have found sanctuary in the heart of a man who fiercely believes they belong in vast green fields, not slaughterhouses.

Chuchart Warapreedee, a government teacher, began fighting for the protection of this local breed when he saw them being sold for meat at markets in Ubon Ratchathani.

"I also heard how some Thai ponies were left to starve," he recalls sadly.

Chuchart moved to Ubon Ratchathani after marrying a local woman, and as soon as he heard about the plight of the animals, he vowed to help.

"I started buying them before they were sent to slaughterhouses," Chuchart says. "Each pony cost me around Bt7,500 back then."

However, his voice still chokes with emotion when he thinks about the poor horses he couldn't afford to save. "Some of them became meatballs."

Affluent people take no notice of the Thai breed, because they prefer Western steeds, he laments. "People should not forget that Thai ponies once served our kings; they fought to protect our ancestors."

With support from his wife, Chuchart has been able to buy a patch of land, just large enough to serve as the Pony Preservation Club and house the 32 ponies he has saved.

Making do with little

Chuchart wakes up at 4am every day so he can feed the animals before heading off for the Ban Dan primary school, where classes start at 8am.

"I give my students riding lessons too," the teacher says.

Chuchart is doing his best to support and raise the ponies, each of which costs him nearly Bt500 a day. "My salary is meagre, but when tourists come in to look around or opt for the home-stay service I offer, I earn extra money to keep the ponies alive and well," he says.

Chuchart says he once hoped to build a large club, attracting a huge number of tourists. But, he says, "that's not my dream any more. I really want to see the ponies run around freely. They should have a place where cars and humans can't hurt them."

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