JOHN B. O’Connor of Ballykelly Stud near Cashel has been in touch with news of his efforts to bring medical supplies to Ukraine’s equine population.

Project Cossack, as it has been dubbed, was first covered in The Irish Field in January. It involved loading a sports utility vehicle with medicines and driving it to Kyiv and Odessa, the two major thoroughbred centres in Ukraine.

Owners, trainers, breeders and breeze-up consignors supported the effort and a second vehicle was procured. Last week O’Connor told us that the first shipment had crossed the border into Ukraine, with another shipment a couple of days behind.

This week the story was picked up by The Irish Times. O’Connor told them: “We got a lot of offers of manufacturers of kit. We are getting it all to Kyiv. Some of it will stay there to help look after the horses there and the balance will go to Odessa and the racehorses down there.”

The first vehicle, a Nissan Pathfinder, arrived at Kyiv’s hippodrome on Saturday morning. It is home to 250 horses. Many had to be abandoned because of the war.

Although the project initially set out to help the thoroughbred population, the medicines and equipment are being given to any horse owners in need.

Volunteer Bradley Reed said they brought oat balance supplements for the horses’ feed, intravenous medicines including antibiotics, bandages and poultices, plus food for the horses’ human carers, including pastas and canned meats.

Bradley told The Irish Times the border guards allowed them through without much of the usual bureaucracy because of the nature of their mission.

Web: To donate to Project Cossack, go to GoFundMe.com, search for ‘Irish Horse Community’