Horseytalk.net Special Interview
Jock Hutchison
Recovered rescue horse helps war heroes recover
Founder of HorseBack UK, Jock Hutchison, is supporting this year's Rehome a Horse Month
Having suffered a severe injury herself, Polly knew very well what trauma was.
She knew you had to be brave, thick-skinned, and that if you hung on long enough, it could get better.
So when the perfect career came up, a career where she would have to be braver still, but a career which meant her patience and experience could be put to real use – she took it.
Now servicemen and women who fought bravely in Afghanistan, Iraq, The Falklands, Northern Ireland and even the Balkans could regain their confidence too.
The military comrades found solace in horses, through HorseBack UK, an organisation supported by Help for Heroes, which helps mentally and physically scarred service personnel to recover.
Founder of the charity, Jock Hutchison, says that injured and acutely stressed UK servicemen, with the help of horses, can reclaim their confidence, dignity, and especially in the case of amputees, their mobility.
"When you have been a patient for years, your mental and physical state changes because all your needs are tended to. What we aim to do, with the aid of our horses, is to help those patients take back control and become a leader again.
"These guys were very good soldiers, so their natural leadership skills are there, they've just taken a knock. We get them to take the lead of a horse, an animal that needs to learn to trust you before you can get him to do anything, and this gets them thinking about leading again and how to deal with people too." Jock, who was a marine himself for ten years, says he chose Polly as part of his team because 'she'd been through stuff too'.
Polly was in a horrific state when she came into World Horse Welfare's Rescue and Rehoming Centre, Belwade Farm, in Aboyne.
At only eight months old she was left alone in a field, panicking, as she was entangled in a wire fence. The wire had cut down to the bone on one of her hind legs. She was exhausted and barely able to stand. In addition to her severe wound she was infested with worms and underweight. She also had painfully cracked hooves that were overgrown. With the right care though, and medical help, Polly recovered.
Polly's wound when found; the wound from an outside view; healing after two months of special care
"Along with World Horse Welfare, I wanted to give her a second chance, and not just for her to be written off because she'd been hurt," says Jock. "Yes there were consequences to her past injury, she was flighty when we first got her, but she needed time that's all. "Polly is drawn to the people here who have been hurt the most, it's amazing. You put six ex-war guys in the arena and she'll head straight to those who have been damaged the worst."
One man who suffered from his experience in the special forces has had a breakthrough. His wife, who suffers too from watching her husband in torment, explains how horses have played a big part in his recovery.
"Thanks to the horses at HorseBack UK, my husband has had his first night's decent sleep in years. For a man who hears the screams of the dying constantly in his head and doesn't like himself as a person most of the time, that is some achievement. The effect has lasted longer than I expected too – we had a few moments where before he went to HorseBack UK he would normally have gone into the darkness but much to my surprise and delight he was very chilled and relaxed. What has been given to me, is hope, – hope that I'll get some of my old husband back, hope that he'll find some peace and most of all hope that we can have a future together. It was getting to the stage where my self-preservation instincts were kicking in, and the stark realisation that my love alone couldn't fix him - this made me even more determined to get him some help. We found it."
"Polly is as bulletproof as anything now, she's one of our safest horses without question and plays a big part in these men's recovery," says Jock. "World Horse Welfare did a superb job when they took her on and we've just continued her education, and now, she's an essential part of the team helping our heroes.
"If you love horses, then the most rewarding thing you can do, is to get a horse that needs a little help, and work them and get their head right – there's no better journey that you can take with a horse. It's like when we get someone back on their legs here, it's the same. You have to promise you'll love the process though and that you'll take the time to seek and follow advice from World Horse Welfare about your horse. You'll need three things: patience, kindness, and consistency, because a horse needs certainty, they need a good leader, but you have to win the respect of the horse before you get him to trust you."
<< Polly, with her World Horse Welfare groom at Belwade Farm
Through their built up leadership skills, thanks to horsemanship, the ex-servicemen and women who have been through HorseBack UK now work with 16 different oil companies, amongst other reputable organisations, teaching executives in the industry how to be great leaders.
"The executives look at leadership differently when they are being taught by someone without legs," says Jock.
Polly has been with HorseBack UK for over a year now and continues to help our UK soldiers get back up on their feet, just like she did.
Find your very own horse during Rehome a Horse Month - to follow in Jock's footsteps, look out for the charity's Project Horse category, which allows you to bring on the horse yourself.