Horsey Talk

Until only a few weeks ago I had my two beloved veteran horses on full retirement at the centre in Pembrokeshire. Sadly I lost my beautiful gentle giant, Hercules, just a few weeks ago - a very emotional time for us all. Hercules was an 18.3hh Cleveland Bay and from the moment I brought him to Julianne on full retirement his quality of life was totally brilliant. Right up to the moment he passed away, I couldn't have asked for a better team of people or a more perfect environment. And their efforts on that sad Monday were positively heroic. But sadly, at 28, his heart just couldn't cope any more and thankfully he died peacefully and with great dignity. My other horse Alibi is a 16hh thoroughbred and was Hercules's best friend. They were inseparable for the last 9 years at the centre and understandably he was initially quite lost without Hercules, but again the staff have gone out of their way to keep his spirits up and help him overcome his loss. I am originally from Australia and my mother still lives there.

Leaving Alibi would be so hard on an emotional level, but I know that he would be loved and cared for by Julie and her team and I wouldn't dream of ever removing him from there. He loves where he is and as far as nutrition, grooming, dental and so on, plus the kind of TLC every horse deserves, well hand on heart you won't find anywhere to compare with what the VHS offers its residents. So I suppose that's possibly the best testamonial any horse owner can give.

Julianne's help & advice has been so valuable to me over the last few weeks. My horse was so thin before I contacted Julianne for advice, I wasnt feeding her the correct food or the correct amount. With Julianne's help my horse has started to put on weight, her coat seems so much better & she is happier. I can't thank Julianne enough for all the help & support she has given me'.

“We have been working with the VHS right from the very start and have built up a great relationship. Julianne and her fellow colleagues work very hard caring for veterans along with promoting the correct management of older horses and ponies; they provide a very important source of information and help for owners.”

Our Chestnut mare Gentle Breeze is a veteran horse now 23 years old Helen, my wife, and I are both members of the Veteran Horse Society and Gentle Breeze has won the Society's Performance Achievement Award (Class 4) for the last two years and been placed in the top six for the previous 3 years. She regularly gets placed in dressage competitions, and showing classes, still enjoys jumping and has helped me get a third in BHS Indoor TREC this year. Along with Blitz (14 year old grey gelding) she has qualified for this years Trailblazers - showing as well as dressage. Breeze has done a lot of road safety publicity work for the British Horse Society too.

VETERAN HORSE SHOWING.

The Society now has an extensive showing series with Super Solvitax in the early days, but felt a livelier final was paramount. This lead to negotiations with Olympia and the first live Supreme Final was held in 2002. There are now 200 UK qualifiers and 14 Regional Finals each of the Regional Champions.

For dates and qualifiers please go to
www.veteran-horse-showing.co.uk website. All horses, ponies and owners wishing to qualify must be Members and horses registered. This in itself is a ‘break through’ for the older equine, as many shows now judge under this ruling.

VETERAN HORSE DRESSAGE

Another new venture for 2009 is Veteran Horse Dressage.

A new committee have recently been elected to improve the classes and disciplines in this very popular sport. Each new member will now receive a dressage membership, but then is renewable on the 1st January each year. The Committee are currently seeking new venues who would like to host qualifiers and if you would like more information please visit
www.veteran-horse-dressage.co.uk

VETERAN HORSE RE-HOMING

There are many other stories of success relating to the re-homing of the V.H.S. horses, one of which is that of two mares aged 23. They were saved by the V.H.S. within one hour of being sent to slaughter. Both now have superb homes, thanks to V.H.S.

Carers – if you could offer an older horse a loving and knowledgeable home, please call the re-homing department or visit their website. The V.H.S. has a unique service that links horses to carers and now due to the demand of carers and horses, need to put in place Field Officers. If you wish to become involved with the welfare of the older equine please send an application and full C.V. to head office, marking it for the attention of Julianne Aston or visit www.veteran-horse-society.co.uk and click onto rehoming. The Society currently needs field officers in many parts of the UK.

Re-homing is another department, which has taken off beyond any expectation, and carers for the horses on their books have doubled over the past two months. In fact, many carers who take a horse from the V.H.S. come back for another one. Most carers have two veterans.

VETERAN HORSE WELFARE

Welfare is a large part of the Society and after just 10 months from the launch, the society opened it own rehabilitation centre. Julianne sold her own home to fund this centre and now offers homes to those horses who have been neglected or cruelly treated. It is the only centre within the UK that is dedicated to rehabilitation of the older equine and retirement of others. It boasts of a number of horses who have come back to complete health. It has already re-homed an ex-eventer and racehorse to a stunning condition and rescued a 34-year-old, who was found in a swamp with a sleeping bag as protection. All these horses were taken into the centre without question, thanks to ongoing donations from the people who really care about the older equine.

The charity was launched in 2004 to assist in fund raising and now stands independent and concentrates purely on care and welfare. It now plans to launch a national campaign to make people aware of the plight of the older horse, which can suffer from, amongst other things, not only starvation but also depression and the ‘will to live’. Like old people, they may have a very stimulant mind but are not given any stimulation. At the Centre. if a horse looks down or perhaps even bored, they may not be able to be ridden. Instead they are taken for walks as you would a dog but kept on the lead. They are offered a new paddock or taken to a show. All this can give an older equine a real reason to live.

Above all, the Society believes strongly in the quality not quantity of life. It does not believe in keeping a horse alive purely to ‘get the oldest veteran’. It maintains that should a horse have the quality of life then they should be given the chance to express their feeling either by showing or just being taken for a walk. However, the knowledge they have gained over the years has enabled them to achieve World Record titles for older horses, with some horses in their care reaching 51 years of age.

The charity also helps with research into different diseases or ailments, which is connected with the veteran such as a national research programme with Hilton Herbs to assist in the dreadful ‘Cushings’ disease.

Adoption and Fund raising

Both are vitally important to the charity and relies heavily on public support to continue their work. If you are interested in helping or adopting a pony please do visit the website.

Finally in 2006 the charity launched their own e-bay shop where supporters can buy gifts for friends and family. Most of their Christmas merchandise can also be found by visiting the charity’s website www.veteran-horse-welfare.co.uk

Click here for more info on looking after a veteran

Your Veteran Horses