The Veteran Horse Society
Back in 1993 Minty, a 40 year old veteran IDx, won many awards at the Riding Club Championships. At 40, many events refused his entry and at this point Julianne Aston, his owner for over 20 years, had had enough. She wanted to stop this sort of discrimination against veterans and started to research into the veteran horse and the welfare considerations that should be acknowledged.
After many months of calling and writing to owners and companies an analysis was made and talks were started to set up a Society that dealt with nothing but the veteran – horses and ponies over 15 years.
In March 2000 a launch date was set for November of that year and so began The Veteran Horse Society (VHS). Now a registered company and having the backing of international organisations such as Dodson & Horrell, Science with Nature and Horse Sense, the society began their promotion.
In March 2001 it was going from strength to strength, then the sudden outbreak of FMD – how would they cope? They did, with the never-ending support of Members and associated companies and in September the society held their first championship ‘the Minty Memorial Trophy’, which was taken by Mrs Candy’s Bubba Bates, a stunning Black Irish Sport Horse, rescued by the Blue Cross and re-homed to Mary in 1998.
The Society is going from strength to strength. After the initial launch in 2000, it now has offices throughout the UK which deal with showing to re-homing.
Julianne, the founder of the Society, spoke of the Society’s aims
'I am absolutely overwhelmed by the response to the initial launch in November 2000, and would like to thank all Members for supporting the Society and the companies who have supported our cause. Minty was a very special horse and was my inspiration behind the society; I lost him in 1998 and just wish he could be here to see what ‘we’ have achieved. With backing from companies like Dodson & Horrell, we really have been able to move forward very quickly. We were are now not only a welfare organisation in a very large field, but deal with hundreds of enquiries a week on showing.
'This was my dream brought to reality, but would not have happened without the support and dedication from the Staff and of course Members of the VHS; I would like to thank them personally for supporting us through very, very tough times. After the loss of Minty I was given a 15hh coloured and now am able to continue to once again show –and I must say that, in the early days before launching the Society, CHAPS really gave me confidence in and out of the show ring, they have been a tower of strength to the Society and thank them for supporting us.'
The Society now has an extensive showing series sponsored by Dodson and Horrell and is again holding the third Supreme Final at Olympia in December. Linda McLintock heads the showing department from Powys in Mid Wales and works tirelessly to organise qualifiers around the UK. There are now over 200 UK qualifiers and 10 Regional Finals - each of the Regional Champions will go forward to the UK final. For dates and qualifiers please go to the VHS website or they are available with the society magazine. There are many new regulations in place for the veteran and these are available with the Society’s Handbook available to you when joining. All horses, ponies, owners/carers wishing to qualify must be members and horses registered.
The VHS also have their own Panel Judges and Rule Book, this in itself is a ‘breakthrough’ for the older equine, as many shows now judge under this ruling.
Welfare is a large part of the Society and after just 10 months from the launch, the society opened its 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. It boasts of a number of horses that have come back to complete health and they currently have the world’s oldest horses there - Badger, a 50 year old Welsh x Arab and Penny whose feet were so long she could hardly walk. Both of these horses were taken into the centre without question, thanks to ongoing donations from the people who really care about the older equine.
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 VHS come back for another and most carers have 2 veterans. This is one department which can barely keep up with demand and often needs more staff to help man the phones. If you would like further information on re-homing, please contact their offices in Surrey on 01883 715772, where Karen Goodliffe and her staff will be pleased to talk to you.
The Society now plans to put in place a national campaign to make people aware the plight of the older horse. After speaking with Julianne and other members of staff it became apparent that, not only does a horse suffer from starvation but also depression and the ‘will to live’ can cause as much of a problem. Like old people, they may be have a very active mind, but are given no stimulation. At the VHS, if a horse looks down or perhaps even bored, they may not be able to be ridden, so are taken for walks as you would a dog (but kept on the lead!) and offered a new paddock or taken to a show; all of this can give an older equine a real reason to live.
Above all the Society still maintains quality not quantity of life and does not keep a horse alive purely to ‘get the oldest veteran’. It maintains that should a horse have the quality then they should be given the chance to express their feeling either by showing or just being taken for a walk.
The society is also assisted by a new organisation Veteran Horse Welfare which also helps with research into different diseases or ailments.
For more information on the society please contact Head Office 01239 881300 or visit their website www.veteran-horse-society.co.uk