Joan, A War Horse ( Part III)

Joan worked badly that day and ate hardly anything. Next day she stayed in and fed out of my hand. The next she seemed well again, but Darby’s place had been hard to fill. Through that Winter and a Summer of denfesive warfare of rations were seldome late, though often delivered under fire, and Joan maintained her old gait, apparently caring little about the going or whether she drew more than her share of the load. Perhaps you’ll say that she was hungry too.

The Winter of 17-18 found us at Potijza and the horses in a ruin at Ypres, a lot of hard work but no action. One day Joan’s mate and her driver were struck down by her side at feeding time, and she was the only one left of the old seventy-five.

This made no difference to Joan, and all through the criticical Spring days of ’18 no extra work could change her spirit, no long, hot days of marching with short halts and quick watering and feeding could alter her condition. SHe had become the company’s pride, the personal friend of the oldest driver and the Seargeant himself, but those days allowed no proper care of men or horses.

And then the tide turned and we began to advance–Arras to Cambral in a week. For two or three hours each day men slept in ditches and horses were picketed in fields, and then up again and on. Ten of our poorest animals were lost from sheer fatigue, and some of our best were wounded and killed. Gradually half our transport was left behind, first all the pontoons, then some tool carts and limbers.

The rations lived a charmed existence. Each night, when we had rolled into our blankets, those who were still awake could hear the same cockney voice from the wagon calling a strange horse stranger names becayse he lagged behind his ‘Joan : but it meant to each a pleasant dream of bacon, bread and tea.

Joan, a War Horse ( Part I )

In the literature evoked by the great war somewhere can be found a tribute to nearly every kind of living thing that worked and died for victory.

The human elements receive the lion’s share-perhaps it was theirs. Horses are portrayed sometimes in romantic colors-cavalry sweeping through a French valley, with flying pennants and drawn swords, perhaps a gun team coming into action in a cloud of dust. But these were isolated cases, thanks to barbed wire and mud. Yet every night on the western front essential things-food, water and ammunition- we’re brought forward along the roads or trails, too soft or dangerous for motor transport, by mules or horses whose work remains untold and unsung. The author had occasion to care for several horses in the British sector which glorified this service through many months of war-such a horse was Joan. Of whom the following story is true.

When I first saw her in ’15 she was already an old soldier-and I a green reinforcement-standing in a muddy, bleak field near the ruined village of Elverdinghe, on the first hard standing she had seen since Aldershot in August, ’14.

She was not the Major’s charger, nor the Quartermaster’s well groomed and overfed hackney, nor even the well-bred dun pony that was daily fed on lumps of sugar for delivering unnecessary dainties and necessary drinks to the officers’ kitchen, but only a typical English shire cart horse which, according to the stable piquet, had “ come through the retreat “ with several other horses in our string.

I remember seeing her little during those first strange weeks in that forward billet, but when we moved back into rest at the end of a long march I saw at the end of the column two steaming horses in an overloaded wagon almost touching the one in front-Joan and her teammate, of course called Darby.

Some Horse Care

SHELTER. Shelter is very important In regions were winter is freezing for months on end. Horses adapt to weather conditions very well, but brutal winds and heavy moisture would totally get into them. A run-in shed with three sides and a slanted roof is adequate for shire horses.

• Outdoors – The open side of the shed must face away from the prevailing wind, and the shed should be situated in a spot with adequate drainage.

• Indoors – Stalls will need to be maintained daily and replenished with clean, dry bedding. Even on the coldest days, crack the barn door slightly to provide ventilation and keep fresh air moving through the space.

WATER. This is probably the single most important need during a bad weather. Though horses need less water in cold weather, they also drink less. In fact, they often do not drink too much to stay hydrated. An adult full-size horse needs at least 6 liters of fresh water daily to maintain good health and condition.




Traditional versus Modern

This excellent photograph, taken 66 years ago, shows the late Jim Cradock with James Forshaw & Sons’ celebrated stallion, The Dean, setting forth on his route from Wem, Shropshire, in April 1938.  Mr Cradock travelled stallions for many years on behalf of the renowned Carlton Stud at Newark.  However, Mrs Minnie Cradock, emphasised that ‘The Dean’ was her husband’s favourite, because of his wonderful temperament and soundness. Jim considered it a privilege to have the care and companionship of such a noble animal.

The Dean, a brown with four white legs, was foaled in 1928 and was named after his breeder, Stanley Dean, of Heaton, Bolton. His sire being Lincoln What’s Wanted 2nd (LWW2), and his Dam was Blurton Shy Maiden, his beautiful feather came from his Dam’s line which included the legendary Lockinge Forest King, the horse that endowed the Shire breed with its excessive feather in the early 1900s.  The Dean was remarkable in his own right, after winning his class for four consecutive years, 1934-37, in the breed’s heyday of the huge London Shire Horse Society shows. Yet from a six to a nine-year-old he was never considered for champion. Why? Because he was only 16.3hh. However there was considerable interest and support for this most practical division, often described as the ‘short-legged class.’  The Dean, despite his smaller stature, still weighed a ton (2240lb) and he was the breed’s ideal model depicted in a series of photographs until the standard was changed in 1949 with the Shire Horse Show champion, The Bomber.

As it was shown the Shires were going to the lighter finer feather and bone of the Clydesdale type.  Hence today we have two types of Shire, I personally lean towards the older style of Shire referred to as the traditional working Shire type.  The English Standard indicates a Stallion to be at least 17 hands whereas the American Standard will accept a minimum height of 16.2hands which leads us to the ‘short-legged class’ of old.  Notice the differance between the two types of Horses….Photograph of Father Abraham who is Westie’s Sire was provided by ”John Edwards, Toora Shires”.

I would like to acknowledge that this content and the photograph are derived from an article originally published in a magazine that has been around since the early 70’s which is dedicated to all draft horses,  it is called “Heavy Horse World” and worth subscribing to if you want to know anything about this type of horse.

The Gentle Giant

Giants, as what history dictates are large and violent creatures and of a wild nature. But this giant that I’ll be sharing is not even one of those types. I am referring to one of mother earth’s elegant creatures, the Shire Horse.  It originates in the UK and today we have two types the traditional Shire [which I favour] and the Modern Shire has an average height of 17.2 hands.  They can have four white legs (other than the grey) and most people call the hair down the back of the legs and over the hoof “feather” when in fact the hair over the foot is known as the “spats”.

The recognised colour of the Shire Horse can be black, bay and grey.  Other colours such as roan and chestnut are not recognised.  The Shire is decended from the medieval “Old English Black Horse” and used to carry knights in armour into battle.  However, in the late 16th century the cavalry needed lighter and faster horses.  From the late 17th century until the introduction of the tractor in the 1930’s the horse was the main power on farms, around the docks, railways and in town.  Here is a classic picture of a Shire Stallion of the day he was “Edingale Enterprise” a really nice looking boy.  They were commonly seen around the docks, railyards and  pulling beer wagons of ale for delivery to the local public houses.

Nowadays, we are seeing them pulling barges along the waterfront, logging in the forest, promotional parades and a few have appeared in major motion pictures of late.  We still need to promote this magnificent horse around the world, as even though numbers are increasing they are still listed as at risk on the endangered list. We are seeing them crossed with throughbreds and other select types of mares to produce the heavier hunter type seen in the showjumping and dressage arena.  An area that I feel needs encouraging is teaching the younger generation to become young handlers.

Glenmeadow Shire Horse Centre

Glenmeadow Shire Horse Stud has been a lifelong passion and is a labour of love for owner and founder Jennifer Durham who started the Stud in 1989 with the purchase of her first Shire Mare “Fennswood Lady Audrey” over the years adding other horses and one very special boy ”Michael” a stunning strawberry roan Clydesdale Gelding who until just recently having just passed away, was the backbone of the whole operation. Here you can see Michael on the outside and Mary at work this was part of a TV Slot that went to air in 2006.  Other times we would roll up in the wagon for birthday parties, and a elegant Landau for the every girls Fairy Tale romantic wedding. It wasn’t unusual to see a stream of cars slow down or stop so children and adults alike could wave as our carriage or wagon rolled quietly by.

The dream of 2009 is to bring Glenmeadow Shire Horse Centre alive, to share this love affair with these Gentle Giants with others. The breeding of the Traditional type of Shire and Clydesdale will be the cornerstone of the centre, it will be  open to children and adults of all ages there will a riding program for those with special needs, in addition plans are in place to set up a working, training and educational program for school groups and other organisations. Promoting these beautiful horses will help to increase their numbers and remove them from the endangered lists, where they both listed as at risk.

The name of the stud comes from an Old farm in Wales and refers to the classic image of an English Meadow in a Glen. Our stable will consist of Shires and Clydesdales primarily concentrating on breeding the traditional type of Shire and Clydesdale the original working horse that used to be called “Dobbin” .   These type of horses are often referred to as  “Gentle Giants.”  As they are tall, gentle but very strong and they can stir up emotions of the days when the horse was not only a means of transport but a valuable and powerful tool for working the land.  Will soon post a few more pictures for you to look at let me know what you think your comments are always welcome.