Page 174 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
in The King’s Troop on their first Trooping the Colour. The proceedings were looked on with pride and pleasure knowing that the support of the RAVC, although small, played an important part in The Troop’s well-deserved success.20
KT RHA and the RAVC
The RAVC has been associated with The King’s Troop RHA since its inception.
A RAVC Veterinary Officer has always been a part of the establishment team and the importance of that role was acknowledged with the creation of a RAVC Veterinary Technician position to support the role. There is also another very important Corps connection – the RAVC has responsibility for ensuring that The Troop’s horses are purchased and held at the Defence Animal Centre (DAC) at Melton Mowbray until required for issue. Commandants at the Centre have, over these many years, had to grapple with the peculi- arities of this need.
When it comes to the horses – the “Leaders” and “Wheelers” have significantly different character- istics: one has the agility and speed to encourage the team forward, the other strong hindquarters to act as the crucial ‘brakes’ in a team. Keen observers of the Gun Team Display will note that there are no brakes on the wheels of the guns or the limber! They only stop if the Wheelers are doing a good job.
The selection of suitable horses does not stop there. Each Gun Team has horses of matched colour and each team is a different colour. The Army Horse Purchasing Commission, headed-up by the Commandant, is looking for a variety of horses in the 15.1hh to 16.1hh range with the style and conformation needed for tough duty with the KT RHA.
A further link between the RAVC and The Troop is the Army School of Equitation at Melton Mowbray. Generations of RHA personnel, trained to the highest standard of instruction and horse management skills, become the instructors responsible for training both personnel and horses back at “the Wood”. Several RHA Senior NCOs transferred into the RAVC over the years and others have served at the Army School of Equitation as instructors. Captain Dick Lyne RAVC, OC Equine Division at the DAC, was himself a transferee in the 1980s and, possibly, the most famous member of the Troop to transfer to the Corps was the late Captain Reuben (Ben) Jones, the Olympic Equestrian Gold Medallist (1968
20 Chiron Calling Winter 1998/9. 21 Chiron Calling Autumn 2013.
Summer Olympics in Mexico City – a member of the British Eventing Team – riding The Poacher).
KT RHA – Large Animal Rescue Day
Association with other Services where horses and other large animals are concerned often creates an area of mutual interest, camaraderie, and a skillset worth sharing.
An article in the autumn 2013 issue of Chiron Calling paid tribute to the dedication of the Hampshire firefighters and their successful response to a variety of incidents involving horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, and deer. Large animal rescue is recognised as one of the most dangerous activities a firefighter will engage in during their career and specialised training and equipment is essential to protect those in uniform and members of the public. Often the larger animals get into trouble getting themselves trapped in machinery, bogs, slurry pits, rivers, pools, ditches, or becoming victims of cliff falls and road incidents. It was reported that, in 2012, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service attended approximately three hundred and fifty animal rescues, both large and small.
It was in March 2013 that The King’s Troop welcomed Jim Green, one of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Animal Rescue Specialists. As well as being a serving firefighter, Jim hailed from a rural background and had many years’ experience in handling livestock and specialised in animal rescue. Part of his role, as a specialist, being to attend all incidents to advise the Officer in charge on matters of health and safety, animal rescue and welfare techniques.
After a presentation showing various animal rescues in action (good and bad!) Jim explained to members of the KT RHA Crash Party about different methods that could be used to rescue a horse in specific situations. The demonstra- tions were tailored towards incidents that could potentially occur when the horses are in team pulling the guns, and horses that have become ‘cast’ in a stable or stall. ‘Horses become ‘cast’ when they become trapped/wedged against a stable wall or a stall partition. The horse is unable to roll over away from the wall/partition which can then cause the horse to panic, injuring themselves or people trying to free them’.
The team were shown how specialist equipment such as harnesses, strops (strapping) and strop guides are used to assist in a rescue and various drags and flips were practised on the training mannequin, ‘Lucky’ in the Riding School. Jim also set up a course using the jump poles to simulate a horse rescue.21
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