Page 402 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
penguin’s colony isn’t half copping it! The poor birds waddle up the beaches to have a kip, then Blam! – Up they go.”25
During August 1983, an interim report of the trial concluded that it was progressing very well, and promised a valuable contribution to logistic re-supply of high sites.26 And that it may be possible to operate the Pack horses without direct involvement of the RAVC, but the cost of training other personnel may be prohibitive.27 Regularly during the trial, the other five horses were used for recreational riding by the troops on the Island and several Pack horse capability demonstrations were provided for both PR and training purposes.
At a later stage it was agreed to keep working the better horses until December 1983, when a final and conclusive report was produced. This was partially due to the delay in the start of the trial and difficulties with some of the horses under training. Despite the exceptional work completed by Sergeant Carter, it was also determined that he would be required to extend his stay by a month, which he was more than content and willing to do, given the importance of the trial.
Dire weather conditions resulted in difficult conditions underfoot and it wasn’t unusual to hear a few familiar pieces of advice from Taff Carter, such as: “make sure he has a good pair of wellies, as the mud at Kelly’s is worse than ever. You even receive a certificate with certain grades of membership, depending on how much mud is on your clothes when you fall. The heading of the certificate is the “Welly Garden Mudmen” of which I have been granted life membership”.28
At the end of Sergeant Carter’s tour on the Islands, he derived several notable conclusions and these are quoted verbatim as they clearly indicated the significance of Pack Horse Transport even in this modern mechanised era of the mid 1980s. The important points raised included:
Horses are cost effective compared to helicopters and Snow Cats.
Fragile equipment can be damaged en route to sites when transported by Snow Cats, whereas this never occurred when transported by horse.
Horses proved reliable in that they always reached the sites even during severe weather conditions when helicopters could not fly.
Horses could be used for recreational riding when not required in their Pack role.
Sergeant Carter did rightly communicate
some disadvantages of the Pack Horses, speed in some cases was essential for any emergency tasks. Therefore, if a quicker means of transport is available, horses may not be appropriate.
Telephone lines or communication cables laid on the surface of the ground if not clearly marked and not crossed carefully, could cause problems by becoming easily tangled in a horse’s legs.
The fitting of crupper and breaching is not possible with some ponies due to their serious kicking tendencies.
Extreme bog conditions may limit the horse’s weight carrying ability.
His overall report summarised on the whole:
“For horses to be successfully utilised at Kelly’s Garden much will depend upon the particular Rapier Battery that is posted to this location. The Royal Artillery tends to treat Pack horses as something in the past era. During the Falklands’ winter, however, they learned this is not so”.
Sgt Carter concluded: “I would suggest both a winter and summer routine for the horses as the Pack role would seldom be required during the summer months. A winter routine would mean horses and handlers, based at Kelly’s Garden and Wreck House, thereby covering both ridges for emergency tasks. A summer routine recommended that horses be based at Kelly’s Garden for recrea- tional riding purposes. One horse could always be retained for Pack if regular treks are organised.”29
So, while it was the era of laser weapons and high technology in Detmold – in the Falklands the traditional British Army Pack Horse was making a comeback.
To supplement helicopter operations, tracked vehicles (known as BVs) were sometimes used, but they also found the going tough in the winter. According to Sergeant Carter, the horses were very sure footed and never fell while carrying heavy loads, even when climbing steep tracks and negotiating rocky terrain. During training they had become accustomed to the new weight on their backs and much of the equipment had not been used by the British Army since a Pack Horse unit in Hong Kong had been disbanded almost a decade earlier.
In addition to their role taking rations and urgent components up the mountainsides the horses also adapted to being trekked by the soldiers – all under Sgt Carter’s watchful eye. Not
25 Copy of letter from Sergeant Graham Carter RAVC c/o AD Battery BFPO 666 dated 9th July 1983.
26 Pack Horses in the Falkland Islands Interim report 16402 Sup dated 15th August 1983.
27 Ibid.
28 Letter from Sgt Graham Carter RAVC dated 9th July 1983.
29 TC/A 10012 RAVC dated 9th November 1983 – Covering letter re Pack Horse Trial April – September 1983 by Sergeant Graham Carter RAVC.
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