Rest easy, Wellington

Today we bring the melancholy news of another valued member of our herd crossing the rainbow bridge. Former Household Division horse Wellington passed away peacefully after 7 years of blissful retirement here with us.

A real character, Wellington spent 17 years in the Household Division, taking part in all ceremonial duties attached to the role with highlights including being the Parade Commander’s horse on many occasions for Trooping the Colour and being ridden during the Royal Wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Notably, he was used by the Adjutant to ride up the stairs of the Old College during the Sovereign’s Parade held at Sandhurst which is a long-standing tradition and a massively impressive honour.

Retiring here at The Horse Trust in 2017 after so many commendable years of service, he soon found a firm friend in Household Cavalry retiree and sponsor resident Commando. They have often featured together on our social media, as Wellington had a habit of licking his friend to show his affection which was not only adorable but also made him a prime candidate for our ‘Tongue Out Tuesday’ feature each week!

Wellington struggled with his weight during the winter due to changes in his teeth that which is extremely common in older horses. Initially, he gained weight as the spring grass came through but unfortunately lost a dramatic amount of weight in a short space of time soon after. As soon as the drastic change was noted through our routine weigh ins, Wellington was referred to our amazing veterinary team who began a treatment plan. Despite his initial treatment showed an improvement in his mood and condition, sadly Wellington then deteriorated once again and we made the tough decision to let him go peacefully.

Whilst we are exceedingly sad to lose such a tremendous character from our herd, as always we choose to focus on the astonishing career Wellington led and the incredible years of retirement he has enjoyed here with us because these are the memories which remain in our hearts forever. Rest easy, Wellington HTx