Rest In Peace, Loxley

With great sadness, we must announce the loss of former Greater Manchester Police horse, Loxley, aged 22 years old.

A handsome bay Irish Draught cross, Loxley began his policing career with Nottinghamshire Constabulary until their mounted unit disbanded in 2012. Due to Loxley being such a valuable and courageous police horse, he was purchased by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to continue his work. During his time with GMP, he worked in all aspects on the Mounted Unit such as Football Events including the Manchester Derby, the Manchester United Victory Parade as well as demonstrations and community events such as Eid, Caribbean Carnival, & Parklife festival.

Loxley retired to us here at The Horse Trust in 2016 due to the arthritis in his hocks making patrol work no longer possible for him. We were thrilled to give Loxley a place to retire in comfort after his service to not just one but two police forces! An amiable and gentle chap, Loxley fitted straight in with our herd of golden oldies and spent most of his time out in our rolling fields enjoying grazing and hanging out with his fellow equines.

Recently, Loxley was noticeably not quite himself during the daily checks that our grooms carry out and he was presenting with symptoms indicative of pneumonia. Of course, he was brought into a cosy stable immediately and was seen by our veterinary surgeon as soon as possible. Despite responding to initial treatment to make him comfortable, a scan of his lungs showed that one was filled with several masses that were unlikely to be treatable. This meant that the only choice was to give Loxley a pain free and comfortable passing to avoid him suffering.

Every loss is felt keenly here at The Horse Trust but we remain proud of giving these amazing public servants compassionate and welfare focused care right until the very end. Rest in peace, Loxley.