Smoke
Since the end of May, the English Heritage site Audley End has once again had horses in its Victorian stables. This is Smoke, who's blind in one eye.
Captain
Thiirty-five year old Captain, a former polo pony, is the oldest horse at Audley End. Just like me, he's beginning to lose the collagen in his face—his face is very thin.
Undoubtedly, the four horses at Audley End would have been destroyed as they came to the end of their useful lives. But fortunately, the folks at Audley End decided that when they reopened the stables, they'd give these horses a good home. On alternating days, two horses spend the day in the pasture, while the other two entertain visitors in the stables. Smoke prefers the stables, as being in the pasture bothers her.
They're beautiful horses, and enjoy nothing more than being stroked by visitors. Audley End is located about 25 miles north of London, off the M11. Go visit them if you get a chance—entry is free for English Heritage members, around £12 if you're not. In addition to the horse stables, you can see the grand house, filled with "servants" who'll tell you what life is (was) like in the late Victorian era.
Audley End, in Suffolk
The other horses are Bonny and Duke, who I didn't meet while I was there. But I read all about the Victorian stables in the excellent interactive display—you can see a bit of it here, on the Audley End website. By 10 in the morning, the stables and horses were "all spic and span", ready for the orders of the day. You can see old Captain getting groomed here.
It's great to see the horses receiving such good care. And the house and grounds are pretty nice too.
