Inspired by today’s release of ‘War Horse’ the movie and some recent research I have been doing about donkeys and mules in conflict, I was curious as to whether any of the thousands of donkeys, mules or horses in our care had experienced any connection to those kind of situations. After a bit of asking around I found one that did – Millie the mule.
14 year old Millie came to the Sanctuary in 2010 after a short stint with the MOD. During her time there she was being trained to carry pack saddles, and was used to help Army vets-in-training learn the basics of horse management. Whilst she coped well with this training, Millie is an outdoor girl to the extent that she gets very distressed when stabled, and so she was not suited to the army way of life and came to the Sanctuary for more of an al fresco lifestyle.
Keen to find out more about the training that military equines go though, I contacted the team who used to care for Millie at the MOD. They told me that horses and mules are invaluable to them in areas where there is a more agricultural economy or where vehicles are not readily available, enabling the transport of everything from vital supplies and ammunition to casualties across difficult terrain. During World War I, the setting for ‘War Horse’, some mules and horses even carried a specially designed pack saddle which converted into two chairs to carry the wounded from the battlefield.
I find it amazing how these obedient animals, finding themselves caught up in battles that are not their own making, did and still do so much for their human comrades in times of war. Incredibly humbling.
As for Millie, her fate has changed from military mule to show girl! She has proven a huge hit with visitors at our headquarters near Sidmouth and was the highlight of our Summer Fair last year where she demonstrated a range of tricks from dancing and taking a bow, to standing on a box and waving a flag.
We love her to bits and are so glad her eccentricities landed Millie in our care.
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The story about Millie is fascinating. My father was in Burma during the last war and, due to the terrain, mules were widely used as pack animals. The men used to be very attached to their mules and even slept with their heads resting on the mules' flanks. If the animal was injured or killed, the tough, battle hardened soldiers often were so depressed that they had to be sent back behind the lines to recover. Regularly, my dad said, men would be in tears at the plight and suffering of the mules. They used to carry very heavy loads along very difficult, narrow mountain paths and many slipped over the edge to their death with their loads still attached. A book could be written about the part these beautiful animals played in the war.