WINDSOR (United Kingdom), April 29 — Members of the armed forces and the police may put their lives on the line for their country but even they have their mental and physical...
Muhyiddin’s trial: Mamfor’s RM19.5m ‘donations’ in 29 cheques to Bersatu flagged as suspicious, unusual to give money to political party, banker says Army veteran Al Strudwick , a former Sergeant who served with the Intelligence Corps of the Army, waits his turn to take part in an exercise to gain the trust of a horse at The Light Cavalry Honorable Artillery Company stables near Windsor, west of London on April 13, 2026.
— AFP pic! Plus, enjoy an additional FREE RM10 when you sign up using code VERSAMM10 with a min. cash-in of RM100 today. T&Cs apply. WINDSOR , April 29 — Members of the armed forces and the police may put their lives on the line for their country but even they have their mental and physical limits and often it is horses, not humans, who can provide salvation.
Former Royal Air Force reservist John Lewis contemplated suicide, serving police officer Nick Morton had a mental health breakdown and ex- military intelligence operative Al Strudwick lost his self-confidence after having both his legs amputated because of sepsis. All three shared a fear of horses, but it was to be the animals and not the therapists who would bring the trio back from the depths of despair after being put in touch with British charity Warrior Equine.
Such has been Warrior Equine’s success that it has been selected as the charity for the prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show, which takes place on May 14-17. Morton had over 20 years of experience, but the accumulation of dealing with traumatic incidents, such as child murders, took its toll.
“But actually we’re human beings. Same as our military colleagues are, we’re all humans. To keep costs at a minimum Warrior Equine, which was founded in 2019, has no permanent facilities or horses and uses both civilian equestrian centres and military horses for their three-day courses, of which between six and eight are held annually. Warrior Equine was the brainchild of Ele Milwright, though she and equine instructor Jim Goddard had been working with veterans for several years before that.
Warrior Equine Chief Instructor Jim Goddard mentors RAF veteran John Lewis , who suffered several broken bones in an accident which brought his RAF career to an end, as they watch a horse roll around in the dirt in an exercise to gain the animal's trust at The Light Cavalry Honorable Artillery Company stables near Windsor on April 13, 2026. — AFP pic As the wife of an RAF officer, Milwright had an inkling of how troubled some service personnel were after tours of duty.
“You couldn’t quite put your finger on it, but they came back and it was different. “So three things, understanding the value of horses, understanding how horses think, their psychology, and my commitment to help people with a military background or those who serve, all came together. ” The work involves the attendee leading the horse into a pen and using body language and energy to encourage the horse to move and interact.
As the attendees practise emotional self-regulation techniques, such as softening their body language, slowing their breathing and lowering their heart rate, they will aim to achieve a calm but focused state, which the horse will find safe to be around. The father of two had contemplated suicide after he suffered multiple fractures and spent months in hospital when a school bus squashed him between it and his vehicle.
“It became so overwhelmingly controlling. Even if I went into a supermarket to buy a loaf of bread and there wasn’t any bread on the shelf, that was me failing to be able to protect them. Lewis had tried several types of therapy and was so sceptical about Warrior Equine he turned back three times on his way to attend a course.
However, he eventually realised “I had to give this a go because ultimately, I was going to leave my kids with no dad. ”“The point where the horse can detect that you’re in control of those stress emotions going on inside you, they will, of their own free will, walk over to you and follow you around with no lead,” said Lewis.
“They’ll sit on your shoulder in this amazing way. And the way it’s been described to us, and you can really see it, is that they just want to sit there and trust you. ”“That dark tunnel doesn’t even stare me in the face,” he said.
Such has been the positive impact on Strudwick’s self-confidence he climbed the Pen y Fan mountain in Wales – part of the test for candidates for the British SAS special forces – in a wheelchair.
“It made me realise how far I had come, from lying in a hospital bed for 50 nights, and being released with shot-away kidneys and a slowly recovering liver, to climbing a mountain,” he said. Army veteran Al Strudwick , a former Sergeant who served with the Intelligence Corps of the Army, waits his turn to take part in an exercise to gain the trust of a horse at The Light Cavalry Honorable Artillery Company stables near Windsor, west of London.
— AFP pic“My little stumps kept sticking out of the water, which was quite comical,” he said.
“My wife joked when we were about to get out of the water that I should crawl up the beach screaming ‘shark! ’ and see people’s reaction to it. ”
Royal Windsor Horse Show John Lewis Nick Morton Al Strudwick Ele Milwright
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