In Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier is mostly on the run, with his desk in his backpack, looking for fascinating topics and people. In this city chronicle he speaks to everyone and is interested in all areas of life.
These brave mounts carried police officers at demonstrations, jumped over obstacles in equestrian competitions, pulled carriages in Old Montreal or pulled carts on sugar smelter trails. Now it’s time for a well-deserved rest.
In an animal shelter in Vaudreuil, an RPA riding stable that has existed for ten years and where 14 residents spend happy days after a life that has not always been easy, volunteers treat these pensioners very carefully.
“Jesse is 29 years old, almost 90 years old in human age, and he spent 25 years there pulling a horse-drawn carriage downtown,” Michael Grenier, the executive director of the A History of Horses shelter, told me.
To maintain his 1,800 pounds of muscle mass, Jesse, the 100-year-old rider, grazes hay all day. Sometimes he can also go for a walk on a kind of park path next to the enclosures. He can also spend time with his penmates.
“Our horses prefer to sleep outside, even in winter, when their hair gets very thick,” explains Mr. Grenier.
“We only bring them indoors in freezing weather, extreme weather or special medical conditions for a particular horse.”
More than a hundred volunteers
Mr. Grenier is retired from IBM, where he was a manager, and runs the stable’s NPO, which has 420 members and about 120 volunteers.
A horse comes by and walks with difficulty on the icy ground, which the snow has not yet covered with its cushioning fur: It is Eddie, a former competition horse who suffers from a degenerative disease.
Eddie leans over a water trough equipped with a warming system to prevent the water from freezing.
Louis Philippe Messier
Feed and clean
Four volunteers in neighboring enclosures push wheelbarrows full of hay to the residents to feed them.
Others play with shovels to collect the “street apples”.
“You have to think about how much feed you give to this or that horse, as this can vary depending on the weather or health status, and weigh up the right rations,” explains Mélanie Pellerin, one of the hard-working volunteers.
“Let’s go to the police now!” she enthuses.
The police: This is what the volunteers of the Patriote team call Sunny and Goliath, three retirees from the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM).
“Goliath is 14 years old and has only been here for three weeks, he is our youngest newcomer,” says Mr. Grenier.
Louis Philippe Messier
Courtesy of Refuge A Horse Tale
In a nearby enclosure, Princess comes to say hello and get a little petting.
“Princess comes from a sugar shack. A dental problem prevented her from eating hay properly and she had become very thin. The owner didn’t understand why. Here we gave her cereal soup, did dental work and she gained 300 pounds!” says Mr. Grenier happily.
Louis Philippe Messier
Louis Philippe Messier
Open doors
For several years there has been an adventure area in the stable where groups are also welcome.
On Saturday, December 9th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. the shelter will open its doors for a Christmas Magic event. Free for children under ten years old. $10 for others. There will be pastries and Santa Claus. The SPVM will be on site with its horses still on duty and the police officers assigned to them. The public will have the opportunity to take photos with the horses.