In 1930, wealthy Scottish socialite Dorothy Brooke followed her new husband to Cairo, where she discovered thousands of suffering former British war horses leading lives of toil and misery. Brought to the Middle East by British forces during the Great War, these ex-cavalry horses had been left behind at the war's end, abandoned as used equipment too costly to send home. Author Grant Hayter-Menzies chronicles not only the lives and eventual rescue of these noble creatures, who after years of deprivation and suffering found respite in the Old War Horse Memorial Hospital established by Dorothy, but also the story of the challenges of founding and maintaining an animal-rescue institution on this scale. The legacy of the Old War Horse Memorial Hospital and its founder endures today in the work of Brooke USA. In this conversation, Grant discusses some of the backstory behind the publication.
For more about Grant Hayter-Menzies-Menizes, visit https://grantmenzies.wixsite.com/author.
Later in the podcast, we'll speak with Sally Frick and Melissa Klaerner, two of the Brooke USA Advisory Council Chairs, to learn about the working going on in the community. Sally Frick is the Chair of the Council for the Foothills, while Melissa Klaerner leads the Council in California.
For more about efforts within the community and ways of being involved, visit https://www.brookeusa.org.
The mission of Brooke USA is to significantly improve the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules and the people they serve throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas and the Caribbean by raising funds and responsibly directing them to the areas of greatest need. This is accomplished through a holistic approach to funding which includes capacity building, sustainability programming, female empowerment and international advocacy. Brooke USA raises funds to support a wide variety of programs for working horses, donkeys and mules to help them become (and remain) healthy and happy, now and in the long-term, which also benefits the poor families who depend on those animals to help them earn a living. For more information visit www.BrookeUSA.org.
To learn more about podcast host Julianne and her partner Bruce Anderson, visit www.naturesview.us or tune in to "Whinny Tales: Horse Stories, Pony Legends and Unicorn Yarns," the official podcast of The Marley Project, an equine and arts-based 501 (c)(3). The Edge, a documentary about their work, is available on The EQUUS Film Channel and on their website at http://www.naturesview.us. Julianne's production work can be found at http://www.jamediaconnections.com. She also hosts and produces the EQUUS Film and Arts Fest Podcast.