The 2017 annual meeting of the Mapleton Historical Society featured Dr. Lisa Cox, who spoke on “Canada’s War Horses and the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps from 1914 to 1918.”
As curator of the C.A.V. Barker Museum of Veterinarian History at the Ontario Veterinary College, Cox's work involves creating and maintaining the museum and exhibits for off-site use.
She is also an adjunct professor in the University of Guelph's history department.
Several years ago, Cox questioned the five Ontario Veterinary School deans as to the whereabouts of artifacts and information to be used in the new museum and exhibits.
“The deans looked at each other, laughed and proceeded to tell me that there was a vault located inside the college’s building stuffed from floor to ceiling with artifacts,” Cox explained. “Ontario Veterinary College graduate Cliff Barker began collecting and storing the artifacts in the vault in 1950.”
While sifting through the contents of the vault, Cox was able to sort out and catalogue a good portion of the collection amassing over 12,000 artifacts and 3,000 rare books – making this the largest veterinary collection in Canada and one of the largest in North America.
Part of Cox’s role as curator of the museum is to speak to groups on the role of horses in wars.
“Animals exist everywhere and nowhere. Little is recorded about their role in war as animals do not keep diaries or write letters. Artifacts become the link between people and animals, allowing historians to gain a glimpse into their lives, on the home front and with health matters and disease,” Cox said.
The First World War, known as the mechanized war, changed the face of military engagement with the use of machine guns and tanks. Despite these changes, animals were heavily relied upon as pack animals for the movement of artillery, soldiers, food and the dead and dying through sloppy, muddy terrain.
War documents are not clear on the exact number of horses used in WWI, but the number is thought to be six million. The British army brought a 25,000-horse mounted unit and in the first two weeks of the war, 1,000 horses were added daily, on top of the initial 165,000 horses. Other records indicate that 400,000 horses were purchased from other European countries and 700,000 were transported from Canada and the United States.
Before WWI veterinary care was disorganized but became centrally controlled and managed after the war broke out. Each army brought their own veterinarian core to work with disease, malnutrition and injuries.
The Canadian Army Veterinary Corps (CAVC), founded in 1910, trained in Quebec and cared for horses transported by boat to Europe. The men served as part of stationary units or mobile units located closer to the battlefields. Triage or mobile units treated horses, which were then transported to hospital. The CAVC hospitals in France and England allowed 2,000 horses to convalesce and return to service.
“The corps consisted of new graduates who were able to gain valuable veterinarian experience and veteran veterinarians. Graduation ceremonies at universities were delayed to allow veterinarians to serve in England and France,” Cox said.
The demanding role of a veterinarian in war included keeping horses fit, attending to critical injuries and strains, treating chronic illnesses, and disease prevention with limited funding and equipment. Artillery wounds from shrapnel and bullets required immediate attention. Sores and blisters left untreated became infected. Strains and pulls were a result of horses carrying gasoline tanks in mud up to the top of their legs. Small star shaped nails, used in the construction of wooden ammunition boxes, were scattered on the ground when the boxes were dismantled by soldiers. These nails caused hoof problems in horses as some remained embedded in the horse’s hooves.
Good consistent grooming and cleanliness were key factors in a horse’s longevity. Mange was controlled by walking horses threw a tank dug into the ground, filled with a mixture of water and lime. Glanders, an upper respiratory disease common in horses, was prevalent in Europe before and during the war. Left untreated, the disease proved fatal.
Eighty-pound field chests in the veterinarian unit contained three trays of instruments and medicines. A typical kit would include tubes and mixing bottles, syringes, needles and silk, dressing scissors, thermometers, scalpels, plaster casts and splints. Some common medicines used were avecoline, adrenaline, cocaine, morphine tartrate and strychnine.
The CAVC became well known worldwide, because of its mascot, Winnie, a bear cub taken overseas by CAVC veterinarian Harry Colebourn.
Winnie took up residence at a zoo in London, England where the cub inspired the Winnie the Pooh character.
Despite the challenges of war, Canadian veterinarians became innovative during crucial care and kept horses serving throughout the war.
The corps was disbanded in 1940.
Companionship between horses and men was documented in diaries and letters.
“CAVC records indicate that horse feed was imported from the United States and Canada to Europe. The first horses transported were draft horses and their owners were compensated. The effects of the loss of large numbers of horses in Canada was not recorded,” Cox said.
“The journey overseas created animal behavioural issues with aggressive horses often injuring each other. At the conclusion of the war the remaining work horses stayed in Europe and officers’ horses were returned home.”
On display during the evening were veterinarian medicine books, army service booklets, an officer’s wallet, a field message book and a uniform.
