During the First World War, eight million horses were killed and another 2.5 million were injured as they transported soldiers and supplies to the battlefields.

These horses were taken from the rolling plains of the United States and Canada, as well as the fields and factories of Britain, and were shipped off to places filthy and unfamiliar.

“(The First World War) was fought in muck and crud,” says Lloyd Swick, Canadian war veteran and founder of the Animals in War Dedication Project. “In conditions where trucks were useless, any movement would have had to come from the pulling power of our horses.”

The light draught horse acted as the Army’s logistic support – they pulled supporting artillery and supplies, as well as wagons and ambulances.

The heavy draught horse, with a greater and sturdier build, pulled larger artillery pieces, but eventually was replaced when the weapons of war became so massive that only motor vehicles had the power to move them.

According to Swick, many of these horses were left in the care of those who did not know how to tend to them. There would often be a shortage of hay, a lot of it being trampled into the mud, leaving the horses starved. Shelter was scarce and the animals were left out to endure all types of weather.

Swick’s father-in-law served with the Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps and recalled having difficulty trying to calm down the trauma-struck war animals. When he looked up in their eyes, there was absolute fear.

But fear or not, these animals kept on fighting. To honour their bravery, the Animals in War Dedication Monument was unveiled in Ottawa’s Confederation Park on Nov. 3, 2012.