Poet and author Neil Andrew contacted us this week to share his wonderful poem about a soldier and his horse, which is particularly poignant as we remember animals of war and animals in need through our Animal Purple Poppy Fund.

It was written for a recent competition to reflect on the horse in war. Neil tells us although the poem wasn’t shortlisted – we find that surprising – he put it on Facebook and its already been seen by over two million people, and read out at memorial services in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Neil, who runs a livery yard business in Warwickshire but is originally from Wales, has put his words to video, kindly recorded by Frank New. He writes under the name N E W Ireland and I Spoke To You In Whispers is included in a recently-published collection of poetry entitled Tales From A Dark Meadow which is based around country life.

It includes thought provoking poems about the way that the countryside is changing, including the sad loss of family farms, the rigours of horse racing, the beauty that nature provides and the emotions of the people who manage and work in the rural environment. Its available from Amazon, price £12.