Is this Ballarat's oldest horse? Meet Jess the rescue equine from Mt Wallace

Well, meet Jess.

Born in 1980, the Mt Wallace wonder-pony is believed to be the Ballarat region's oldest living equid.

While 42 is middle-aged for humans, it's off-the-scale-elderly for a horse.

Louise Jackson, of Jackson Park Equine Therapy, took on Jess as a rescue horse in 2018 - and while records of her birth and breeding are lost in time, her brand betrays her age.

"I can see she was heat-branded, which is something they begin to phase out in the 1980s," she said.

"We originally thought she was born around 1986, but it turns out she is much older."

Jackson Park was offered Jess after her elderly Meredith owner died.

"I was told she was left in the paddock for quite a while - and escaped, looking for her owner, on the day of his funeral," Ms Jackson said.

"She's very intelligent.

"I believe Jess was originally his grand-daughter's horse, but when he passed her future looked really uncertain.

"It took us half an hour of chasing around the paddock to get her into a horse float. I could see that she wasn't used to be being around a lot of humans.

"She looked a bit older when we got her here, but hanging out with children with special needs and connecting with them has given her a new lease on life."

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Jess is now being used in equine therapy to help children with emotional regulation and sensory issues.

At 13.3 hands, the stocky bay pony has a thicker-than-usual coat, with just a few flecks of grey.

Ms Jackson described her as a gentle matriarch.

"We noticed that she still really loved to run around. She's pretty active for an old chook."

Before Jess, Ms Jackson said the oldest horse she had worked with was a sprightly 28. In fact, the average equid lives 20-to-23 years. Like dogs, smaller horses generally survive longer.

Australia's oldest horse was Gold Coast gelding Calypso, who died aged 50 in 2020.

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