‘Canter’ equine sculpture unveiled in Edinburgh

Yesterday was a special day at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies of the University of Edinburgh, with two great occasions taking place: 1) Andy Scott’s latest sculpture was unveiled, and (2) HRH The Princess Royal unveiled the stunning work of art. It also felt like a special day for the team at Joseph Ash Galvanizing, as our Telford plant was privileged enough to be asked by Andy Scott to galvanize the steel, and it’s wonderful to see the sculpture in its final destination.

Andy Scott’s latest sculpture is called ‘Canter’. Equine in nature, it depicts a heavy draft horse, reflecting the heritage of the Vet School, which was originally set up to help working horses. The School commissioned the sculpture as a permanent work of art, to be placed outside their new faculty building at their Easter Bush Campus, after previously exhibiting small scale versions of Andy’s famous Kelpies sculptures.

Andy Scott said: “I chose a heavy horse to reflect the original intent of the school, which was set up to help workhorses in the early 19th century.

“I am delighted with how it fits into the environment, blending with the unique architectural features of the building and the stone plinth.” (Source: bordertelegraph.com)

The sculpture – which took 10 months to make – is made from welded steel flat bar, of varying thicknesses and widths, weighing in at about 1.5 tonnes, at a height of 15ft.

Joseph Ash galvanized the sculpture at our Telford plant, by carefully dipping the complete sculpture into a bath of hot molten zinc, to provide the steel with a coating that not only looks aesthetically pleasing but will also protect the steel from the elements (thereby preventing rust and corrosion) over the course of the next 25+ years.

You can see a photo of the sculpture in the yard at the Joseph Ash Telford plant – just after it had been galvanized – to the right. You can also see two photos of ‘Canter’ and HRH The Princess Royal at the unveiling yesterday. Visit our Facebook, Twitter and Flickr pages to see more photos. (‘Unveiling’ photos by Pete Reid.)

Mick Jackson, IT and Marketing Manager at Joseph Ash Galvanizing said: “We recently asked Andy what first inspired him to sculpt horses, and he told us that he had won a commission to sculpt a large Clydesdale horse way back in 1998 and he became hooked from then on. As we’ve been asked to galvanize many sculptures by Andy over the years, and it’s great to see the final art in situ, we think we’ve become hooked as well! It’s always a pleasure to assist Andy in protecting his sculptures so that they can be enjoyed by people many years into the future.”

To see more of Andy’s work, visit his website.

To see/read about more of the sculptures we have galvanized for Andy, click here.