Or can we credit Eligius, the patron saint of farriers, horses and those who work with them around the year 600 as the first creator? Again doubtful as there is no evidence that he himself ever made shoes for horses.

Finally, should we believe the legend stating that the horse of Mohammed’s uncle wore shoes suggesting that perhaps horseshoes were invented in the Orient? Again, as a myth this is doubtful.

Celtic horseshoes.

The Celts as first creators of nailed on shoes now comes into question. Centuries ago, a horse was often buried with his master and evidence of horseshoes in human graves suggests that the Celts were perhaps the first to protect a horse’s hooves with nailed on shoes. However not all agree. Despite the term ‘Celtic’ shoes used to describe those with a wavy rim, those found do not date from pre-Christian times and are only about a thousand years old.

Hipposandals
Alexander the Great had no problem keeping his horses hooves in good shape until the creation of roads saw the need for hoof protection. The Romans dealt with this issue by making ‘hipposandals’ for their horses out of leather. However, these leather models wore out too quickly so a sole of iron was then created and attached to horse legs by leather thongs.

As time went on, the thousands of Roman army horses, measuring only around 13 or 14 hands high, needed a more permanent solution and the nailed shoe became commonplace. The blacksmiths were an important part of the army corps and they, along with grooms and trainers, were called ‘immunes’ and were exempt from going into active battle.

The Norman warriors created shoes that were heavier and broader since their horses were bigger and stockier. During this time farm animals were also shod as rocky roads took their toll on mule and horse hooves. A blacksmith’s role in the battlefield was becoming crucial so when Edward II took his army to the continent to fight in 1359 he also took along a forge so that his horses could be shod.

The Blacksmith’s Shop, by Joseph Mallord (1807).

The business of blacksmithing was becoming an essential service and in 1356 in the City of London first established a fellowship to control their trade and protect customers, employers and employees by seeking out inferior work and punishing offenders with severe penalties.  As time went on the farriers honed their trade and skills while also treating horses for ailments.

In 1887, a court appointed committee was established and a registry of farriers was created with official exams for the creation of horseshoes and shoeing horses. Two years later the Registration Account and the Institute of Horse Shoeing was established for qualified farriers in London and throughout the countryside.

The Same but Different…
A blacksmith or ‘smithy’ as he was called in days gone by, is one who makes things out of iron or steel. The village smithy created and repaired household goods like plows, shovels, door hinges, gates, iron tires for wagons and hardware for homes, barns and stables. In the past he was also required to shoe mules and horses. 

While many ‘smithys’ found new employment as mechanics for the cars that were beginning to find their way onto city streets at the turn of the century, the invention of the automobile created a huge dent in the number of blacksmiths. However, today many men and women have re-established this once essential service as an art form and proudly call themselves blacksmiths creating beautiful scroll work for gates, decor, fences, furniture and table frames, fireplace screens, tools and door knockers.

Today’s farrier is an integral part of a horse’s life, wellbeing and success and their expertise is honed through courses, practice and ongoing learning in farrier science. As a farrier’s job is mainly focused on the creation and setting of shoes and corrective shoeing, he may not be as skilled in the blacksmith’s arts although some manage to be accomplished at both.

So, is a blacksmith a farrier and a farrier a blacksmith? It depends where you are and who you ask: some people still call their blacksmith a farrier and others think of their farrier as a blacksmith.

Farrier Adam McQueen from Bognor, ON. Thanks to Phil Robinson, President of the Ontario Farriers Association (OFA) for this photo.

Today worldwide guilds and organization of blacksmiths continue to proudly promote blacksmithing as a high quality, creative and affordable art form while Farriers’ Associations also exist to promote member interests while educating about horse and hoof care.

Did You Know?
The name blacksmith comes from two words: black and smite. Black refers to iron as that was the colour of the metal and the word smite comes from the action of hammering so we have ‘blacksmith’.

The expression ‘hammer and tongs’ means to strike with great violence and it comes from a blacksmiths action of holding a piece of metal with his tongs while hammering it on the anvil to shape. He also has to ‘strike while the fire is hot’ as cold iron cannot be easily shaped. He might also have ‘other irons in the fire’ meaning that while he is doing one job he has other things on the go to be done.

Jim Fitzgerald, Shergar’s groom .

In Part I of this blog, we went back almost 30 years to February 8^th, 1983, when Shergar, Ireland’s famous and successful racehorse turned stud, was kidnapped from his stables in County Leitrim, Ireland during  “The Troubles” – that period of killing and strife from the late 1960s until around 1998.

The kidnappers had cleverly chosen to kidnap this racing superstar the day before Goff’s racehorse sale. The highways and country roads were jammed with horse vans and trailers so the van carrying Shergar would have blended right in and nobody would have taken any notice of it.

The kidnapping was a mess right from the get-go: using the codename King Neptune and incorrectly thinking that he was the sole owner, the kidnappers then began secret negotiations with a representative of the Aga Khan. If they had done some research they would have been dismayed to find that there were 34 other syndicate members to deal with and who had to agree with the decisions and tactics regarding Shergar. There was also the fear that if the kidnappers got what they wanted then every other successful racehorse in Ireland would become a possible kidnap target. The kidnappers had also misjudged the Irish love of horses; every known Republican stronghold and safe house was raided and many arms’ caches were discovered in an all out effort to find this Irish racing star.

The police investigation was also a calamity from the start. Chief Superintendent James Murphy became the darling of the media for using bizarre methods including mediums and psychics to try and solve the case. Captain Berry, then Chairman of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, revealed that his senior officers were carrying on investigations that were in direct competition with the local County Kildare police and that the two groups were not sharing information.

To add to the confusion were the countless conspiracy theories that ran wild: some thought that the mafia were behind the kidnapping for a deal gone wrong with the Aga Khan. Others thought that Colonel Gaddafi was behind it in return for arms for the IRA. However, the majority of investigators felt that the IRA was to blame. Years later Sean O’Callaghan, a double IRA killer turned police agent revealed in his book “The Informer” the names of seven former Provos he claimed had planned and carried out the kidnap with senior IRA leader Kevin Mallon as the man who devised the plot. O’Callaghan also stated in his book that the horse had injured himself early on in the kidnap and had been destroyed, but that the IRA kept up the pretence that he was alive.

However, according to another IRA source, even O’Callaghan didn’t know the whole truth because the gang was so embarrassed by what they had done. Another source who was a friend of one of the kidnappers claimed that the Army Council, the Provos’ ruling body, had sanctioned the kidnap, but plans went afoul. The vet who had agreed to look after Shergar changed his mind after his wife found out what was happening and told him that if he walked out the door to look after Shergar and play a part in the wrongdoing, he would never walk in again.

England’s Sunday Telegraph revealed that four days after the kidnapping and following extensive stalling by the Aga Khan’s representative, the Army Council felt the horse was worthless and wanted to release him. However, Mallon was under surveillance, the Garda were all over Ireland and letting the horse free amidst such turmoil and scrutiny would have been impossible. Mallon then decided to kill the horse and what followed is the ultimate tragedy for a horse that was known for his kind and gentle temperament.

He was taken to a remote stable and machine gunned to death in the same way that the IRA had killed countless human victims. The details are gruesome and not for the fainthearted and to this day nobody in Ireland knows where he is buried though speculation runs wild. Even broad Republican sympathisers would not have forgiven the IRA and its political wing, Sinn Fein for killing a beloved horse in such a manner.

Over the years, the IRA has tried to blame renegade members for the kidnapping but historian and journalist Kevin O’Connor dismisses this idea knowing that an operation of such intensity and manpower required authorization at a high level.

To this day Shergar’s final resting place remains a secret and Gerry Reynolds, a former MP for Sligo/Leitrim for 20 years admitted that, “I would love to see this mystery resolved so that we all know what happened to the horse’s remains. But I honestly don’t think Shergar’s grave will ever be found.”

Was he buried in a bog near Ballinamore at the farm of a Provo supporting family? Was he buried at a farm near Ballinamore?  If anybody knows, nobody is talking. In Ballinamore the locals turn their heads and walk away when questioned and British journalists get no answers when they visit this town known as the “Falls Road of the South” because of its support for the Provos. Even men like Kevin Mallon who is now viewed as a “headcase” refused to answer questions and others mentioned in Mallon’s book deny any involvement.

Jim Fitzgerald, Shergar’s groom is now an old man, but he still holds the memory of Shergar dear to his heart. When he was told how Shergar died, apparently he wiped a tear from his eye and said, “Shergar was a grand horse and he deserved better.”

Shergar, the missing stallion.

Shergar the racehorse may not be a household name in North America, but in Ireland he is remembered as a nation’s favourite racing “son.” Sadly, along with those memories are recollections of “The Troubles,” the killing and strife that existed between Irish Catholics and Protestants in the late 1960s until around 1998. It was those conflicts and the greed that fuelled them that led to the grisly demise of an equine superhorse almost three decades ago.
Our story begins in County Leitrim, Ireland, a sparsely populated region that was bandit country when Irish Republican Army members (IRA) and supporters smuggled their weapons and arms over the border to the north, attacked and then retreated to safe houses.

The hills surrounding Leitrim have and hold many secrets but the greatest of all is the mystery surrounding the disappearance and death of Shergar, a racehorse of almost mythical proportions. The story itself reads like a whodunit complete with bungled police investigations, miscommunications, misinformation, the billionaire Aga Khan, IRA members, syndicate members and sadly, kidnappers who didn’t have a clue about handling a stallion, albeit, a gentle and kind one.

Shergar was a character and soon captured the hearts of the British and Irish racing fans in the early 1980s. He had a white blaze on his face, four white socks and he ran with his tongue lolling out to one side of his mouth. In his two and three old years, his racing victories were sensational and he took the 1981 Derby by an amazing 10 lengths, a record distance for Britain’s biggest flat race.  He was owned by none other than the Aga Khan, the billionaire spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims, was trained by Sir Michael Stoute at Newmarket, England and was ridden by the “choirboy”, the angelic looking 19 year old jockey Walter Swinburn. Shergar was named European Horse of the Year in 1981.

At the end of his racing career the Irish and British public breathed a sigh of relief when Shergar was sent back to Ireland instead of America to stand at stud for shares of 10 million pounds (40 shares worth 250,000 pounds each, six of which were kept by the Aga Khan). It was thought he would have a long and distinguished stud career ahead of him. Little did anybody know what lay ahead.

Thirty years ago the Ballymany Stud, close to The Curragh racetrack, was protected from the outside world by nothing more than a five bar wooden gate and latch, despite the fact that the four legged equines within were worth millions of pounds each. Today’s CCTV cameras and security guards were unheard of. Around 8.30pm on February 8th, 1983 Jim Fitzgerald, head groom at the stud heard a knock at his door. His son Bernard answered and three masked, armed men barged in demanding, “We have come for Shergar. We want 2 million pounds (ransom) for him.”

Shergar had a distinctive look.

The gunmen then took the elder Fitzgerald out to the stables and ordered him to lead Shergar into a stolen horse box. He himself was then put into a car and driven about three miles from the farm where he was ordered to “Get out, keep walking, don’t turn around and say nothing.”

Once back at home Fitzgerald found his family of six unharmed and he rang the stud manager Ghislain Drior who in turn called Stan Cosgrove, Shergar’s vet who also had a share in the horse. Cosgrove then called his friend, former Army officer Captain Sean Berry who called Alan Dukes, the local Member of Parliament and Irish Finance Minister. However, Dukes had a budget to deliver the next day and he “passed the buck” onto the justice minister. It was not until 4.00am that the Garda or Irish Police were alerted and one of the biggest security operations in Irish history galloped into action.

In Part II we will look further into the bungled, incompetent and disorganized search for this incredible racehorse that soon turned into a media circus. It was termed “a caricature of police bungling”. Only recently has the ‘supposed’ truth been revealed surrounding Shergar’s disappearance, but as long as dead men can’t talk and living perpetrators remain silent, the real facts may never be known.

Jimmy with his corporal chevrons on his harness pulling his RSPCA cart.

While my blog’s name, Horses & History, suggests boundaries for my material, horses and donkeys, while not the same species, are part of the same family Equidae and the genus Equus.  Close enough is good enough so when a Facebook post last week from The Donkey Sanctuary in Guelph, Ontario http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.ca/ caught my attention, I knew I had to write about Jimmy, the little WWI donkey with an incredible start to life that time has never forgotten.

This story begins in the trenches of the infamous WWI Battle of The Somme in France that lasted from July 1st until November 18th, 1916. The trenches were riddled with rodents, lice and disease; mud and filth were abundant; advances were measured in inches and death was everywhere. It was truly hell on earth and over 600,000 British Empire and French soldiers died in the battles.

The crack infantrymen of the 1st Scottish Rifles (later the Cameronian Scottish Rifles) had overrun the German trenches, but had paid heavily for their efforts. They took a brief rest and suddenly a piper began to play. At the same time both German and Scottish soldiers noticed something moving in the middle of the battlefield seemingly startled by the bagpiper’s noise. It wasn’t a wounded man by the shape, but one soldier, perhaps a farm lad from the countryside, recognized the helpless blood and mud covered creature for what it was as it struggled to stand. Taking his life into his hands, he sped across the battlefield and scooped up the tiny animal, born a few hours before when his mother, a German pack mule had been killed. Amazingly, not one German shot was fired at him as he and his bundle scrambled to safety in the filthy trenches. Sam Morrell from the Cameronian Scottish Rifles Association (72) said, “The German side stopped firing and started to cheer as Jimmy was delivered and taken back behind the lines.”

The trenches where Jimmy began life.

Hit by shrapnel, muddy, bloody and terrified, Jimmy the donkey had found safety in the midst of one of the worst battles of WWI, and to the end of his days he paid his saviours back in spades.

No doubt the sight of this wee waif gladdened the hearts of many of these war weary soldiers who often formed incredible bonds with the horses, donkeys and mules who toiled beside them in the mayhem of war. Jimmy was loved by the men, raised on tinned War Department milk and he worked tirelessly as he grew older by carrying supplies, ammunitions and wounded men.

He himself was wounded many times and was taken away from the front lines and fighting to recover before returning. For his efforts he was promoted to full corporal and his chevrons of rank were put on his harness.

With the end of the war, sadly many of the surviving four legged “soldiers” were considered War Surplus and met with tragic fates at the hands of French butchers or as cart horses and worse. For Jimmy, Lady Luck stepped in again and at a public auction, a Mrs. Heath from Peterborough, England bought him for a few “bob” or a few shillings.

Jimmy the Donkey went on to tackle his next job in life, but happily it was far more pleasant that his first. For the next 20 years Jimmy would spend his days in a small paddock in the town centre and people would visit him and drop coins into a small bucket around his neck for the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The local newspaper, The Peterborough Citizen ran a weekly column detailing the money donated and Jimmy raised thousands of pounds for this charity.

Jimmy went to the big paddock in the sky to frolic with his other four legged friends in 1943. A monument was erected to honour this donkey with the less than auspicious start in life who ended up being a favourite in his adopted town of Peterborough and well beyond. Over his gravestone his epitaph read: “JIMMY, born on the Somme 1916.”

Jimmy’s Memorial in Peterborough, England.

Now, we fast forward to 2003. Jimmy’s grave in Peterborough’s Central Park had become unkempt and forgotten, but when the town council decided to refurbish the park, Jimmy’s memorial was included. About 2,000 people gathered for his rededication and included a padre, a full Lt. Colonel from The Cameronians, a Pipe Band, The Highland Dancers, The British Legion, the RSPCA, the local cadets, Civic Dignitaries and hundreds of children.

In a recent newspaper article, veteran Sam Morrell admits that he was so taken by the movie War Horse that he put up Jimmy paraphernalia and memorabilia in the museum of the Cameronian Scottish Rifles Association in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. Jimmy has a new lease on life and has proven to be a huge hit once again drawing large crowds. “He is a big part of the Cameronian history and we want to make sure that he is never forgotten.”

So Jimmy, the WWI orphan donkey who would raise his hoof in a salute when his soldiers returned from patrol and learned to beg on his hind legs for his favourite jam on biscuits, has once again been honoured over 65 years since his passing and almost 100 years since his birth on the war torn and bloody battlefields of France.

A young cowboy.

If a tall sexy Clint Eastwood, or a swaggering John Wayne come to mind when we think of a cowboy, in truth they were the Hollywood made for movie versions and they bear little resemblance to the real thing.

Many cowboys were illiterate Hispanic, African Americans or farm teenagers from the Southern States looking for adventure and a paycheque. The cowboy legend was created thanks to the great cattle drives from the 1860s to the 1880s when, in the spring,  thousands of longhorn cattle and tough little mustang ponies were rounded up and herded from the coastal prairies and Texan bush lands north to Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and other states.

Most cowboys were between 15 and 25 years old and the life they took on was rough, tough, dangerous and more than a few died on the trail in horse related accidents,  flooding rivers or stampedes caused by lightening or something as innocuous as a cowboy striking a match on his pants.

A cowboy’s day began at sunrise and he spent an 8 or 10 hours in the saddle riding “swing” beside the herd or “drag” behind the herd. He had to encourage the cattle to move forward, keep an eye out for Indians, strays, wolves, and stampede starters while inhaling gallons of dust.

A cattle drive.

In the late afternoon the cowboys began to look for a suitable night bedding ground which offered good grazing, a watering hole and if possible a pleasant cooling breeze.  After his dinner of beef, fry pan bread, tinned tomatoes  and beans with bacon served from the chuckwagon, he began his night herding chores and he and another cowboy circled the herd slowly in opposite directions humming tunes learned at his church as a child or creating something soothing for the cattle.

When he was finally able to lie down to sleep, his 40 pound, $50.00 saddle often served as his pillow at night, while in the day time it worked overtime to help with roping cattle, crossing streams and breaking broncos. A yellow rain slicker was tied at the back of the saddle and his canteen hung from the horn. His bridle was decorated with silver “conchas” and his 50 foot lasso of hemp catch rope was limbered up or softened by dragging it behind the horse. His saddle blanket was a cover and on cold nights he held the bridle bit in his hands to keep it warm for his horse in the morning.  His high crowned, wide brimmed hat also served as a pillow, water bucket, sun shade, and umbrella and marked him as a real “cowboy.” His pants were dark wool covered with chaps to protect him from brambles, trees, and the elements, while his neck bandanna did double duty against the dust or for an instant face wash when wet.

Thunder and lightning often started a stampede.

The  cowboys’ herding horses started off as  wild mustangs that needed to be broke before the  drive began and the remuda, or herd of fresh horses for the cowboys was always at the back of the drive. Each cowboy needed four to six horses to complete the long trek and, as time went by, a bond and an understanding was forged between man and horse. Most of the “horses” used were about 14 hands high or smaller, weighed 700-900 and each one had a particular strong point or trait: bravery for crossing streams and rivers, agility for cutting cattle or speed for galloping during stampedes.

For the bone weary cowboy who endured thirst and endless long hot days interspersed with disasters and potentially life threatening situations, the pay ranged from $15.00 to $20.00 a month while the trail boss made about $35.00.

The cook made twice as much and he ruled his cooking roost with an iron hand. His private space including cooking fire was sacrosanct and ran about 10 feet from the work table. “Come an’ get it!” was the verbal invitation for a meal and the cowboys served themselves from huge pots or Dutch ovens using spoons and forks that were called “eaten irons.”  The trail boss could tether his horse closest to the chuckwagon (and always downwind of course) while the regular cowboys tethered theirs at least 30 feet away. The cook was expected to have the upcoming meals ready for the team so he often moved camp more than once a day hitching up his 2 or 4 horse teams and driving to the new location to prepare the noonday and evening meals.

When Willie Nelson sang:  “Mommas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys”  he must have known a thing or two about the truth behind the iconic legend.  It certainly wasn’t all “Happy Trails to You,” and riding off into the sunset at the OK corral!

Did you know that to a cowboy belly wash was weak coffee; axle grease was butter, a brain tablet was a cigarette, a calico queen was a honky-tonk woman and a saddle horn was an apple.

Arrival of the mail coach.

The public postal service in England first got the go ahead in 1635 when post-boys carried the mail between “posts” to a local postmaster who took out the letters for his region and sent the boy onto to the next post. However, these youngsters were all too often targets for thieves, and the lure of cool ale and a roadside rest on a hot day made mail delivery unpredictable at best.

Enter John Palmer, a theatre owner in Bath, who had devised a quick way of moving his actors from one theatre to another and thought his system might work for the mail. William Pitt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was farsighted enough to believe in Palmer’s idea and an experimental coach took off in a cloud of excitement from Bristol on August 2, 1784 at 4:00 p.m. and reached London 16 hours later, beating the previous time by 22 hours! By the spring of 1785 mail coaches from London served the towns of Liverpool, Leeds and Norwich and eventually Dover, Portsmouth, Poole, Exeter and Holyhead just to name a few.

The coaches and drivers were under contract and the guard was the only Post Office employee on board.  He carried two pistols and a blunderbuss and looked resplendent in an official red coat complete with gold braid and blue lapels topped by a black hat with gold band. He carried a long horn to warn other road users and, the toll keeper who let the mail coach pass through at no charge. At the villages where the coach did not stop, the sound of the horn alerted the postmaster and the mailbags were thrown to the ground as the coach galloped by while the regional bags of mail were flung up to the guard to be taken onwards. While the guard took his horn blowing seriously in larger towns and cities, along country roads, they developed melodies and tunes to pass the time and enliven spirits. Still today at horse shows the park drag and mail coach horn blowing competition is a favourite!

James Nobbs, the last mail coach guard.

The advent of the mail coach was the epitome of village excitement in those days and people gathered to watch the coach arrive or leave; they were finally connected to the world beyond!

The coach driver had to handle coach and horses at blistering paces in all conditions. Often, young men bribed the coach driver to let him take the reins and with the demise of the mail coaches, four- and six-hand driving clubs were formed. The coachman’s role, once seen as that of mere driving servant, was now the thing to do amongst the male gentry with a need for speed in competitions and a wish to be seen driving a stunning coach with matching team.

Initially, mail coaches allowed four passengers to ride inside and soon after an additional person was permitted to ride next to the driver. Later two more sat behind the driver when an extra seat was added but the guard’s place was sacrosanct and nobody was to sit beside or near him and his precious cargo of mail.

Riding in a mail coach was not for the faint hearted. The roads where rutted, rough and muddy quagmire slowed progress in poor weather requiring the gentlemen to get out and push or, get out and walk up steep hills to save the horses.  The coaches galloped on at a furious speed scattering all in their path and inn stops were just for changing horses every 10 miles. Some lengthy routes saw the need for 100 or more horses and The Bull and Mouth Inn, one of London’s biggest coaching inns, had room in the cellars for 200 horses at one time.

The average speed for a coach was 5mph (8kph) in winter and 7-8mph (11-12kph) in summer but this increased to 10mph (16kph) with the creation of macadam, a type of road construction pioneered by Scotsman John Macadam whereby single sized layers of stone were bound with tar.

Mail cart - Isle of Wight.

While the onset of the railway helped spawn the Industrial Revolution, sadly, it saw the demise of the mail coaches and on November 11, 1830, the first train with mail set out from Liverpool to Manchester. Other rail lines followed and by the early 1840’s many of the London based coaches were pulled from service, the last one leaving London to make its way to Norwich on January 6, 1846.

However, the coaching era was not gone forever and with the introduction of the Parcels Post, some coaches were re-introduced in 1887. In the next century, the start of the Post Office’s own motor fleet saw another change and in 1927 there were 723 gas vehicles on the road but horse service was still active with 127 carts in smaller areas delivering mail.

The Second World War and the rationing of gas saw the horse drawn mail carts stay in action much longer than anticipated and the final mail cart, pulled by Peter the horse, left the King Edward Building in London in 1949.  It was truly the end of an era!

Medieval knights jousting.

Keep left: Riders, knights, mounted officers. If a knight was riding on the left side of the road, it was safer and easier to mount on the left side near the edge of the road instead of in the middle with horse traffic or pedestrian congestion. Also, riding on the left enabled right-handed sword carrying riders to be closer to their potential enemies or to extend a hand in friendship. The exception to this was Napoleon, who was left-handed and preferred to ride on the right with his troops and hold his sword in the left hand. He established a right-hand rule for all the countries he conquered.

The Queen with postilion rider.

Keep right: When France and the USA began hauling farm products in massive wagons with no drivers up top, they stayed right and used postilion riders who rode the left side leader (front) horse or left side wheeler (rear) horse of the wagon. Postilion riders could then see oncoming vehicles and use the whip in their right hand.

British Growler Cab with driver on right.

Keep left: In England, if a coach was driven by a coachman, they normally kept to the left side of the road, sat on the right side of the seat and held the whip in their right hand. This enabled him to keep a comfortable and safe distance from oncoming traffic on the right while his whip – with the tendency to go towards the left – would not hit the oncoming vehicle or passengers. Also, a left turn using the left hand – holding reins only and no whip – was faster and easier if an accident was imminent. Keeping left in England became law in 1756, with the enactment of an ordinance governing traffic on the London Bridge. 

In countries where coaches or drags were driven by coachmen, left hand road driving was common whereas in France, postilion riders who rode the left side horse were dominant and the right hand road driving was preferred and never changed.

Did You Know?

A Conestoga wagon.

• The heavy Conestoga wagons that brought settlers to the American west were massive vehicles best suited to being driven on the right with postilions. When lighter stagecoaches were created much later, the right hand driving was the established practice and it never altered.

• Ancient Romans drove on the left and proof of this was found when a Roman quarry was unearthed in 1998 near Swindon, England. Ruts on the left side when the carts where empty and entering the quarry were much shallower than the ruts on the right when the carts were full leaving the quarry.

• More evidence comes from an ancient denarius coin from between 50 BC and 50AD showing two riders passing each other right shoulder to right shoulder, therefore on the left side of the road.

• Today many countries once colonised by the French drive on the right and those colonised by the British Empire drive on the left. In Canada, Ontario and Quebec have always driven on the right because of the French settlers. When the English gained control from France, they permitted right hand driving to remain.

• While mounted knights have often been credited with creating some of the initial rules of the road, historians feel they played a relatively small part. Most medieval road traffic would have been commoners and serfs and when an aristocrat came riding by, these poorest of the poor scattered into the ditches and fields…no rules there. If knights did establish any road rules between themselves they were probably created out of courtesy and would certainly never have translated into protocols for an entire population.

A battle scene

The American Indian’s horse is depicted in movies as small, tough, resilient and a true survivor. They may have looked shaggy and unkempt by today’s standards, but their appearance belied an indominatable spirit that was viewed very highly by their Indian owners.

History tells us that these small horses first saw the shores of America in the 1550s thanks to the Spaniards. They were a mix of Barb, Arabians and Andalusian at that time and were considered the cream of the equine worldly crop, and Cortez thanked his four-legged equine partners when he conquered Mexico. 

Indians had never seen horses before this, so they held them in highest esteem (almost godlike) and were not allowed to own them for years. Eventually, the Indians got over their starry-eyed amazement and with the acceptance of  these “God Dogs” or “Big Dogs” their lives were transformed from plodding nomads with small dogs that carried their possessions, to worriors and hunters with large tepees and a wider and greater living area. Their hunting methods were also changed forever and running after a herd of buffalo and sending them all off a cliff was replaced by hunting on horseback with only the choicest and largest animals being killed.

Horse Sport
The Indians revered their horses and stealing another tribe’s equines was a completely honourable sport for the young plains Indians. Horses meant wealth and were often used as gifts, and bartered for other goods and honoured in various Indians cults. The Oglala Dakota tribe had an elaborate cult that featured a dance in imitation of horses and the horse medicine men and women of the tribe were among the most respected. Their horse medicines were used to influence the outcome of races, to cure sick and wounded horses, to calm horses and to ensure mares had good foals.

A photo of Comanche in 1867.

Perhaps the most famous horse associated with Indian history was Comanche, the supposed only survivor of the battle of Little Bighorn also known as Custer’s Last Stand, from 1876-1877. When reinforcements arrived, General Custer and more than 200 of his soldiers were dead. Comanche was wounded, but still standing and was nursed back to health. He became a symbol, a hero, an icon and the people believed incorrectly that he had been Custer’s horse and that he was the sole battle survivor. The Army encouraged these myths and Comanche toured the country as the Army whipped up enthusiasm for Indian wars.

Captain Keogh was the soldier who actually rode Comanche at The Battle of Little Bighorn.

Comanche died in 1890, at Fort Riley, and his body was sent to the University of Kansas Natural History Museum to be stuffed. However, either unwilling to pay the bill or knowing that most Indians were either dead or captured, poor old Comanche never left the Museum except for one short jaunt to Chicago in 1893.

Did You Know?

Indians and their horses were true partners and they spent time before each battle, raid or hunt painting symbols on their horse. Here is a list of some of the most important:

• Hail Stones were for a prayer for hail to fall on the enemy.
• Hoof prints were drawn on the horse to show how many enemy horses were captured.
• The Battle Scars were always painted with a red hand and the Pat Hand symbols were made by the left hand drawn on a horse’s right hip, the latter showing that the horse had brought his owner home safely.
• The Upside Down hand print meant a do-or-die mission and was the most prized symbol.
• Apache and Comanche warriors who were dying in battle would pat their horse’s neck with a bloodied hand and the horse would return home with this grim news for all to see.
• Indians knotted their horse’s manes to prevent their bows and arrows from getting tangled. They also knotted the horse’s tail in an effort to prevent the enemy from taking hold of it and unseating his rider.

A beautiful early 20th Century basket rocking horse.

When the young Victoria came to the throne in England at the age of 18 in 1837, Christmas celebrations rooted in pagan beliefs were banned. However, when she married her first cousin Albert from Germany, he brought with him many Christmas customs, and holiday fun finally found a foothold. Along with the growing popularity of the holiday season, good food, decorating and Christmas trees, was the giving and receiving of toys. While children’s toys at that time were made of tin, paper and wood, one stands out as the quintessential gift for children of all ages and has endured the test of time. This was and is, of course, the rocking horse.

While toy horses have been in existence for several thousand years, they were initially made for boys so that they could mimic their fathers going off to war or hunting or driving.  In fact, James I of England wrote to his young son: “The honourablest and most commendable games ye can use are games on horseback.”

The earliest form of riding horse was a plain hobby horse with a crudely carved head stuck on a stick, perhaps also with a wheel at the end. It was this wheeled hobby horse, along with the traditional rocking cradle and the pull along tilting seat that are credited with the initial beginnings of the rocking horse.

The oldest known rocking horse was owned by Charles I (November 19, 1600 – January 30, 1649) and was bought in 2006 by The Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in England for £25,000 (about $39,000 in today’s market). Apparently, it had been made for the sickly boy with rickets who would become heir when his older brother died of typhoid years later. This simple horse was made of two flat boat shaped plants bridged by a seat with a carved head and neck.  A tail, long since gone may have been attached and two foot rests were placed near the shoulders.

A dappled grey rocking horse...an enduring classic and favourite.

Initially, toy horses were heavy in structure but they gradually evolved to become more elegant and light especially when Arabian stallions were imported to England and hunting became popular. These Georgian horses evolved into spirited racehorses with outstretched legs, flowing manes and tails and lowered head and many a young child learned the rudiments of staying on as they galloped across imaginary meadows and fields!

In the 19th century, as the wealthy began to keep horses for pleasure, the rocking horse too changed and various breeds were created to appeal to all. Manufacturers were always looking for new ideas and by 1877, there were eleven different rocking horses makers and these whimsical equines had become a staple of the nursery in countless shapes and forms. As time went on the horses were given glass eyes, real manes and tails and painted saddles and bridles gave way to the real thing made of scraps of leather and metal.

A Victorian child and his horse.

New designs took shapes in the form of baskets or wooden seats that attacked to each end of the rockers or these same rockers could be detached and mounted on a wheeled platform to create a pull toy. In the 1880s W.A Marqua of Cincinnati made a horse that glided back and forth using sliding bars thus making a safer toy that didn’t slowly creep across the floors when rocked and wouldn’t tip forward or backwards if the imaginary horse race got too frenetic.

Today, the art of making rocking horses is enjoying a resurgence and these projects, not for the faint of heart, are true art forms requiring the hand carving of hard woods, painting, and even the creation of saddles and bridles. One manufacturer of handmade rocking horses in a huge variety of sizes shapes and colours has their tack made by a master saddler and offers saddle pads, hunting breast plates and knee rolls for the truly discerning buyer.

Did You Know?
• From the 16th century, “barrel horses” were created because of their shape and, with wheels attached, could be pulled with a small child atop. These barrel horses became incredibly popular when a pole was attached to the end of the horse so that it could be pushed along or used to support a child learning to walk.

• The aristocracy often had the estate carpenters create rocking horses for the owner’s children. For the young ladies of the house, an extra pummel was often placed into a hole near the saddle so that they could ride side saddle.

• King George IV was given an Appaloosa horse by a foreign nobleman but the horse did not understand when he spoke so threw him off. The angry king vowed never to ride a spotted horse again so the popularity of spotted horses went out of fashion even within the rocking horse world.

• Georgian horses and dogs suffered the indignity of having their tails and ears clipped so many Georgian rocking horses were made to mimic this passing fad.

• Rocking horses during the Georgian period were called “racers” and were created with necks stretched out as in a full gallop. By 1850, the horses were made with a more collected neck position and these horses called “jibbers” were universally accepted by toy makers.

Thanks to the Kensington Rocking Horse Company in England for their superb photos.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London houses a collection of rocking horses: Read about them at
http://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/collections/toys/toy_horses/index.html

If you are interested in seeing some superb examples of handmade and/or restored rocking horses in a wide variety of sizes, styles and colours check out http://www.kensington-rocking-horses.co.uk/ 

Film poster of War Horse

While the movie War Horse was filmed just last year, I still felt that it merited a mention in my Horses & History blog because of the historical nature of the story. The movie is set in World War I and follows the story of a young farmhand, Albert Narracott, who braves the trenches in an effort to bring his cherished horse, Joey, home after it is sold to the cavalry and sent to France.

How it All Began
A meeting that started out as friendly pub chat in Devon, England more than 30 years ago laid the foundations for a child’s story that was first published in 1982. Twenty-five years later the book became a hit theatre production in London and the USA and in December 2011, it will be a most anticipated film on the big screen with whispers of Oscar accolades. It opens in theatres around Christmas Day in North America.

Author, Michael Morpurgo, was enthralled by WWI veteran Captain Budgett’s story about the horse who was his partner, confident and friend during the hellish years of the First World War. Morpurgo recalls the old man’s words: “The only ‘person’ I could talk to about things that I really cared about – my family, my mum and my fear of dying – was my horse. And I’d go to my horse at night and I’d feed him and I’d stand there, and I’d stroke his neck and talk into his ear and I’d tell him… and that horse listened.”‘

Hollywood mega producer, Steven Spielberg, became aware of the War Horse theatre production through one of his producers, Kathleen Kennedy, who saw the stage show in 2009, where a metal horse was used instead of a real horse. The book had been successfully adapted for the stage by allowing the horse to tell the story through his eyes as in the book. Steven Spielberg admits that the era surrounding WWI had never really interested him until he had seen the play in London, met the cast, visited the Imperial War Museum, and knew right away that this would be his next film: “Its heart and message provide a story that can be felt in every country.”

Jeremy Irvine plays Albert Narracott.

Below are some interesting facts and trivia about the filming and making of this much anticipated film:

• Jeremy Irvine, who plays lead character Albert Narracott, was chosen from hundreds of boys, going in to audition two or three times a week for two months.

• The cast is made up of Brits, French and German actors.

• The great granddaughter of Captain Budgett, one of the WWI veterans who inspired Morpurgo to write the story acted as an extra in one scene.

• Prior to the filming, all actors underwent two months of intensive horse training.

• Spielberg films are shrouded in secrecy during production, and filming for War Horse took place in England and Wales in various locations under the codename Dartmoor.

This was the Narracott farmhouse in War Horse.

• Filming took place in Surrey, Wales and Dartmoor at Meavy village, and near Widecombe-in-the-Moor, and Ditsworthy Warren House. An isolated Grade II listed building near Sheepstor served as the Narracott family home in the film. Even the French scenes were shot in England.

• Spielberg fell in love with the Devon countryside saying: “I have never before, in my long and eclectic career, been gifted with such an abundance of natural beauty…I hardly scratched the surface of the visual opportunities that were offered to me.”

• Some residents of Castle Combe, another location, did not appreciate being unable to enter their village until filming breaks.

• The crew were apparently often in tears during filming of the scenes showing horses being shot and maimed.

• Author, Morpurgo, visited the set during filming and has high praise for Spielberg saying: “Spielberg is a wonderful storyteller and a kid. He was warm, kind and open, and utterly without ego. Spielberg was like a conductor with a very light baton. He hardly had to wave it at all. I was in awe.”

• In one cavalry scene, 130 horses were used. Lead actor, Jeremy Irvine, said this scene was intense as all these horses had to charge the German machine guns. He explained: “It’s the weapons of the old world – our men on horses – meeting the absolute destruction of these tools of mass slaughter.” He admits that with real explosions, bodies flying through the air and stunt men getting shot plus the smell and smoke, it was not difficult to act scared in that situation.”

• Thirteen different horses were used in the film to depict Joey the horse. A farrier was always on the set to put back on shoes sucked off in the mud that was so much a part of WWI.

• Equine make up was handled by artist Ali Bannister ensured that their coats and marking always looked the same for continuity and. Check out her website at  http://www.alibannister.com/portrait-artist

• Zelie Bullen from Australia trained the horses. Check out Zellie’s website at http://animalsallaround.com/about/zelie-bullen-profile

• The only digital effects in the film are three shots lasting only three seconds which were undertaken to ensure horse’s safety.

• Extra filming involving the birth of a bay foal took place in California in March 2011.

•  Spielberg admitted that working with horses was a new experience for him despite the fact that some of his family members ride. He said: “I was really amazed at how expressive they are and how much they can show what they are feeling.”

• Spielberg didn’t want War Horse to be a recreation of an equine Private Ryan, so there is not a lot of blood, but be warned, it is rated PG-13 and, “It’s a moving powerful story you can take children to see, but it is still very upsetting…people die, and it is war.”

See the War Horse movie trailer at  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568911/