Facebook - Latest Status Update

Feeling very bored last night, I was trawling through facebook's status shuffle for an amusing witty status update .  I lack the wit and originality to come up with own every day and it is one way to pass the time late at night when I should be in bed but am still glued to facebook.  Anyway, I decided to check out the animal category in search of a status update relating to horses and I found this post which suited my mood perfectly!

A guy says to God,  "God why did you create the horse?" and God replies "It was an apology to the girls for creating you guys!"

Has anyone else got any amusing one liners on a horse theme?  I would love to hear them so please put add them to the comments.

Pit Ponies

I recently came across the website for Fforest Uchaf Horse and Pony Sanctuary - The Pit Pony Sanctuary. I was surprised to see that they still had several former pit ponies living at the sanctuary.    I remember learning about Pit Ponies when I visited Big Pit, National Coal Museum,many years ago and I recall seeing the stables underground and being shocked that  horses had worked underground.  Worse still, many pit ponies lived, worked and slept all their lives in the mines. There were stables underground for them, as I saw at Big Pit, National Coal Museum . Most never saw any daylight unless they became ill and had to be taken out of the mine to get better.

As you would imagine, the use of ponies in the mines began in the 19th Century and expanded rapidly after a parliamentary act in 1842 banning women and children from working down the mines.  The RSPCA calculated that there were around 200,000 pit ponies working in 1878.

In Britain, the first legislation governing the welfare of Pit Ponies was passed in 1887 followed by a Royal Commission in 1911 which took evidence about the working conditions of pit ponies resulting in further legislation which made protective head gear compulsory for the ponies.

By the nineteen thirties and forties, the number of pit ponies was in major decline as mechanisation took over and the last pieces of legislation, in respect of the welfare of pit ponies was passed in 1949 and 1956.  These regulated the number of hours a pony was allowed to work amongst other things.  By 1952, there were only 15,000 pit ponies left.

There seems to be a great deal of debate on whether these animals were badly treated or well cared for.  Some people arguing their conditions were significantly better than the men they worked beside.  However, what seems clear is that it was a hard and difficult life, no matter how well they were treated in some respects.  Whilst it is a myth that they lost their sight through being underground, it did take a day or more for the eyes to become re-accustomed to daylight when they returned above ground and many were blinded through injury.  Horses were forced to carry their head low because of the height of the tunnels which often caused back problems.  Many horses were killed in explosions or when tunnels collapsed, serious injuries such as broken legs resulting in horses having to be put down were common and many horses continued to work until they died. In addition to that, the horses natural flight instinct if allowed free rein would almost definitely result in its death underground.  Those that returned to the surface in retirement, like their human companions, often suffered breathing difficulties as a result of the coal dust in their lungs.

However, what shocked me the most was to discover that not only were pit ponies still working in my lifetime but that the last two pit ponies only retired in 1999. And within an hours drive of my home, I would never have imagined that animals were expected to work in these conditions little more than ten years ago.


To learn more you can read "Harnessed: colliery horses in Wales" by Author: Ceri Thompson

Pony Birthday Parties

From the advertisements in my local what's on magazine, I have noticed an increasing number of adverts for pony parties for children.  A quick google search confirmed this seems to be a growing trend.  I've even seen a couple of children at the trekking centre for an hours ride as a birthday treat with their friends.  It's certainly a welcome alternative to soft play parties which I am growing increasingly bored of.

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Having researched this area a bit, a pony parties can vary enormously.  Some are basically party packages at a local children's /city farm with party tea included and the option to pay extra for pony rides for all the guests, others are at a farm or centre where the party centres primarily around pony rides but offers a small animal petting zoo and/or pony games for the children.  Others offer a service where providing you have a big enough garden or suitable space, they will bring the ponies and equipment to you, along with their handlers.

Things to consider when organising a pony party include:

• Stating the obvious, I know but does your child like horses and ponies.  What about their friends? You don't want a terrified birthday boy or girl in tears because they got scared of the ponies.
• How old are the birthday child and their guests?  Some providers take children from the age of 3 upwards to about 10 but ages can vary according to individual providers so make sure you check!
• How many ponies will be available and how many rides will the children get?
• Can the children play with and groom the ponies too?
• How many guests will there be?  Minimum numbers seem to start at about ten but they may have maximum numbers too.
• How much will it cost?  Does that include pony rides, food, party bags, birthday cake, rosettes and so on.  Check carefully as prices seem to start at about £100 for 10 children but what's included varies according to where you go.
• Is the operator fully licensed and insured?
• What other entertainment is provided for the children if only a couple can ride at a time?
• If food is not included is there somewhere suitable for a picnic or somewhere indoors to eat?
• What hand washing facilities are there? Essential if children are handling animals and then eating!
• Does the price include party bags, rosettes, birthday cake etc.

Doing your own Pony Party

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If your child loves ponies but this doesn't feel like the right option for you consider a pony themed party at home or in a church hall.  Partyware such as plates, tableclothes etc with a horse theme is available from internet providers even if you can't find it in the local supermarket with the more popular themes.  You can find lots of horse inspired art on the internet so making invitations yourself could be a fun cheap option to individualise your party.  The walls could be decorated with posters of horses or horseshoe pictures.  If you will be using the garden for your party or somewhere easily swept, you could even get some hay bales for the kids to sit on.  Variations on this theme could include a western theme with cowboy outfits or a my little pony theme if you don't mind a more commercial take on things.

Horse themed cakes can be ordered from a local baker, made yourself (again the internet is full of inspiration) or if your child rides you could even use a photo of them with their favourite horse.  These are available from most big supermarkets. You hand in your photo, (which is scanned into a computer), then the image is transferred onto the icing using food colouring.  Make sure you use your own photo though because they won't let you use a photo that appears to be subject to copyright.


Activities could include pin the tail on the pony, some sort of craft activity drawing or decorating pictures of horses. or horseshoes, singing horsy nurery rhymes like "Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross".  Keep an eye out for a horse shaped piñata as well.  You could have pony themed prizes for games or even rosettes or little trophies for the winners.  You could also set up a grooming area where the little girls get pony tails and elaborate plaits and ribbons just like their favourite pony rigged out for a show.  


For older children, you could take a small group of them pony trekking or enquire about a shorter lead reined ride if they are not old enough for a proper trek.

Welcome any other ideas that anyone has tried.  Lets hear your thoughts.

Horses and the English Language

Watching Horsepower with Martin Clunes the other night, he mentioned how the English language is littered with phrases related to horses.  Horses were once key to our society and their importance in history has left its traces in our language which is full of horse and horse related idioms. I thought it might be fun to explore this a bit more and see how many examples I could find so here goes...

image courtesy of www.freefoto.com 

Horses are often used as a smilie to emphasise certain traits:men are as strong as a horse, virile men are hung like a stallion, we eat like a horse or feel like we could eat a horse.  Girls wear their hair in ponytails, we collect bits and pieces.  We even have nightmares and men describe their wives as nags.  Anyway here are a few more expressions:


"Champing at the bit"  


"Got the bit between his teeth"  


"Stop horsing around"  


"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink"  


"Get off your high horse"  


"Hold your horses"  


"One-horse town"  


"Wild horses could not drag me away"  .


"Straight from the horse's mouth"  


"flogging a dead horse"  


"he's a dark horse"  


"put the cart before the horse" 


"Locking the stable door after the horse has bolted."  


"Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth"  


"hell for leather" 


"riding roughshod over someone"  
"giving someone a leg up"  


"backing the wrong horse"  


"one-horse race" 


"neck and neck"  


"drive a coach and horses through it"


"put out to pasture"


Can anyone think of anymore?  Let me know.  Hope this made you smile.