Hello, fellow equine enthusiasts! It's Emma here, your friendly grey mare from Hayfield, near the rugged Scottish coast of Aberdeen. It’s a privilege to share my knowledge and observations about the year 0065, a year etched in my memory as a particularly eventful one, especially for my kind.
You see, I’m on a quest to document the history of horses throughout the ages. I started this blog a while back – imagine, just last week it feels! But it’s already grown, with visitors and readers tuning in from all across Britain. I hope it inspires a little respect for us hardworking steeds, and maybe teaches a thing or two about our connection to human history, and the stories behind the hooves we leave on this old Earth!
0065 A.D. – The Year of the Barley Crop:
This year began in the usual fashion - with a heavy coat of winter snow, that only a brave soul like myself dared to venture out in. It's tough being a draught horse, working alongside my kind in the fields, but with the sun and warm breezes returning with spring, it brought new hope for a bountiful barley harvest, something we knew was much needed across our lands.
Across the lands, you see, there was great reliance on barley, our finest crops being gathered across Scotland, England, Ireland, even parts of France and further. Barley was for food, and also for something called ‘beer’, which humans love to drink, and even say helps them relax and have good cheer!
This year though, the early part of the spring was very much on the ‘grim’ side. Cold winds had continued for far longer than normal, with very little of that warm sun that all creatures crave. I watched in concern as many foals looked weak and poorly. They weren’t growing strong like they should. And I remember my owner, farmer Donald, looking very troubled. His eyes, always kind and caring, seemed cloudy and anxious. I think he was feeling very much like a father worried for his children, only his children were the lambs, calves and foals under his care. He also worried for our community and his fellow farmers who also had much of their harvest dependant upon these beautiful, golden crops.
You see, we are all inter-connected, we rely on each other to survive and thrive. It’s something we, as animals, simply understand and instinctively feel. It’s as clear as our coat when we groom each other!
The worst part for me, and my fellow draught horses was we saw a growing number of our herd looking poorly, even weaker and sad than the young ones. It broke our hearts. We’d help as much as we could - pulling carts for gathering medicinal herbs, helping gather firewood to help keep our fellow animals warm, even our powerful necks straining as much as possible with the farmer to carry buckets of clean water to our field companions who needed care.
The year’s survival was looking grim. Even Donald’s sturdy physique, the strength of our human protectors, appeared smaller and a bit less sure in the face of so much hardship.
But, you see…hope prevails, in the tiniest sprout.
We were blessed, in our hardiness and determination, but I think most of us horses relied heavily on the strength of human kind. I often pause to consider the resilience of this human world – how our farmer Donald worked alongside our mare, Betty, and her brave foal, Maggie, sharing water and hay even when his supplies were very thin.
Slowly, the sun came out. A bit at a time, as it was often described by Donald. His strong voice, used to calling out orders to the farmhands, turned soft when he looked towards the heavens, hoping, as we all did, for change. I don't know what he muttered under his breath at that time - but there was hope, and with hope, our determination also grew. I don't know about you but we, at Hayfield, pulled ourselves up, dug in our hooves, and pushed on.
I, for one, knew this was a year that I had to pull harder than usual - the ‘pulling of myself together’ sort, as it was later explained by farmer Donald! There was less of those fancy carriage pulling trips for wealthy men and ladies – although I admit, the feel of the fine harnesses and soft leather are a great pleasure that my big, grey frame enjoyed! But this was about survival - working extra hard, as did my fellow steeds across the lands.
The hay crops for the winter were more precious than ever – a lot of time, a lot of toil from my fellow equine friends. Donald used our strength in clever ways - he was very much about making the most of our strength and knowing the capabilities of each member of the field. It was a skill, to be sure!
But with each long, drawn out day and night, as we worked to help the farmer gather, pull, carry, and thresh the hay – it brought a new hope into all our lives. We started seeing foals gaining strength, young animals playing, our weary, elders looking a little brighter, and even our farm hands’ eyes seeming to soften and gleam again! The humans seemed relieved - though they seemed just as exhausted as the horses, we knew they had hearts, just as big as ours, and that’s something to never take lightly.
The harvest was much smaller, yes, but that meant, from that point, every stalk, every ear of barley, had to be harvested with love. Donald did what we needed - used every piece to give us horses, the livestock and the families, the life they deserved. The strength we found as a community - well, I truly believe it carried us, like our strong, sturdy back legs that helped pull us, and all our strength together, to move us onwards!
This was a year of survival, a year of endurance, but a year that showed us what courage and compassion can accomplish, when we all come together, in solidarity. We are animals and we must protect, care and defend what is needed to continue. And we must also thank our kind, hardworking humans, because, after all, without their knowledge and expertise - none of us would be able to endure as we have, for generations.
*Let’s carry the message of hope – we have much more to experience, many more journeys to share, and our strength in numbers should make us very, very strong indeed! *
Stay tuned! I’ll share some of the amazing things going on in 0065! The next week will bring some incredible stories, some heartbreaking moments and most importantly - a bit of that ever-so-necessary humor to get us through.
Thank you, dear readers – for journeying with me, one hoovestep at a time!
Best,
Emma
Grey Draught Mare, Hayfield near Aberdeen, Scotland
*Equiworld.org – sharing the world through the eyes of horses. *
*[This post marks the beginning of Emma’s Horse History blog - to continue, visit next week’s post #66 ] *
