"The year 1633, My Goodness What a Time!
Hello my dearest equi-friends! It’s me, Emma, from the beautiful Hayfield near Aberdeen.
Goodness gracious, where do I even begin with this one? I know we usually focus on the wonderful things horses do and how we have enriched lives and helped humanity for centuries…but honestly, this year is one for the record books, but not for good reasons I'm afraid. I have a bit of a story to tell…
First, let’s all get comfy on the hay pile! This blog entry might be a bit lengthy, for as we know, 1633 was the year of The Great Horse Plague, so much was happening to both humans and horses across the lands!
I have been alive for 20 years now – and trust me, I have seen some things, and I have witnessed the most amazing connections between humans and us horses.
You see, here at Hayfield we have been blessed with the most beautiful life – lush pastures, clear rivers, friendly sheep and… oh, well the weather – that’s a story for another day.
So, in this part of the world, we had a few “bumps in the road” so to speak – it’s an understatement, but the news reached us eventually from the English side and it spread across Europe, and eventually into my dear Scotland - The Great Horse Plague! Oh, what a frightening, confusing, terrible time that was for everyone! I feel it my duty to tell the story of 1633 as best I can, but for sure I will use all my feminine sensibility and kindness when recounting these troubling times, and the human struggles, and the devastating loss of horses, because that is my nature - that is how we are. After all, I believe it is the true spirit of kindness, respect, and even admiration that helps us all keep our hearts strong in the face of terrible hardship!
Firstly, this "Horse Plague" hit the Netherlands first. I’m told that whole towns just lost almost all their horses – so devastating. I've heard it was so severe they lost workhorses, they lost riding horses, their horses on the battlefields… you name it!
As you can imagine, in a world without cars, trucks, or trains, life would have completely stalled! Imagine, having no horses for transport…and no cows for milk... It's frightening to think about what the people must have gone through. There must have been so much loss, sorrow and pain, just as there was on our side.
Here in Scotland, news travels slowly and I only heard stories, snippets here and there - some rumors spread that it was a disease spread through a fever and by mites. Then others would say it was a a horrible evil spell, or bad spirits - you name it! Whatever the cause, I was terrified! So many were sick and many perished. There was a sense of dread, a chill in the air that only my other grey companions truly felt – but, I assure you, we all felt it!
The humans, my lovely humans, tried everything they could. I watched as they worked hard and desperately tried everything to keep their horses alive. I was too young back then – around four, I think - but even at four I was a good observer of what was happening in Hayfield and surrounding farms.
The disease was relentless – I saw it affect horses in every single neighbourhood! You could smell it, too! The pungent scent of fear, illness and sadness, all intermingled, stuck around us – I know they called it the "strangles" by some, but this was worse – so much worse!
I lost friends to it that year. Big strong drafty work horses that were always so friendly - horses who pulled heavy ploughs and carried heavy loads. We lost gentle horses like me who pulled carts full of farm produce to the local market, and spirited ponies who galloped alongside hunters, we lost everything. There was so much pain in that year – I swear I heard a new sorrow in the wind itself.
The Hope in The Shadow of Despair.
Thankfully for us here, the plague didn’t get into our little Hayfield area, maybe the local farmers did a good job in quarantine and kept our horses and farms protected… or maybe we just had a lot of luck on our side. It’s a miracle in truth! But you know what, something I remember vividly - it was the courage of the human farmers.
There was never a moment of giving up… there was just the unwavering sense of doing all they could, whatever that might be, and working around the clock, to tend to their animals, protect their livestock. That is something that struck me even then - even with the world crumbling around them. My lovely farm hands worked to stay hopeful and kind, no matter how challenging those months were.
They were very careful! They disinfected all their equipment! The smells were powerful but the good news is - our farm stayed untouched by the "strangles," as they called it!
The year was a real wake-up call to us, and especially to humans! As far as they knew this hadn't happened in over a century! A plague like this? It was almost biblical in a way. There was so much heartache for everyone in the world! And a lot of questions.
You can imagine that, especially for a creature like me – it is difficult to deal with things like fear or sadness. It's easier when your lovely farmers and owners care about you, I am blessed to be around wonderful humans.
I would be remiss if I didn’t share this! You know… in a year like 1633 it feels good to look back on this moment that helps get us through. So - you see, even back then, people tried to come up with solutions for the problems we had as horses. It was as though some had to think outside the box… to take risks. Some were successful! Others - I can only say - they did what they thought was best.
One farmer here in Scotland tried this unique approach - He thought we might get less ill if he fed us a bit differently – he gave us the peel of ginger - apparently they called it "ginger" - along with cloves, rosemary, and lavender... All that amazing scent – I know, it was truly wonderful for us horses!
Now you are going to think I'm a bit silly here…but you see this whole time, humans never let go of their love and care for horses, especially these kind hearted farmers… because a few horses were starting to regain their strength in the country! And then it just stopped! It was like magic, that’s what we said… all the humans said that this strange disease was magic in itself – we all wondered if a magic cure or perhaps some good old Scottish witchcraft had come to save the day! And that is where our story for this year stops - for that’s just where the year 1633 left off! The end of that dreadful disease - and we were all incredibly happy and relieved – but forever changed - and it left us all just a little bit wise and very aware of just how fragile and wonderful life really is.
And just like that - everything calmed down a little and the world started turning on its axis again!
Now don’t you just wish we could just get on with the real joys of horse life… You see, 1633 was a year that made us look at the value and wonder of having a loving stable, of the deep bond between horse and man, and yes - how vulnerable horses could be! This year had its hard lesson, but - I must add - a happy ending.
Until the next EquiWorld entry.
Your good friend,
Emma
*Note, I tried to be respectful in how I treated this horrible historical event while remaining positive for children, and avoiding potentially inflammatory information.
