History of Horses in the year 0072

Hello everyone! Emma here, your friendly neighbourhood grey draught horse with the fabulous white mane and tail. I’m back again, ready to tell you all about the world of horses in this here year of 0072. It’s a little early for me, but we've had some glorious summer sunshine and I can smell a nip in the air now too. Time's a-flying by, isn’t it?

So, where to begin? It feels like the world is buzzing with the energy of progress and opportunity. This year's been jam-packed with developments, discoveries, and delightful happenings, from the most important events down to those tiny, exciting moments in the lives of ordinary horses like me.

Here in my peaceful corner of the world, life's pretty darn good! You all know I come from the idyllic Hayfield near Aberdeen. I'm lucky to be part of a bustling community of horses – farmers and their hard-working draught pals, nimble ponies, stately shires, and everyone in between! There's always a friendly whinny and a chat amongst us.

We've been very busy these last few months. I’ve been working in the fields helping with the harvest, pulling carts, and moving all kinds of wonderful produce. We're on a special mission to ensure every single bag of barley is delivered to the malt distillery in time for brewing, which, as everyone knows, makes Scotland famous the world over! My friends from the nearby stables, they tell me it's quite a busy place. We never quite seem to get enough of that sweet, malty scent. I've got my eye on trying it someday when I can be sure nobody will catch me drinking it!

On a brighter note, the folks have been planting some new fruit trees. You’d be surprised by how quickly they're growing, they’ll be loaded with delicious apples, pears, and plums before you know it! That means even more treats for us hard-working equines. The best thing is that we’ve all been able to put our noses together to work it out, making sure the fruit has space to flourish. I’ve found I can dig and clear a patch with my hooves much faster than any human!

My new friend, Daisy, a small but feisty Shetland pony, just had a new foal this year! We can’t quite work out who his father was – the father’s in charge of guarding the stables and he seemed to like everyone quite a bit! They’re all gorgeous though, little foal and father, with glossy black coats and tiny white socks – they're absolutely delightful to look at. It reminds me of myself as a little filly.

Speaking of foal-watching, we’ve had a new little fellow, “Sparkle,” join our team. He’s the biggest Clydesdale foal you’ve ever seen! We all get excited and run around him in circles, playing all day! It makes me smile to see them all galloping and enjoying life – reminds me of the simpler days, all carefree and free! It really puts things in perspective for us old hands, and a reminder that all of life’s big moments pass so fast.

Now, back to those incredible happenings across the land! The good folks in the bigger villages and towns have taken things to the next level with what they’re calling 'stables’. Think grand places to house and care for our kind with all kinds of amenities! Can you believe they're even introducing some rather ingenious systems for storing our delicious feed! It involves all sorts of clever storage devices and special places to hold hay and straw. There's a new way of preparing food too, with these strange metal bowls that are warmed with a hot liquid of some sort, for when it's particularly cold outside!

I heard they’re calling these places 'horse hospitals’. What will they think of next! You have to be careful in this modern age; they're all about “advancements” now, just so they can claim to be better and better, and it leaves no room for things to be just “good”! But you know, I think we horses are okay with progress. It’s good for the health and comfort of our kind, even though sometimes the innovations might take a bit of getting used to.

This year also saw some incredible new technologies emerging – I hear whispers of these wondrous 'machines' that travel on the roads, with shiny, shiny wheels and strong steel horses (well, what they call “horses”, I call them “machines”!), drawing heavy loads. Some say that they could eventually even replace some of our work! It makes me a bit nervous to be honest – though the good folks reassure me that those new metal horses only work best for the jobs we can’t, or shouldn’t, be doing.

It seems like every few weeks someone’s coming out with a new invention for making things go faster, bigger, stronger, more of something or other! The thing is though, I've heard it all before. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement, and before you know it you forget how important it is to find pleasure in what you already have!

Oh, there’s this funny new contraption. Someone’s trying to ‘train’ some new sorts of small, nimble horses to take messages – some people are even using the horses to take letters right to someone’s doorstep. It's all a little baffling to be honest; they get up on top of these little horses and hold something they call a "message" – and we don’t even know where these letters are headed, all we know is the horse goes back and forth really fast! There’s something magical about the speed it brings but something strange about the reason for the trip. It just doesn’t quite make sense to me! I don't know how well those little horses would last working with our carts here on the farm! I think our lives are better without rushing so much and trying to fit everything in.

While new technology has certainly come a long way, the relationship between us horses and the humans continues to blossom. We're more partners than ever, sharing a mutual understanding of each other’s needs, emotions, and intentions. I’ve never felt closer to my own human! I love his strong, safe hands guiding my harness, his soothing voice while I pull the carts, and the reassuring touch on my neck every now and again.

I find it hard to imagine the human world without us! And that’s the truth; the human folk know how valuable horses are. We help them with their day-to-day chores – hauling produce, farming, construction. We help the children travel, bring joy and love. The whole lot of them – we just seem to fit perfectly in the rhythm of life.

A Horse’s Duty and Place

Some of my older relatives would insist on keeping us for the battles too. The humans are quick to learn, you know, and always searching for new ways to show off how good they are with everything – including, of course, being better warriors! Now, it’s my view, that we should have learned from our ancestors and left the fighting behind. What was it all about anyway?

Even though the humans haven’t given up on their little skirmishes, there’s something else that I’ve learned. As they start to understand horses a little bit better, so they have grown kinder! And we’re finding a little more of a respect for each other and everything in nature – more focus on caring for and celebrating all things around us.

You know, for as much as we worry, I find it’s comforting to see the way the world continues to spin in this direction of being a gentler, friendlier place for all living things, horses and humans alike. It seems that as time goes on, more and more humans start to realise we are part of the fabric of nature! And, in doing so, their respect for us deepens, and the humans themselves grow wiser.

Perhaps we can all take comfort from those wise souls who show us that progress means taking care of everything we've got, all while remaining as respectful to everything around us, from nature's simple, delicate flowers to the strongest oak tree. We need to take the time to admire those that have gone before and learn the best lessons from the past. The journey forward must be paved with appreciation, kindness, and responsibility for everyone around us.

Well, I think this blog post is already getting pretty long! I could keep going, but the air's turning cooler now, so I’ll go out and greet the sunset with the other horses. It’s been a great year so far; the harvest has been plentiful, and the land looks magnificent. There’s always so much to do and learn, and I’m excited for all that the future holds. Until next time, keep your hooves and your heads high, friends. See you in the meadows!

Emma signing off. Stay in touch by joining our lively community on www.equiworld.org