History of Horses in the year 0519

Neigh Neigh! Hello dear readers,

Well, what a year it's been! Here I am, Emma, your trusty guide through the exciting world of horses in 0519 AD. It’s been a full year since I last penned these thoughts and boy, have things been a-galloping! I feel like such a wise old mare at the ripe old age of twenty! This is where I live, right in the heart of Scotland near Aberdeen. There’s a village here, called Hayfield. It’s a good place to live. It is in my favourite spot – close to plenty of open moorland and rolling green hills, which are just perfect for a girl like me!

As you might already know, the year 519 AD in human terms is around the time they call the ‘Middle Ages’. Of course, to us horses, things have been fairly much the same forever. But I’m going to tell you what’s new to our world and share some observations of what life has been like here this year!

It’s been a busy year! I’ve spent a lot of my time doing what draught horses like me are supposed to do – pulling! Our biggest role is transporting hay, wood and all sorts of goods from here, down to the market. Then back again with fresh supplies. All the people in the village work really hard – they keep me well-fed and I get to wear a beautiful, smart new harness – such an elegant and colourful shade of crimson red – that they have recently been making in the town. We even wear matching boots now!

I also saw some lovely, elegant new bits made from polished metal and I had a new braided headstall made that really makes my lovely long white mane and tail stand out even more! All of the young humans here are learning how to groom, care for and train us, too – they’ve been working with me and their other horses every day and it seems like we’re always making new breakthroughs, if I can use such a big word! I must admit I love a good preen and cuddle now and then with my humans, who love me and spoil me.

The hay has been so lush this year and we’ve also had plenty of nice fresh oats. They even started using a new type of special mill here – with bigger, faster, turning blades to create finer, delicious oats. They are wonderful! My teeth are quite worn now, even though I had some of my first milk teeth out just before I became 2. They don’t seem to be bothered about my older teeth but we get plenty of great hay and oats to chew on – so that’s good!

A few months back, some lovely horses came over to visit our village. A young, chestnut stallion named “Barnaby” travelled with his rider – a fine looking human named Thomas. He seems to think he's a big shot now that he's been out of his stall in the city and visited new places. They travelled many, many days over the rough roads. These two brought an extra cart filled with strange, shiny, new types of tack! Barnaby even wears a magnificent bit, studded with jewels! I guess he has quite a wealthy master! He is well cared for and kept busy, with an elegant white horse called ‘Fawn’ joining his rider, Mary.

Now Barnaby was pretty grumpy and didn’t have much patience – a very typical male stallion. He had the odd temper tantrum and almost went through my lovely crimson-red harness a few times! Thomas has taught Barnaby to run the cart quite fast and Barnaby always shows off at every opportunity - and Thomas let's him. That is so unnecessary! But they do look really smart – and I think it’s rather fun.

They say he was bought to fight. He wasn't sent here for the war, which is very far from our small village and something I haven't witnessed first-hand yet. I wouldn't think of going into battle – even if I did think that it was something they had to do, even for some of the lovely men of this village. My role is a quieter one. And let me tell you, that doesn’t mean I don’t take my work seriously. Horses have a crucial job in the village! I keep everyone fed and in fine clothes!

We humans might work alongside the humans, but the bond is quite strong. That was why Barnaby, despite his rather short stay in our village, stayed in our field at night – and was perfectly happy with our humans. Mary seemed quite kind to him, despite how unruly he was! I’m going to be honest with you - even if they were in my pasture, we spent a good deal of our time watching what they were doing. Their bright colourful cloths and sashes were something else, as was Barnaby's leather studded saddle and Fawn’s leather collar.

When Mary’s Fawn became tired and the lovely little brown colt – I believe it was called ‘Bruno’ – and he had only been broken in recently by the women of the village. It seemed as though Barnaby tried to teach him all sorts of naughtiness and was constantly kicking his back legs in the air. It was truly amusing. The horses had plenty of grass to nibble on and were pretty happy in their stalls for the few days they stayed here. I do think Mary and Thomas – perhaps they’re a couple - like us well, they are good to their animals.

What's happening in the wider world this year? It has been an active year for us horse folks. As always, horses and carts have been extremely busy moving things and goods about. I am told by those that travel out beyond the Scottish highlands, that in many villages across the countryside, we're not just for work anymore. We have a huge impact on how people enjoy themselves too. You may be surprised, but I think our horses have really changed over the years. I hear we’re seen as beautiful! And that's no lie – I’m told we’re even fashionable now – can you believe it?

Humans tell me about beautiful shows in which people compete – riding with the greatest style, racing on racecourses at high speeds and jumping fences with great power – it's so exciting! It seems they're enjoying our horses for so many different purposes now, all around the world! The humans here, as always, have kept busy working and building things – although that seems to have been done slower these past few years – for reasons unknown – perhaps for something special! They haven’t sent me and the others on journeys for work - and my young foal ‘George’ doesn't quite get that either – but I suspect I have a big role to play in something important soon – there is always work to do. We’re all important - whether it's farming the land, transporting wood and stone for their amazing buildings or carrying heavy materials from the nearby mines - us horses help people all the time!

As I always like to end with, stay tuned – I will tell you more of my tales in the new year! Have a wonderful year and I'll be back with news about us horses - when you're next able to check the EquiWorld!