'They could be the next big thing'

Once a vital part of the workforce, the mechanical revolution made horses redundant from the roles in which they once thrived – or did it? Bernard Bale speaks to some of those safeguarding traditions to ensure there is a future for working horses

- Bernard Bale

I N days of old, when wagon wheels rolled, the horse was the living, breathing engine that delivered goods, won battles, provided transport, ploughed fields and saved lives.

Then came the steam engine, the start of a mechanical revolution that goes on from one trendy new invention to another. The horse patiently looks on, grabbing attention wherever he goes, wisely knowing that he is far from being a thing of the past. He is still asked to plough, to deliver, to transport, to thrill and delight. While the broken engine awaits its repair, the horse once again comes to the rescue, uncomplaining but determined to complete its task.

Those gleaming tractors and vehicles will one day be crushed into scrap, but the power of the horse goes on forever. We are going to meet just a few of the many horses still at their magnificent work, toiling alongside humans as they have done for thousands of years.

NICHOLAS CARTER is head coachman at Hook Norton Brewery in Oxfordshire, where horses still deliver barrels of the finest ale as well as being the centre of attention at many special occasions.

“I think one of the greatest points of horses like these is that when you are driving them, you know that you are spanning history,” says Nick. “Yes, there are some modern takes on harnessing and so on, but everything is basically the same as it has been for countless years and it perhaps means more to onlookers than ever.”

Hook Norton Brewery has had a strong relationship with horses since it began back in 1849.