Next Tuesday, on the Lunar New Year, we will be entering the year of the horse. To mark the occasion, we’re sharing some thoughts on this beautiful (or terrifying, depending on who you ask) animal.
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Do you have a favourite fictional horse or pony?
Brittany
I’m sure I am not the only one who, growing up. encountered many wonderful fictional horses. There were the movies Spirit, and Flicker (the first movie specifically); there was The Saddle Club, and My Little Pony. When I told my sibling I was writing this post, they reminisced to me about their own childhood favourite horse series: Silver Brumby by Australian author Elyne Mitchell.
Set in the Snowy Mountains, the Silver Brumby series begins with the life, and adventures of Thowra—the titular silver brumby, a wild horse with a pale coat—as he contends with both man, and his fellow horses to become king of the brumbies. Subsequent books follow the lives of Thowra’s family. As a child, my sibling diligently scoured the library for Silver Brumby books, determined to read every one. They were delighted when Mum gifted them a Silver Brumby collected edition.
But, if I have to pick my own favourite fictional horse it would be Twilight from My Secret Unicorn by Linda Chapman. An unassuming grey pony by day, when his owner Lauren says the magic words Twilight transforms into a magical unicorn. Together, Twilight and Lauren then go on secret adventures.
Chapman’s My Secret Unicorn series were among the first “novels” I read when I graduated from picture books as a child. I remember when I read the first book, The Magic Spell, I traced under the words as I went with enough force to leave indents in the pages. The My Secret Unicorn books were a formative influence in my love of books, and fantasy stories. For that, Twilight holds a special place in my heart.
Lauren
I’ve always been scared of horses, to be honest. Big ones, anyway. I saw part of a movie about the Brothers Grimm (it might’ve had Heath Ledger in it … ?) when I was a kid—particularly this part where a little girl gets swallowed by her own horse—and I FREAKED OUT. Apparently the fact that horses aren’t carnivorous, magic or generally evil never made a difference as I aged. Neither has owning a bunny that has taken very real bites out of me; I still love rabbits! So I’ve never really sought out media featuring horses and kind of skipped over horses appearing in fiction generally.
But before all that unpleasantness, I do have fond memories of reading an abridged and illustrated version of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, so I suppose my answer would be: Black Beauty.
Do you have a favourite real horse or pony?
Brittany
For most of my life, my family kept two ponies: a bay Australian Pony called Tinka, and a dun Shetland Pony called Fossy. My siblings and I sometimes rode them as kids, but for the most part Tinka and Fossy were “expensive lawn ornaments”, living lives of horsey hedonism as they leisurely strolled about, eating more green grass then was good for them. They were appreciated by the local willy wagtails/djidi-djidi, who would gather up horse hair for their nests. The little birds would even go so far as to land on Tinka and Fossy’s backs to pluck out any loose hairs.
Now, in our yard, by the clothes line, my family has a mulberry tree. This isn’t any small mulberry bush: it is a large, overbearing tree. There is enough space under its boughs to easily shelter a couple of ponies, with room to spare. And shelter a couple of ponies it did—the shade of the mulberry tree was one of Tinka and Fossy’s favourite places to while away the day. When the berries were in season, Fossy’s pale coat would constantly be streaked purple with mulberry juice.
Speaking of Fossy, Shetland Ponies are quite small. Small enough that—say—they can easily fit through the average house’s front door. Once inside a house, a Shetland pony could—mayhap—wander through the master bedroom, and into the en suite bathroom.
All of which is to say, one time we left the front door open, only for Mum and Dad to find a pony in their bathroom. When the family dentist heard this story, he found it hilarious. Up until the day that man retired, whenever we got out teeth checked my family and I were known as the people with a horse in the bathroom.
Though they passed away a few years ago now, Tinka and Fossy will forever be my favourite ponies.
Lauren
At the Old Fort Museum in Albany, before it was modernised and fancified with technology, there was a life-sized wooden horse in a tiny barracks room that smelled overpoweringly of timber and what I can only describe as “historical war”: worn leather and damp wool and whatnot from the old military uniforms and horsey equipment exhibited along the walls.
I think he represented all the horses in the Charge of the Light Brigade. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s the event wherein a British light cavalry force of soldiers and horses obeyed orders to the end and participated in a suicide rush in the Valley of Death during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War (1850s). There was something in his glass eyes that spoke of darkness but also loyalty, and I would get unbearably sad thinking of the people and animals who lost (and are losing) their lives to indifference and grandstanding in not just that war, but in conflicts every day all around the world. Which I suppose was the point of the exhibit.
I don’t remember the name the staff gave him, but my answer is: that wooden horse representing all the brave animals in history who fought alongside humans in conflicts, large and small, they couldn’t begin to understand.
Are there any stories with horses or ponies in your to-read pile?
Brittany
It happened in that season that one day
In Southwark, at The Tabard, as I lay
Ready to go on pilgrimage and start
For Canterbury, most devout at heart,
At night there came into that hostelry
Some nine and twenty in a company
Of sundry folk happening then to fall
In fellowship, and they were pilgrims all
That towards Canterbury meant to ride.
The rooms and stables of the inn were wide;
They made us easy, all was for the best.
And shortly, when the sun had gone to rest,
By speaking to them all upon the trip
I was soon one of them in fellowship
And promised to rise early and take the way
To Canterbury, as you heard me say.
At the end of last year, I was out with my family browsing antique, and second hand shops (in Guildford, for those familiar with Perth’s eastern suburbs). My parents wanted a sideboard for the kitchen. A sideboard is yet to be acquired. But, while we were out, I found a copy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales on sale for only AUD $1. Just the one. Naturally, I had to buy it.
The edition I picked up was translated into modern English by Neville Coghill, and printed in 1981 with illustrations throughout. It is an ex school library book; As you might expect, it is a bit battered around the edges. Still, the text itself is all legible, and generally speaking in good condition. And as I said, it only cost me $1. It is now on my to read list.
But, the topic at hand is horses. For those few of you unfamiliar with The Canterbury Tales, the framing is that a group of pilgrims travelling to Canterbury are telling each other tales to pass the time. Given Chaucer was writing at least a few decades before the advent of motorised transport (Chaucer was writing in the 14th century), his pilgrims must rely upon horses.
Indeed, while The Canterbury Tales may not be about horses, as such, the illustrations promise me many horses. The cover features several people on horseback. Each tale begins with an illustration of the teller on horseback. Several other illustrations throughout, such as one of knights jousting, feature horses. I will look forward to admiring them all when I eventually read this copy of The Canterbury Tales.
Lauren
I mean, one of them is set during the Wars of the Roses, so they’re bound to show up somewhere. (If you’ve not read Conn Iggulden’s Wars of the Roses series, please do! It feels like a mix of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones, without the speculative fiction aspects, and Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.)
Otherwise, I don’t have any books on the pile prominently featuring horses for the reasons explained previously. Sorry!
Do you have any fun facts about horses or ponies?
Brittany
Here’s a fun fact I found while trawling through the Wikipedia page “Horse”: horses prefer country music to jazz. Apparently, in a study by Clare Carter and Linda Greening, half an hour each of Beethoven (classical), Hank Williams Jr. (country), Green Day (rock), and New Stories (jazz) were played to eight stabled thoroughbred geldings, and their behaviour while listening to these different music genres was compared.
While listening to Beethoven, and Hank Williams Jr., the horses apparently showed the same balance of alert, and restful behaviours as they did in silence. Though, they seemingly ate more quietly to Hank Williams Jr.—a sign they found him calming. Meanwhile, while listening to Green Day, and New Stories the horses more frequently stamped, and snorted, and tossed their heads. When they ate, the horses snatched at their food in short bursts—a sign of stress. They seemed to find New Stories the most stressful. So, if you’re thinking of putting on some music for a horse, country is apparently the way to go.
(But if you’re thinking of putting on some music for me, I’d pick Green Day.)
Lauren
Ermmm … they sleep standing up, I think? And is it true they can only breathe out of their mouth? Wait, then why do they do that nose-snorting thing? More research is required before I embarrass myself further.
Brittany
Yes, horses can sleep lightly while standing up. This lets them get some rest while still being able to react quickly to danger. Though, they do need to lie down for a couple hours’ deep sleep every now and then. And horses breathe through their noses.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you encounter many a wonderful horse, be they real or fictional, in the coming year. Unless you are scared of horses, in which case I hope any horses keep a safe distance. Oh, and happy Valentine’s Day.
Brittany Lee is the co-founder, and editor of Banksia Journal. She is a writer from Perth, Western Australia, with a BA in Linguistics, and Postgrad Diploma in Journalism. Her work has appeared in AntipodeanSF, Dusty Attic Publishing, and Perth’s Raine Square Story Dispenser. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, knitting, and taking photos of flowers (such as banksias).
You can find her online at brittanyerinlee.com.
Lauren Hancock-Coffey is the co-founder and financial manager of Banksia Journal. She’s also a writer and devourer of historical fiction with a speculative twist and an avid fantasy RPG-er with more books and games than sense. She’s a full-time editor with a BA in Linguistics and an MA in Professional Writing and Publishing.