Travel Tails
There’s nothing like daily use and a bit of work, to make a horse steady and reliable. When exploring Ireland, we were witness to this simple fact no matter where we went. The horses that pulled the city carriages patiently stood there, waiting for their next fare. When taking customers, they moved through traffic with ease, as if it was no big deal, and they did so every day. Which, of course, they actually did. We randomly took trains, buses, cabs and gypsy cabs, and no matter what, it was the same. We’d fly by working horses without the animals batting an eye. We saw horses tied to gypsy caravans on the sides of roads, and tied to telephone poles in construction sites and parking lots. They’d invariably be simply standing there, dozing, resting a leg as if prepared to stand there all day. I’m guessing that in some cases, that’s exactly what they did.
Here in Winnipeg, there’s a casino built to resemble a giant train station. Along the front are these strange, thick posts with heavy, rounded tops. It took going to Ireland to learn what they were for, lol, tying the horses to. Another thing I loved the authenticity of in Ireland? The ancient water troughs here and there in cities and villages, and still in use. It’s a magical place, Ireland, with a rich equine history worth going to explore.
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