March 19th 2014: Dogs & Horses.

[Carruthers]

I know that this is rather self-indulgent, but I've always been fond of horses and I hope that these two images are worth a couple of minutes of your time.

Heavy horses have been used to plough a field in Cornwall, the way it was done a hundred years ago.

A field of poppies and barley will then by sown the Lost Gardens of Heligan to mark the outbreak of World War One.

In August when the poppies are in bloom, a re-enactment of when the men of Heligan and its surrounding parishes marched off to war will be staged.

The native heavy horses, the Shire, Clydesdale and Suffolk Punch are magnificent creatures but they are rather scarce these days.
A number of breweries kept them going for deliveries in city centres, especially London, until fairly recently, and although they said it made economic sense, it was really part of the firms' PR effort.

The Heavy Horse Musical Drive at the Horse of the Year Show would bring a lump to the throat of even the most jaded soul.

Anyway, there's more here:

Heligan heavy horse power used for poppy field planting

Heavy Horse ploughing at The Lost Gardens