Horses & Hoodeners

Amuse-bouche #3

The third in my incidental series of short bite-sized bits to take us into the New Year.

This time, it’s a small collection of horse-based activities: old, new, and neolithic. None of them are real horses, but they imagine or signify a horse-being. The horse imitations - whether sacred or silly - echo old things we don’t remember. Just follow along as I ramble through some connections.

I recommend pairing this small array of horsey stuff with this weekend’s full moon, the “Cold Moon”, the “Long Night Moon” happening now, just before Winter Solstice. If it’s cloudy and you can’t see the moon from where you are, just close your eyes, it’s always there.

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No, that’s not Big Bird! This is the old old old custom of horse hoodeners. A vanishing tradition. Hoodeners from Walmer Court Farm, Walmer, in March 1907

And now for some horse-play videos - you don’t need to watch them all the way through, no test after viewing.

Here comes the long fun British tradition of the pantomime horses!

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How about a sweet and serious hobby horse competition in Finland? A national pastime. Who knew?

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Let’s get down to the older stuff, Mari Lwyd in Wales. There are lots of songs that go with this tradition. (And don’t get me started on the mummers.)

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Here’s one of the great white chalk horses, seen only by birds for eons, now easily viewed from above. The video takes its time before showing us the neolithic horse drawn on the landscape. First we see the full circle of the Iron Age Hillfort. If you’re impatient and can’t hold your horses, go to 2:30 or so in the video.

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Finally, I’m charmed by these basic hooden horses, walking along, perhaps in a folk parade.

Hooden horses at the Clock Tower in Broadstairs as part of Broadstairs Folk Week 2017

And now, let’s review:

From the site hoodening.org.uk - yes there is a full website just for this!

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• Watch your inbox for the next instalment of Holiday Amuse-bouches, coming soon. I’ll be sending tidbits of interest to your inbox more often, and they are mostly short and sweet.

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