History & Heritage

Lest We Forget: Horses of War

Updated:

November 10, 2024

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The sacrifice of the ten million men who lost their lives during the conflict, which endured from 1914 to 1918, is well known. Less well known is the price paid by the estimated eight million horses that perished in the Great War, a fact lamented by Private James Robert Johnston, a horse transport driver who served with the 14th Canadian Machine Gun Company, in his memoir, Riding into War: “Very little has been said about the horses and mules that were used and what they suffered is beyond all description.”

Behind the Scenes: War Horse

Updated:

November 8, 2024

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At the National Army Museum in London, a unique exhibit showcases an intriguing box. Inside, the box’s walls are lined with mirrors, each reflecting the others. Dozens of cut-out horses, all white and anonymous, are arranged within. As the mirrors reflect them repeatedly, the horses seem to multiply endlessly. This hauntingly simple image serves as a poignant reminder of the over eight million horses that perished in the devastating battles of the First World War.

Iceland's Unique Breed: The Icelandic Horse

Updated:

November 8, 2024

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Positioned between Greenland and Norway, Iceland is nestled where the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans meet. With approximately 364,000 people, the majority live in the capital, Reykjavik, located in the southwest of this small island nation. Iceland's landscape is renowned for its dramatic features, including volcanic mountains, glaciers, vast plains, waterfalls, geysers, hot springs, and striking black sand beaches. It is also home to a wide variety of wildlife. However, perhaps the most iconic aspect of Iceland's natural heritage is its unique breed of horses.

Forged in Fire - When Horses Answered The Alarm

Updated:

October 4, 2024

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Today, the piercing clamour of a fire truck’s alarm brings excitement and awe from people gathered on the street. We admire and even gawk at the skiny red and chrome mechanical beast, carrying its dark-suited riders as it winds its way through the city. But once, when the streets were still dusty, our cities relied on much more than the cold steel of a fire engine; they relied on the courage and heart of the fire-horses. Then as now, people would line the street to admire the beauty and bravery of these public servant horses.

Continuing the Bridle Horse Tradition

Updated:

September 25, 2024

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The horse will teach you if you listen - Spanish cowboys (vaqueros) who came to North America over 500 years ago left a lasting legacy — not only in words such as chaps (from chaparreras) and rodeo (rodear) which are engrained in today’s Western lifestyle — but in their riding and horse training skills, too. In the early 1500s when Spanish cows and horses were imported into what is now Mexico, cattle ranching and bridle horses were introduced to North America. Vaquero bridle horses were highly trained, handy stock horses that worked as partners out on the range and were in tune with their riders’ every aid. Making a bridle horse was and is a multi-year process whereby horses are started in a hackamore (bosal), then advanced through a two-rein bridle (small diameter hackamore beneath a spade bit bridle each with a set of reins) until they are ready to be ridden “straight up in the bridle” in a spade bit.

A Carriage Ride Through History

Updated:

August 21, 2024

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Ever since the wheel was first invented around 3,500 BC in Mesopotamia as a wooden disc with a hole in the middle for some form of axle, creative Sumarian minds were buzzing. They were, after all, already planting crops, herding animals, and had a pretty impressive social order. But getting the wheel contraption right took a bit of creative genius. The holes in the centre of the disc and at the ends of the axle had to be perfectly smooth and round in order for the wheel to fit and turn. Otherwise, too much friction would cause breakage.

Ya Ha Tinda, The Canadian Government’s Only Working Horse Ranch

Updated:

August 16, 2024

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It’s hard to believe that the Government of Canada would own a spectacular horse ranch adjacent to the Rocky Mountains, where trail riders are welcome to camp and ride. But it exists. Ya Ha Tinda Ranch — owned by Parks Canada and the only federally operated working horse ranch in the country — turned 100 years old in 2017.

A Country Built by Horse Power

Updated:

August 2, 2024

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The relationship between horses and people in Canada is rich, deep, and ancient. And the story of horses in our country is as old as time itself. To understand the horse’s place in our lives today, we need to look back through the pages of history.

Saddlery - Old Profession, New Innovations

Updated:

July 17, 2024

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Historical records show that horseback riders first used cloth saddles in approximately 700 – 400 BC. It wasn’t until about 200 BC, that rigid saddle trees were invented. Since then, saddles continued to evolve as riders used their horses for new activities.