ElaineWalker

Thanks Mike - I'll look forward to hearing from you. I'm not sure about the copyright situation, I'm afraid. Thanks Ray, too - I do know that film and 'Towpath Encounter' but I didn't know they did others - I'll do a bit of research.

Hello Mike - that's great information. I started this thread because I'm writing a book on boat horses. I'd like a chat with you if you were willing. My email is j.elaine.walker@gmail.com.

Thanks - I've just moved house after a long five months of legal wrangling so I'm running behind schedule a bit but I'm working to catch up now - thanks for all of this information.

That's all great - thankyou so much - it's this sort of personal connection I'm after. I'm following up all the information that comes my way bit by bit!

Thankyou, though it was more on the anonymous post about the Hostel Craft at Stretford I was thinking of. I'm currently working on a book on boat horses as part of my long-term work as a writer on horses in cultural history. I started this thread last year as I'm especially interested in personal stories and memories to go alongside my archive research.

That's intriguing - if anyone knows anymore about who this might be or has any other memories that relate to this, I'd like to try to follow it up. Thanks.

I've been told about this book and your uncle before, Jeanette, but not been able to find it anywhere - now I have the author's name, I should have more luck! Thankyou - that's a great help!

I'm planning to be at Alvecote on Sunday - if anyone who's been in touch will be there, it would be good to make contact! I've had several interviews and lots of emails and I've met up with Sue Day so things are moving well - I really appreciate everyone who has responded.

Thankyou both - not heard of that one before and I've found it on Amazon now - great! There's a sequence of photos in the archive at Ellesmere Port which shows the horse taking up the strain on the boat and leaning into the collar

That's the first mention of donkeys outside archive material - I shall follow that up by asking the pub - thankyou! I like the idea that the mule may have worked her way up the ranks!

That's interesting - I guess that not that long earlier no-one would have given it a second thought.

Thankyou!

I've read the Jack Roberts book - it's interesting seeing all the boats and people I'm coming across start to link together. Thankyou.

The BFI is a really useful source of information - thankyou

That's interesting - I'd be interested to find out more.

I had a great chat with John Blunn and his wife - had a very good day at Audlem and hope to go to Alvecote at the end of the month too. Thanks - I plan to be there! I volunteer as a researcher specialising in horses in the archives.

Is this the boat Tony Lewery used as a horse-boat for passengers then? He's mentioned that to me several times.

I guess the height at the withers must be the crucial factor with bridges - I have no experience with mules but I have donkeys and they have a different way of looking at the world to horses. I'm still working my way through the replies but I will follow up with you further, if I may, as this is really interesting.

This is really interesting - as herd animals, horses and donkeys can get very distressed if they are parted from a regular companion or even a passing contact if they are left alone. The two horses react in Tony Lewery's 'A Towpath Encounter' as they call to one another as the boats move off after passing - the nature of the animal is ultimately what we're always working with. Donkeys are especially pair-bonded (I have two donkeys and they do everything together and are a separate sub-herd to my horses). I'd like to know more about the Norbury boats - I've messaged you - many thanks.

Thanks, Ray T - I'll do that.

I don't know the boat, I'm afraid, but what a great project - sounds worth a visit.

This is the sort of thing I'm interested in Reg - good to hear someone else would be too! It's one of those subjects that is covered in passing a lot but not in any great detail. I'm always interested in the impact on the horse, not only it's usefulness to us too.

I'm not sure how to reply to specific messages but I'm replying to Pete - I think ex-army horses found their way into many new roles. I think Joe Skinner's Dolly was an ex-army mule (I'd have to check the book but I'm pretty sure). As to why they'd be bred specially, maybe they weren't but many types and breeds were bred for specific roles, such as mining, pulling a carriage rather than a cart - as you say above, they needed to be small but strong so anyone who had a good horse, might decide to breed the next generation. It's just a thought at this stage - Darwin uses the breeding of horses for specific roles as an example of human intervention in the evolutionary process so it was well-established by then. But that's the nature of research - I have to pin down evidence, rather than assume that things were a certain way because that seems most likely to me. I was told by someone who I consider an expert that horses made an easy transition from the cart to the narrowboat - but I've also come across an interview from a horse-boater that said ex-cart horses didn't make good towing horses at all, because the boat didn't respond to the pull in the same way. Once I've found out as much as I can, I look at the balance to form any sort of conclusion (which is often still 'we can't be sure'!).

That's great Rob-M - I do plan to be there. The flyer was done to go up in the bookshop in time for the weekend and Peter has said he will do copies for all the boats. I'll do as you suggest - thankyou so much!