Pit Ponies - 02/26/18
The pit pony replaced women and children in the coal mines.
Since mine shafts were small and had a low ceiling, it made sense to put smaller ponies into play here.
At the height of Pit Pony usage in 1913, there were 70,000 working
in the mines. As of 1984, there were 55 still in service. The last pony, Robbie, retired in 1999.
It is true that most of them were employed by the British and Australians, but they were employed in the US as well.
Of course they needed to be small yet hearty. Ceilings were low and the roads were rough and steep. Consequently, ponies had to be full bodied, large boned and short. A kind temperament was preferred and sure-footedness a must. So, Shetlands and the Sable Island Ponies were the popular breeds.
Ponies were mostly raised in the mines so they didn’t rebel against the conditions (nice). However, they weren’t put to work until they were 4 years old. Most ponies were retired in their late teens.
Most of these ponies had never seen the sunlight so they didn’t know any better...
“Stable conditions were very important and much was done to tend to the comfort of these animals and lengthen their term of usefulness. In the stable, the height of the roof was to be seven feet when a five-foot horse was in use. It should be able to raise its head and relax its muscles because it had to work all day carrying its head low. Ventilation was to be arranged so that the direct current would not strike the horses. As little wood as possible was used in the construction of the stables to lessen the chance of fire. All stables were well drained with pipes and well whites washed for sanitary purposes.??The stableman usually shod the horses with shoes made on the surface. Sometimes, a ferrier went into the mine when a higher degree of shoeing skill was required. He would take the measurements underground and make the shoes on the surface.It was desirable that the horse have only one driver who would take more pride in the animal and so that they might both understand one another. It is true that a horse’s disposition was spoiled when drivers were changed.??The roadways were to be kept in the best possible condition to prevent accidents. The roof was also to be carefully brushed to rid it of protruding booms and rocks that might cause head injury to the horse.The horses were taken below ground in a cage or were walked into the slope mines on the footpath. Their daily working shift was normally the same as a man’s and drivers did not like their ponies to be double-shifted. When the animal got older, their work period was usually reduced to four hours. They generally stayed below ground for approximately five years, unless killed or maimed, and then they were either moved or replaced.”
The mine owners knew that with no horse, there was no profit. So, it was mandated that the horses were well cared for. Of course, the conditions varied between mines, but the general consensus was to feed them quality food, have fresh water available at every station throughout the day and to only have one handler who was responsible for feeding, grooming, bathing and caring for his particular pony.
It was often documented that ponies were quite upset when their handler was removed. So, they tried not to do that.
Retirement was OK for the Pit Pony but stressful and usually short. They lived underground for so long under unnatural conditions that life on the outside was too foreign and confusing. They didn’t know herd behavior and they didn’t understand paddocks.
If these ponies did assimilate, most of them died from the respiratory conditions that killed many miners.
http://www.horseandman.com/horse-stories/lets-celebrate-pit-ponies-what-a-rotten-job/09/04/2016/
Since mine shafts were small and had a low ceiling, it made sense to put smaller ponies into play here.
At the height of Pit Pony usage in 1913, there were 70,000 working
in the mines. As of 1984, there were 55 still in service. The last pony, Robbie, retired in 1999.
It is true that most of them were employed by the British and Australians, but they were employed in the US as well.
Of course they needed to be small yet hearty. Ceilings were low and the roads were rough and steep. Consequently, ponies had to be full bodied, large boned and short. A kind temperament was preferred and sure-footedness a must. So, Shetlands and the Sable Island Ponies were the popular breeds.
Ponies were mostly raised in the mines so they didn’t rebel against the conditions (nice). However, they weren’t put to work until they were 4 years old. Most ponies were retired in their late teens.
Most of these ponies had never seen the sunlight so they didn’t know any better...
“Stable conditions were very important and much was done to tend to the comfort of these animals and lengthen their term of usefulness. In the stable, the height of the roof was to be seven feet when a five-foot horse was in use. It should be able to raise its head and relax its muscles because it had to work all day carrying its head low. Ventilation was to be arranged so that the direct current would not strike the horses. As little wood as possible was used in the construction of the stables to lessen the chance of fire. All stables were well drained with pipes and well whites washed for sanitary purposes.??The stableman usually shod the horses with shoes made on the surface. Sometimes, a ferrier went into the mine when a higher degree of shoeing skill was required. He would take the measurements underground and make the shoes on the surface.It was desirable that the horse have only one driver who would take more pride in the animal and so that they might both understand one another. It is true that a horse’s disposition was spoiled when drivers were changed.??The roadways were to be kept in the best possible condition to prevent accidents. The roof was also to be carefully brushed to rid it of protruding booms and rocks that might cause head injury to the horse.The horses were taken below ground in a cage or were walked into the slope mines on the footpath. Their daily working shift was normally the same as a man’s and drivers did not like their ponies to be double-shifted. When the animal got older, their work period was usually reduced to four hours. They generally stayed below ground for approximately five years, unless killed or maimed, and then they were either moved or replaced.”
The mine owners knew that with no horse, there was no profit. So, it was mandated that the horses were well cared for. Of course, the conditions varied between mines, but the general consensus was to feed them quality food, have fresh water available at every station throughout the day and to only have one handler who was responsible for feeding, grooming, bathing and caring for his particular pony.
It was often documented that ponies were quite upset when their handler was removed. So, they tried not to do that.
Retirement was OK for the Pit Pony but stressful and usually short. They lived underground for so long under unnatural conditions that life on the outside was too foreign and confusing. They didn’t know herd behavior and they didn’t understand paddocks.
If these ponies did assimilate, most of them died from the respiratory conditions that killed many miners.
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