The Horsemen

... and the horseman's word

Long ago, before automation displaced the role of the horse, our equine friends enjoyed a quiet period of importance within village life. Not simply the province of the rural elite as in times past, or those who enjoy modern equestrian pursuits, the horse was king for a couple of centuries before the industrial revolution conquered every quarter of life.

Not simply a means of transport, the horse provided power in a raw form and we still apply the term 'horsepower' today. As in any walk of life, the skilled handler was a much regarded member of the community and the Horsemen were no exception and have a rich and secretive lore surrounding their mysteries sodality

Sometime during the eighteenth Century, the Society of Horsemen, or the Horseman's Word, originated with much in common with other union type lodges such as the Freemasons and the Society of Millers. Supposedly developed to protect the rights and skills of the Master Horsemen in order to preserve the vocation, the society developed into a mysterious secret brotherhood whose admitted members only came from certain ranks of society with skill in handling horses, including the village smith. No farmers were initiated into the Society, being important employers, and the ceremonies became much guarded and speculated upon. Recent writings reveal some of the traditions within the Society, which was predominant in Scotland and the East of England. These mysterious men gathered at night in private barns and members had to endure initiation tests before admittance, which concluded with shaking the hand of the Master Horseman, the Devil Himself.

So feared and revered were the Horsemen that legends grew up around them as to their power over horses and its origin. Mystifyingly, they could jade a wild stallion and draw it without laying a hand upon it. An unruly colt could be calmed with the simple utterance of a word in its ear. The techniques remained veiled in superstition and awe, but their effectiveness was not disputed. This in turn ensured that the skill of the Horseman was valuable to any rural community.

Akin to, but not the same as, the Horsemen was the now popular Horse Whisperer who travelled England usually solitary or with a small family. Unlike the Horseman, the Whisperers had no formal society or lodges and were often accused of deliberately causing anxiety to a horse in order to sell their services. One example was secretly placing a small tack or thorn beneath a bridle and then only removing it upon payment. The Whisperers arrived with Irish tinkers and were commonly seen with Romanies and at Horse Fairs and developed a bad reputation. Around Warwickshire, the Horse Whisperer would have been the more commonly skilled master of the equine arts and the Stow Fair continues to this day.

Horse Power and Magic, by George Ewart Evans

An insight into the tradition of the Horsemen of East Anglia

This superb book by pioneering oral historian George Ewart Evans is a record of the beliefs and practices of a traditional farming culture in East Anglia. Included within the work are memories of the toadbone, demonstrating the superstition and fear that surrounded this and other practices of the horsemen.

Evans meticulously recored conversations, memories and history received via an oral tradition of the people, preserving for us a taste of how things actually were. His other sminal work, The Pattern Under the Plough, is a reminder of another world rapidly becoming forgotten. Only by gaining the trust and becoming assimilated into the way of life of the rural folk of East Anglia could such a work be achieved, for which effort we must be sincerely grateful.