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I spent a year researching the use of horses and ponies in the coal mines of South Wales. In addition to learning about the role of the Pit Ponies, I also studied the role of children and women in the mines.I set my story in the 1930's at the Penalta mine.
For centuries, horses have been involved in bringing coal
from where it lay dormant in the ground to homes and factories around the
world. The earliest records of using coal as a burning agent date back to China
in 3490 BC. It wasn’t until the start of the Industrial Revolution at
the beginning of the eighteenth century that coal mining became a large and
essential operation. That was when horses became a necessary part of mining and
delivering coal.
The first job horses fulfilled was to haul loads of coal away
from the mines and take them to where it was needed: homes and factories. They
were also employed on the windlasses, bringing trams of coal up from
underground.
As the demand for coal increased and mining technology
improved, horses were taken down the mine itself to provide the power needed to
haul large quantities of coal. Before that, children as young as eight pulled
out carts of coal while crawling through the low, narrow tunnels on their hands
and knees, chained to a wagon.
For more than two hundred years, horses provided the power to
bring substantial quantities of coal from the face to the pit bottom. This was
called “hauling” in the South of Wales.
All the horses that worked underground, regardless of size,
were called “pit ponies.” The pit ponies in the south valleys of Wales were
usually a mix of Welsh Mountain Ponies and the larger draft breeds such as
Shires. It was only in the north that small ponies were used, as the northern
coal seams were narrower and the tunnels lower.
In 1878, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (RSPCA) estimated that there were around 200,000 horses working in
British mines. But with increased mechanization, this number began to decline.
Mechanical conveyors, developed in the early 1900s, proved to be a more rapid
way of moving coal. And from 1933 onward, underground locomotives came into
use. Still, horses continued to work in the mines. But when the British coal
mines were nationalized in 1947, there were only 8,000 horses working in the
mines, and most of the collieries in Wales had no horses at all. The last
horses working in Welsh mines were finally retired in 1999.
While many of us feel an ache in our hearts at the thought of
these beautiful creatures spending their lives in the dirty, dark, damp,
underground tunnels of the coal mines, my research indicates that, on the
whole, they were well cared for. While most mine owners probably only
considered the horses to be a commodity like any other piece of equipment, they
were still vital to the success of the mine. Therefore, they needed to be taken
care of. Was there animal abuse going on? I have no doubt that when humans are
working with animals, there will be occasional abuse. However, mistreatment of
the pit ponies was grounds for termination at any of the mines. I found much
evidence in my research that most of the hauliers loved and respected their
four-legged companions.
There is no question that coal mining was, and still is, a
dangerous occupation for both man and horse. Explosions, fires, cave-ins, and
equipment accidents all caused severe injuries and even death. The pit ponies
were victims of these accidents just as much as the men were. But there are
also records of instances where horses saved the lives of the miners. Many
hauliers claimed their pit ponies had a sixth sense that warned them of danger.
At other times, miners risked their lives to save the ponies.
You might be interested to know that there really were horse
shows where the collieries proudly exhibited their pit ponies.
It wasn’t until 1842 that age limits were placed on children working in the collieries. At that time, women and girls were banned from working underground. However, I found that the restrictions on using girls and women were mostly ignored. The women would either disguise themselves as men in
order to get the higher pay, or the
managers would ignore the rules in order to have women in the mines who could
be paid a lower wage.
As I mentioned
earlier, the mine owners had a vested interest in keeping the horses healthy.
As a result, many of the largest mines had veterinarians and farriers on staff
full-time. The smaller mines would share vets and horseshoers.
In addition, keeping the horses fed was an enormous job.
Lowering hay and grain down the pit was done with the same cages that carried
the men up and down.
It was fun to learn that, in later years, all the miners were given a two-week paid vacation. And the best part? So were the pit ponies!
"Coal Dust and Dreams" is available wherever books are sold!
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