Ron Creasey: last of the horselads, William Castle. Hardback, 234 x 156 mm, 228 pages inc. line illustrations and 20 pages photos. ISBN 978-1-906853-96-9. Now available from Old Pond Publishing at £19.95.
This is the story of East Yorkshireman Ron Creasey, one of the last farm horsemen to find work at a hiring fair in 1946. He was just seventeen.
During his years as a horselad, he lived in the traditional conditions, remained single and was paid just once a year. The Caley family for whom he worked expected high standards of farming and horsemanship and a great deal of hard graft. Ron loved the life, eventually rising to become Waggoner.
On the heavy clay of Holderness, horses were used for longer than in many other areas but it was only a matter of time before changing farming methods encroached upon Ron’s world.
Though horses became less and less important to the everyday workings of the modern farm, Ron continued to be involved with heavy horses throughout his life and retained a clear memory of his influential early days as a horselad.
During 2006 and 2007, not long before Ron Creasey’s death, William Castle recorded a long series of conversations with the horseman. This information provided a rich stream of knowledge and anecdote – all relating to horses and farming – that helped the author re-create traditional skills and practices.
Much of the book is a transcription of Ron Creasey’s words. William Castle draws on his own experience of working with horses to provide background and context. He explains the specific nature of horse work in the Holderness area, using diagrams to show the details of harness and gear in the region. He shows how waggons were loaded and he also gives a full glossary of terms.
William Castle writes for Heavy Horse World magazine.
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