Despite the insurgence of the railways, horse drawn narrow boats in the Midlands lasted into the 1950’s, whilst horses pulling bigger barges with bigger payloads were still working the Regents Canal until the 1960’s. “That’s nearly two hundred years of history for one virtually unaltered form of transport!” says John. “Horses are a critically important part of canal history, but a part that is in danger of being overlooked in this mechanical age.”
Keeping this precious piece of history alive today is Stephen Butler and his wife Charlotte who run the Kennet Horse Boat Company on the Kennet and Avon canal in Kintbury, with their two horses Monty and Drummer. “We are one of only four horse drawn boat operations leſt in the country”, says Stephen. “It is amazing, the reaction we get from unexpecting day picnickers residing by the tow path; their jaws literally drop as they are faced with a tonne of horse pulling a barge with a rope! Unfortunately, people nowadays have no idea that not too long ago, the canals and our horses were the backbone of this country.”
Born to canal enthusiast parents, Stephen remembers fondly travelling by motorised boat from Newbury to Kintbury to see the horse drawn barge that generated income from offering authentic horse drawn boat rides to visitors. “I was always more keen on the horse drawn side of the canals. I felt that it was special and needed to be preserved”, says Stephen. “My parents took over the horse drawn barge business in the 1980’s and I would ride my bike along the tow path, behind the horse and beside the barge, and it was from there that I started to learn the ropes.”
Today, Stephen and Charlotte offer nostalgic horse-drawn Please mention Central Horse News What’s On when responding to advertisements THE SUMMER SPECIAL 2020 39
boat trips that last from two to three hours a day, from Easter to the end of September. “I can easily walk ten miles a day during the season, unlike Monty and Drummer who get to share the workload!” laughs Stephen. “The horses love it when we get to a lock as they get to graze whilst we tow the barge in by hand, we never need worry about tying them up!”
Indeed, back in the time when horses would work the tow paths day in and day out, it was not unusual to find horses pulling barges unmanned. “They would tie an old boot to the whippletree so the blinkered horse would think that their master was walking behind”, explains Stephen. “My two are fine with me walking behind, but that’s only when we are in a rhythm, one distraction and their heads are down in the grass so I’m not sure an old boot would get us very far!”
Both horses are of exceptional quality and stand at 16.2hh, Monty a striking four white socked, almost stockinged, 14 year old Welsh Cob x Shire who Stephen describes as ‘well driven’ and Drummer, the equally striking and matching socked, Clydesdale x Cob, who at the young age of 7, Stephen describes as ‘good fun!’
“I look for a calm horse with a soſt nature, but they also have to have spirit and drive”, says Stephen. “Both my horses came from the highly respected Jonathan Waterer who works his 100 acres of land in Devon solely by horse- power and will work up to six horses to one plough. It’s quite something to see them in action and he quite obviously knows his stuff when it comes to breaking heavy horses to the plough, or in our case the boat!”
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