Giant Horse?

[Mouldy13]

I can’t remember where, but I have a memory of reading an account of a traveler on a train who was going past a field in which there were several horses. The traveler claimed that one of the horses was huge, they estimated it at about 20 feet in height. They stated that it was stood quietly amongst the other horses in the pasture which seemed at ease with it, but that as the train drew level with it, it galloped up to the fence which bordered the field, and running along, kept pace with the train until it went passed the field.

I seem to remember quite a lot of discussion on the nature of this, with many people adhering to the theory that it was a manifestation of Epona the horse goddess.

I can’t seem to find however any reference to this anywhere on the web.

Does anyone know about or recall this?

 

[Dick Turpin]

I can’t remember where, but I have a memory of reading an account of a traveler on a train who was going past a field in which there were several horses. The traveler claimed that one of the horses was huge, they estimated it at about 20 feet in height. They stated that it was stood quietly amongst the other horses in the pasture which seemed at ease with it, but that as the train drew level with it, it galloped up to the fence which bordered the field, and running along, kept pace with the train until it went passed the field.

I seem to remember quite a lot of discussion on the nature of this, with many people adhering to the theory that it was a manifestation of Epona the horse goddess.

I can’t seem to find however any reference to this anywhere on the web.

Does anyone know about or recall this?

I’ve just seen this thread about a horse, and it put me in mind of something that happened when I went on The Somme Memorial tour with the LOFC supporters club, and I probably should have included it in my memorial post as it is slightly fortean.

The coach stopped at the Couin British military cemetery, where Orient footballer CSM Richard McFadden is laid to rest. After wreaths and flowers were laid, the bagpiper who is part of the Orient band, played a respectful lament on the pipes (George McFadden being Scottish you see). As that happened, a group of grazing Horses in an adjacent field and around 30 in number, stopped their grazing and walked very slowly over to the boundary fence of the cemetery, and just stood very still watching silently.

It was so moving, that many of the 200 Orient fans present had tears in their eyes.

What a strange thing to happen. Are Horses attracted to the sound of Bagpipes..?

 

[escargot]

I collected a strange story about a weird horse some years ago.
It's at this link:

#14
Here's the full post -

I used to have a job where I did house calls. One evening I was chatting with the householder's son-in-law, who started telling me a brilliant story.

On the previous Boxing Day he had been on 'driving the in-laws around' duty, which of course entailed abstaining from drink, and had been travelling alone south along the branch road east of the Delamere Arms pub in Cheshire. It was daylight, mid-afternoon, dry weather with good light.

Here

He saw what looked like a bridge over the road ahead. As he drove nearer he saw that it was a horse. A giant horse, standing across the road like a bridge. I asked him 'What did you do?' and he said that he was so shocked that he just drove underneath it and carried on home, about another 15 minutes' driving. As he went under the horse he looked up for as long as he could and he did drive underneath it, exactly as if it were a bridge.

His wife was present at this conversation and she confirmed that when he arrived home he was as white as a sheet and had to sit down. She thought he'd had an accident on the road as he was in such a state. He then told her what he'd seen. I think he did have a stiff drink after that!

The couple said that the area is known for weird sightings of horses but I haven't heard of any more.

Techy and I now know that area well. We cycle along Stone House Lane where the Giant Horse Incident occurred.
It has the turning that leads to the allegedly haunted bridge. I also heard mysterious military-sounding marching footsteps along there.
Haven't seen any strange horses though.

 

[hunck]

I’ve just seen this thread about a horse, and it put me in mind of something that happened when I went on The Somme Memorial tour with the LOFC supporters club, and I probably should have included it in my memorial post as it is slightly fortean.

The coach stopped at the Couin British military cemetery, where Orient footballer CSM Richard McFadden is laid to rest. After wreaths and flowers were laid, the bagpiper who is part of the Orient band, played a respectful lament on the pipes (George McFadden being Scottish you see). As that happened, a group of grazing Horses in an adjacent field and around 30 in number, stopped their grazing and walked very slowly over to the boundary fence of the cemetery, and just stood very still watching silently.

It was so moving, that many of the 200 Orient fans present had tears in their eyes.

What a strange thing to happen. Are Horses attracted to the sound of Bagpipes..?

Wouldn’t surprise me. It’s not something they’d experience too often so would be a novelty. I remember finding a video of an Austrian or Swiss man who takes his accordion into the countryside, plays it standing next to a field of cows & attracts a large group of them which come racing over to get close. They clearly find something fascinating about it.n

 

[Min Bannister]

Great thread. I would love to see a giant horse.

 

[LymeswoldSnork]

Wouldn’t surprise me. It’s not something they’d experience too often so would be a novelty. I remember finding a video of an Austrian or Swiss man who takes his accordion into the countryside, plays it standing next to a field of cows & attracts a large group of them which come racing over to get close. They clearly find something fascinating about it.n

Or elephants and pianos:

 

[Mythopoeika]

Great thread. I would love to see a giant horse.

There ya go...

 

[staticgirl]

@Dick Turpin I don't know about being attracted by the sound of bagpipes but they are incorrigibly nosy creatures. They love to see what is happening.

I love the idea of giant horses being sightings of Epona. I have been tussling with the idea of an illustration of a ghostly giant white horse emerging from the Uffington White Horse on a starlit night but can't work out how I'd do it yet.

 

[Tunn11]

There ya go...

"Dunno mate some Greek chap said would I like it?"

 

[Mythopoeika]

"Dunno mate some Greek chap said would I like it?"

That picture shows Sampson the Shire horse.
The size of a flippin' elephant.

 

[catseye]

I can’t remember where, but I have a memory of reading an account of a traveler on a train who was going past a field in which there were several horses. The traveler claimed that one of the horses was huge, they estimated it at about 20 feet in height. They stated that it was stood quietly amongst the other horses in the pasture which seemed at ease with it, but that as the train drew level with it, it galloped up to the fence which bordered the field, and running along, kept pace with the train until it went passed the field.

I seem to remember quite a lot of discussion on the nature of this, with many people adhering to the theory that it was a manifestation of Epona the horse goddess.

I can’t seem to find however any reference to this anywhere on the web.

Does anyone know about or recall this?

I remember this story. But, like you, can't remember where from. But I associate it in my mind with the story of the child who saw a gigantic rabbit under similar circumstances, so maybe they were collected together?

 

[catseye]

There ya go...

And I'm sorry but I'm going to call fake on that one... Largest horse ever recorded was only 21.5 hands which is only about a foot taller than a tall bloke.

 

[Mythopoeika]

And I'm sorry but I'm going to call fake on that one... Largest horse ever recorded was only 21.5 hands which is only about a foot taller than a tall bloke.

It's quite a good fake, if it is a fake.

 

[catseye]

It's quite a good fake, if it is a fake.

It is good, but I am absolutely convinced it is a fake.

 

[staticgirl]

I agree with @catseye I have never heard of a horse being THAT big and I was horse-mad once. The harness seems to be holding itself up at the front and back? Also I think it is from a photo with a higher resolution as the lighting is less harsh on the horse. It is a very good image though.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I agree with @catseye I have never heard of a horse being THAT big and I was horse-mad once. The harness seems to be holding itself up at the front and back? Also I think it is from a photo with a higher resolution as the lighting is less harsh on the horse. It is a very good image though.

Good point! It must be a fake.

 

[catseye]

I agree with @catseye I have never heard of a horse being THAT big and I was horse-mad once. The harness seems to be holding itself up at the front and back? Also I think it is from a photo with a higher resolution as the lighting is less harsh on the horse. It is a very good image though.

There are also no reins or lead ropes, and I can't imagine that a bunch of blokes would want an animal that size wandering around without any means of controlling it.

 

[catseye]

This is Samson - the largest horse ever recorded. Quite a bit smaller, I think you'll agree.

 

[Fluttermoth]

I agree with @catseye I have never heard of a horse being THAT big and I was horse-mad once. The harness seems to be holding itself up at the front and back? Also I think it is from a photo with a higher resolution as the lighting is less harsh on the horse. It is a very good image though.

I'm still horse mad, and I agree, no way is that photo real; it's very well done though.

The reports of giant horses in fields are probably a perspective error; horses and ponies don't always look that different in the way that big and small cats and dogs usually do. I used to know a stallion out on Bodmin moor who looked exactly like a Clydesdale, except he was only about 13.2hh (for the non horsey people, 13.2 hands high is about 4'6", at the shoulder; an actual Clydesdale would be around 17hh/5'8"). In a photo, or without any frame of reference, there would be no way of guessing how tall he actually was.

P.S; When I was a little girl, I had a strip of paper on my bedroom wall marked out in hands with the heights of famous horses on it

 

[LymeswoldSnork]

The reports of giant horses in fields are probably a perspective error

Though usually the error is in the other direction:

 

[Paul_Exeter]

I collected a strange story about a weird horse some years ago.
It's at this link:

#14
Here's the full post -

I used to have a job where I did house calls. One evening I was chatting with the householder's son-in-law, who started telling me a brilliant story.

On the previous Boxing Day he had been on 'driving the in-laws around' duty, which of course entailed abstaining from drink, and had been travelling alone south along the branch road east of the Delamere Arms pub in Cheshire. It was daylight, mid-afternoon, dry weather with good light.

Here

He saw what looked like a bridge over the road ahead. As he drove nearer he saw that it was a horse. A giant horse, standing across the road like a bridge. I asked him 'What did you do?' and he said that he was so shocked that he just drove underneath it and carried on home, about another 15 minutes' driving. As he went under the horse he looked up for as long as he could and he did drive underneath it, exactly as if it were a bridge.

His wife was present at this conversation and she confirmed that when he arrived home he was as white as a sheet and had to sit down. She thought he'd had an accident on the road as he was in such a state. He then told her what he'd seen. I think he did have a stiff drink after that!

The couple said that the area is known for weird sightings of horses but I haven't heard of any more.

Techy and I now know that area well. We cycle along Stone House Lane where the Giant Horse Incident occurred.
It has the turning that leads to the allegedly haunted bridge. I also heard mysterious military-sounding marching footsteps along there.
Haven't seen any strange horses though.

...and 'Peak Forteana' just entered the room, I just love these completely out there Fortean accounts

 

[RaM]

There's always the Kelpies.

 

[nycuk]

Circa 2002-3 my now ex-girlfriend and I were driving out to a country pub on the Oxfordshire / Warwickshire border for a lunch date. We were in open countryside with fields either side of the road. As we rounded a right-handed bend we both saw what I can only describe as a giant black horse, facing the road from the other side of the fence. It was huge, substantially bigger than a Shire Horse, but what really caught our attention was the large figure astride the horse. It was dressed in black and appeared to be wearing a cape or cloak of some kind. We were both pretty shaken by this sight and as we drove away I could still see the horse and figure in my rear view mirror, likewise my girlfriend was looking back over her shoulder and could still see it. As we turned the next bend it obviously disappeared from our view. We debated whether or not to turn the car around and go back but decided not too. We tried to forget about it over lunch, but we did drive home via a different route.

I have no idea what we saw. We could possibly have misidentified something else, but there were no trees etc in the field. Whatever it was, we both saw / identified the same thing. It left us both feeling uneasy.

 

[Sollywos]

have no idea what we saw. We could possibly have misidentified something else, but there were no trees etc in the field. Whatever it was, we both saw / identified the same thing. It left us both feeling uneasy.

Interesting that you both saw it and from different points of view. A momentary misidentification can be more easily explained away. Could it have been a deliberate larger than life size model?

 

[nycuk]

Interesting that you both saw it and from different points of view. A momentary misidentification can be more easily explained away. Could it have been a deliberate larger than life size model?

It’s possible, the horse was not moving but I do recall the cape kind of flowing, as fabric would.

 

[Sollywos]

What time of year was it and can you remember anything about what crops were growing in the fields? I'm just wondering if it could have been a pile of those big black rolls of straw/hay or something on those lines? Not casting doubt on what you saw just trying to think what it may have been .... of course I'd prefer to think that you really saw a big horse!

 

[nycuk]

Haha me too! It would’ve been early winter - November / December. A grey, dry, chilly day.

 

[escargot]

i'll get Techy's weird horse rider story when he gets in.

 

[catseye]

i'll get Techy's weird horse rider story when he gets in.

I was the ghost rider once. I think the story is on here somewhere, but the gist is that I was riding my horse through fog up on the North York Moors along an old track when I heard walkers somewhere off in the distance. The fog was really thick and we cantered past them without seeing them - so they didn't see me, and they went very quiet as we passed.

If they didn't know the area (as many walkers are holiday makers) they wouldn't have known we were on a bridleway and will just have heard an invisible horse gallop towards them, then past.

 

[Mythopoeika]

I was the ghost rider once. I think the story is on here somewhere, but the gist is that I was riding my horse through fog up on the North York Moors along an old track when I heard walkers somewhere off in the distance. The fog was really thick and we cantered past them without seeing them - so they didn't see me, and they went very quiet as we passed.

If they didn't know the area (as many walkers are holiday makers) they wouldn't have known we were on a bridleway and will just have heard an invisible horse gallop towards them, then past.

Next time that happens, wear a black cape and a mask with 2 red glowing LEDs.