Category Archives: My own

We met some horses in the woods today

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“When a horse offers their face to you, they’re interested in what you are, what you’re doing. They’re paying attention.” Brady Jandreau, former rodeo rider

It felt like time stopped for a few minutes today as we chatted to the horses in the woods. The morning was wet, and our coats damp with rain, but there was still time to swap news before we ambled on, each in our own direction.

So now, with this muzzle on my computer screen, I thought I’d look up some more about horses.

First thing to say is that as far as horse ownership goes the United States is the clear winner. According to the World Population Review they have over 10.5 million horses. Next comes Mexico with over 6.5 million, and then, not that far behind, Brazil and behind that Mongolia, which apparently has more horses than people.

The most expensive horse ever sold – a title that still stands as far as I can make out – was a racehorse called Fusachi Pegasus who went for $72 million in the year 2000, the year the horse became the first favourite to win the Kentucky Derby since 1979.

The tallest horse in the world, measured in 2010, was Big Jake, a Belgian Draft horse who lived on a farm in Wisconsin, America. He was 20 hands 2.75 inches or 210.19cm to his withers – head held high he was taller still. Big Jake died at the end of June 2021.

The biggest, and heaviest horse ever, was a Shire Horse called Sampson (born in 1846) who was said to be 21 hands and 2.5 inches high, and weighed 3,360lb or 1,524kg (860lbs more than Big Jake).

And finally, if you have the time and love horses, here’s a link that will tell you more about twelve that are amongst the best known. I’d never heard of Sergeant Reckless. I’m glad I have now.

PS: I have received a note from the World Animal Foundation to say that according to their latest statistics there are 10.31 million horses in the United States of America.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

Puppies and dogs, and who owns who

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“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen.” Orhan Pamuk, My Name is Red

It’s been a grey, wet, windy day here, but made so much brighter for us by family … and a puppy.

We’ve had visits from two puppies recently, both only a few months old, with teeth sharp as razors, and bodies wriggling with happiness and curiosity. They’ve padded and explored, tested and tasted, chewed and chased.

Now they are gone, and the house settles back into the rhythm of adults. It is a good rhythm, but different. In the quiet since, I’ve done some looking and found out a few things about dogs and who owns them.

The YouGov Dog Ownership Report 2023, lists 56% of American households as having a dog in them, while an MDPI National Dog Survey 2023, reports that in the UK it’s 34%. The World Population Review 2023 puts that into numbers – 90,000,000 million dogs in the USA, and only 12,000,000 in the UK. The Kennel Club in the USA has given the nation’s most popular dog spot to the French Bulldog, while in the UK that spot has gone to the Labrador Retriever. 

And, of course, there is one piece of evidence that has never changed, at least it hasn’t so far – all dogs, wherever they are, begin as puppies, who play and grow … then suddenly they are tired.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

So how was it for you?

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“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” J R R Tolkien, The Hobbit

Boxing Day is sinking away beneath a full moon, as we flop into still spaces, and try to understand how to bring ourselves back towards some sort of everyday where there is no chocolate.

And while we flop, the world turns as it always has done, taking us and our muddle with it.

Here in the south of England the weather has been warmer than normal, warmer in a way that is hard not to notice. But perhaps that is a good thing. Perhaps, the combination of national holiday and unseasonal warmth will help to underline the shift that is happening to the climate. Perhaps it will mark the end of the year that helped to focus our wandering attention on the fractured weather surrounding us. Perhaps.

And if it does, then we’ve still got time to line up a whole new set of resolutions for next week.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023