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 ZKV100

 

 

When I lived far out in the countryside of East Scania, my first wife and I had a Connemara gelding that was stabled at the neighbouring farm, where Hagert and his much younger wife, Marie, had several horses and plenty of stable space for one more. The farm was approached down a gently sloping and curving track, as if one was descending into a vortex. In front of the main building was a large yard, but to reach that you had to pass a fenced area for riding or training the horses. There was one horse that needed no training. He was a vast, magnificent Ardennes stallion around 16 hands tall and probably weighing well on the way to 2000 lbs. He went by the highly incongruous name of Brian. (This was before the Life of Brian, the beginning of the 1970s).

From time to time, Brian's services were required. A trailer would arrive with an Ardennes mare, and Hagert would lead Brian out into the yard. I had never seen a stallion cover a mare before. Brian needed assistance only for initial penetration, and Marie's job was to hold his vast shaft half-way along and guide it. I was an awesome sight (This was before the word lost its true meaning.).

Today, half a century later, I have translated a poem that featured two Ardennes horses, think of Brian, and look on the bright side of life.