The Suffolk Punch is becoming a rare sight
even in Suffolk these days, and is now
officially an endangered species. There is a
stud, the Suffolk Punch Trust, at Hollesley
Bay in Suffolk that rears them, trains them
and acts as an information and visitor
centre (for us, not the horses). The gelding
here, ‘Oaken’ is over 16 hands high, a
beautiful gentle creature that is often seen at shows in full harness. Suffolk Punches
were once one of the main work-horses of the English countryside and have been a
major contributor to the landscape and our social history. Within my own living (some
would dispute that) memory, here, and even in London, Suffolk Punches were
commonly seen as dray horses for local breweries, right up to the 1980s. Tannington
Hall, a few miles from Laxfield, used to harness a Suffolk Punch for evening trips to the
Low House - one of the best pubs in Suffolk - pulling a carriage for four. It was a very
pleasant way of avoiding the breathalyser, and it was said that if the driver himself fell
foul of the foaming nut-brown elixir, the horse knew its own way home. Alas those days
are now gone, and we felt privileged to experience them before they ended.
The Suffolk Punch is becoming a rare sight
even in Suffolk these days, and is now
officially an endangered species. There is a
stud, the Suffolk Punch Trust, at Hollesley
Bay in Suffolk that rears them, trains them
and acts as an information and visitor
centre (for us, not the horses). The gelding
here, ‘Oaken’ is over 16 hands high, a
beautiful gentle creature that is often seen at shows in full harness. Suffolk Punches
were once one of the main work-horses of the English countryside and have been a
major contributor to the landscape and our social history. Within my own living (some
would dispute that) memory, here, and even in London, Suffolk Punches were
commonly seen as dray horses for local breweries, right up to the 1980s. Tannington
Hall, a few miles from Laxfield, used to harness a Suffolk Punch for evening trips to the
Low House - one of the best pubs in Suffolk - pulling a carriage for four. It was a very
pleasant way of avoiding the breathalyser, and it was said that if the driver himself fell
foul of the foaming nut-brown elixir, the horse knew its own way home. Alas those days
are now gone, and we felt privileged to experience them before they ended.