AHG Seminar - December 11th: Horses and Place-Making

Perhaps more than any other animal species, the horse has shaped the world of human development for several millennia. While equestrian history has flourished over the last two decades, geographers have engaged little with the role of the horse in the evolution of places, be they towns, cities, rural landscapes or nations.

Taking an historical-geographical approach, and using Britain as a case study, this paper explores the role of the horse in the more-than-human geography of a nation. It traces the role and implications of horse-based mobility for the evolution of settlement structure, urban morphology and the rural landscape.  It maps the growth and various uses of horses to the point of ‘peak horse’ in the early twentieth century before considering the contemporary place of the horse in twenty-first century economy and society. It assesses the role of the horse in the formation of places within Britain and in the formation of the nation. The paper reflects on the implications of this historical and contemporary equine geography for animal geographies and animal studies. It argues for the study of animals in general in how places are made, not just by humans. 

Host or Publisher Animal History Group