The idea came to me to write these Faery Fauna posts when travelling back to London on the train. Just as we were passing the Uffington White Horse, we saw deer grazing in a field near to the line. The conjunction of ancient monument and faery cattle set my mind to work…
The horse is a form that can be assumed by several beings, including glaistigs, kelpies, the Manx nyker, buggane and glashtyn, the Shetland nuggle/ nyugl, the Somerset hob called the blue burche, various bogies, boggles, brags and boggarts, including the Hedley Kow, and, lastly, the skriker, trash and other black faery dogs. In addition, the Highland water horse, or each uisge, can appear in human form– although it does this far more rarely than the kelpie.
I distinguish these horses, which are shape-shifted faeries, from the water sprites in solely horse form that are found across Scotland, such as on the River Spey at Moray or at Powguild on Loch Gelly in Fife. Phantom horses that are the ghosts of dead travellers are also encountered, for example at Lochbuie on Mull and at Farnell, near Brechin in Angus. Similar English equine ghosts are known, at Fitz in Shropshire and at Marbury Hall in Cheshire. Phantom headless horses are also present in England, at both Blickling Hall and West Caister in Norfolk.
Just like faery beings, witches were said to be able to transform themselves into horses- as in a story from the Kennet Valley in Berkshire, in which a woman was exposed as a witch because, whilst shape-shifted, she was taken to the see the farrier and then, returned to her human form, she was found in agony with a horse shoe nailed to her hand. The victims of witches might also be turned into horses so that they could be ridden; this was alleged at a witch trial in Cambridge in 1659 and readers might recall that the faeries were alleged to do the same to people if they were unable to steal their horses for riding at night..
As with deer and boars, the horse has a role in wider British mythology. So, for example, in the first branch of the Mabinogion– the story of Peredur- Rhiannon is strongly associated with horses, as is her son Pryderi. This link so strong that the queen and her son are often depicted as mare and foal and it has been proposed that the queen Rhiannon is an embodiment of the ancient British horse goddess Epona. For that matter, the Uffington horse may represent Epona- and similar stylised horses are found on pre-Roman coinage too.
The various faeries transformed into horses that I’ve mentioned are generally malign entities. At best, they’ll terrify witnesses, at worst , they have murderous intent. The best example is the kelpie, which carries off unwary individuals into deep water before consuming their drowned corpses, but others are dangerous carnivores as well.
It’s curious that a domesticated beast, so familiar to people, should be given this fatal aspect- especially as there haven’t been wild horses in Europe for millennia. May be the power and potential of the creatures is what inspired this, but it would seem to run deeper. Across Britain, the vestiges remain of ceremonies involving a supernatural horse. In Wales this is called the Mari Lywd, once widespread throughout the country, now limited to the south in Glamorgan and Carmarthenshire. In England, traditions of the ‘hodening’ or ‘hooden’ horse existed from Kent as far north as south Yorkshire and Cheshire. Whether the very un-equine ‘hobby horses‘ of Cornwall and Devon are related is uncertain.
The customs are still performed in a few places. Around Christmas and New Year (from November to late January, in fact) a person disguised with a sheet and carrying a decorated horse’s skull parades, with supporters, through a settlement, going house to house with songs and verses, enjoying food and drink and bringing good luck to the homes visited. In some places, such as Chepstow, this ceremony blends with the ‘wassailing’ of orchards. The purpose is twofold- the horse initially tries to scare those it visits, but it is really there to bring fertility for the coming year. The Mari Lwyd and her kin can terrorise people but, just like the goddess Epona, they also ensure good crops (and plenty of lambs, calves and foals) in the year ahead.
Conclusions
What strikes me is how all the supernatural animals I’ve described are integrated into the British environment. The ability of faery beings to change their form seems to emphasise how they are, one might say, an emanation of the land, an integral part of the natural world of Britain. They are part of the landscape (caves inhabited and marks left), their appearances can be seasonal and they influence the weather. In this respect, they are unquestionably spirits of the land.
Picture by Nick Treharne (see People’s Collection Wales)
British Fairies 
Hi John,
As you point out, the faery horse is a well-established trope. Throughout folklore, various deities have been associated with horses – Epona, Rhiannon, and of course, Aine, Queen of the Fairies, in the form of her red mare Lair Derg that was said to be uncatchable.
Some folks get nervous around horses. I have always been attracted to them – but never to ride. They, too, seem naturally attracted to my presence, even if we are not well-acquainted. It is curious. I happened to mention on a social media outlet my interest in everything to do with Aine, and speculated whether it was she that ‘my little friends’ were honouring in their nocturnal rituals. Well, as God is my witness, that night, via a dream, I was taken to a great hall where, I believe, in the company of many others, we were present to honour her. That is another story altogether, but, significantly, the signs attributed to Aine, goddess of the summer, are the sun, the moon, the horse, and the swan.
Lastly, I have a very particular picture in my mind not received via dreams but involving horses. It is always the same and involves the two people I hold most dear. We know that pixies love to ride horses and have a very close affinity with them. In my ‘home movie’ of a picture, I am stood in their field close to the water’s edge or stationed on a water lily peering into the water. A seal comes up out of the depths. It’s my friend, the Water Spirit. I jump on her back, arms about her neck, as she takes me up and down the water. In the distance, I spy the approach of a group of riders. It’s time to go. With an expert ‘flip of her tail’, I am back on dry land once more. I am very little, and feeling a bit sheepish for socialising with her friend – innocently though it is.
She looks down from her mount, with her retinue similarly-mounted in her train, the closest one holding the reins of a rider less horse – my horse. She looks down at me sternly as I look up, blushing slightly. She stretches out her hand in summons. I eagerly grasp it and swing up to sit behind her, arms around her waist, cheek to cheek. Then, she takes to the air at an unimaginable speed – for this is no ordinary horse. This is a faery horse. The wind rushes through our hair. I am holding on tightly. Her steed is the pick of the bunch, as befits the Queen of the Hive. Her retinue, mounted as they are, struggle to keep up. Then, it comes time to reclaim my steed, and allow another to take my place. For that is the way of the hive.
Phil
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