Horse power on show

Hebden Bridge was cast back into a bygone era at the weekend as a horse demonstrated how boats used to be pulled along the canal.

Bilbo Baggins, handled by Nigel Dix and Sue Day, also showed people how packhorses used to use the old cobbled bridge, marking its 500th anniversary, to cross the valley.

Packhorses were replaced by canal boats, also using horse power.

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Sue Day, chair of the Horseboating Society, said: “Packhorses often carried up to about 200cwt on their backs ... They were fairly short horses, to aid loading and unloading, but had to be agile and strong to carry the load over rough terrain, climbing and descending steep hillsides, and covering perhaps 20 miles a day.

“While the work of canal horses was gradually taken over by the mechanised boats, road vehicles and railways, packhorses are still in commercial use today throughout the world.”

Picture: Gerard Binks.