Horses in the Mines

Horses (probably related to the North race confused with the Ardennes until 1903) were used in the mining tunnels in Nord-Pas-de-Calais for tow trucks or sedans.

During the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, the Ardennes was used in heavy industry to move large loads, and in mines where the use of steam engines and internal combustion engines was impossible because of the presence of damp.

In the Belgian city of Liege, the mining establishments liked Ardennes horses for getting coal in underground tunnels where they showed skill, strength and intelligence, despite the unhealthy place. They were often abused but lived a very long time, and in 1846 a Ardennes horse was recovered from a mine when he was twenty years old due to old age. The constitution of iron in the Ardennes allowed him to withstand harsh work conditions.

Before electrification from the late nineteenth century, the good performance on the floor of the northern Ardennes was popular in many underground mines in North-Pas-de-Calais and Belgium.

The mine horse faced the same difficult working conditions and the same dangers. Marcel Mavra says here that “The confusion is great, we often hear that mechanization has killed the horse. It is a mistake. The modern horse is very solid, strong and gentle.” The heavy loads to which it was drawn could not be towed by the horse of the early nineteenth century, it was far too lightweight for this kind of work. It was therefore necessary to force it without it losing its beautiful influx.