Project: Earth Horse

Earth Horse

Sara Bor an M.A. student has been developing her project to create THE EARTH HORSE OF IDE to celebrate the beginning of spring and to connect with past customs and rituals associated with the countryside. Hill figure carvings in Britain have fascinated and excited interest amongst people for generations working in the everyday lives of the people who made them. They actively influenced the way people thought about the landscape and moved within it and remembered it. The local significance of this project is to establish a link with local farming both historical and contemporary and a connection with what has been lost in the past in particular the horses that used to work the land. The Ide horse represents rekindled memories that have faded and become a shadow in the landscape.

Bob and Duke taking a well earned rest. The earth was wet and the slope steep so ploughing was not easy.



The scene is an echo of what would have been a common sight in the fields of Devon.

This is the plough used for the Earth Horse. The tyre is so that it can be pulled along the lane without damage.



Sara dug the edges of the horse after ploughing to give the shape more definition.



The Earth Horse taking shape in Hannafords. Sara had marked the horse on flour before ploughing started.



This is William Williams from Dartmoor who led the ploughing of the Earth Horse.