HORSES AND TRANSPORT

Horses have long been used in transport to carry loads (alongside mules and donkeys) and have generally been referred to as soumars. Horses had to be very calm, rather smaller with a broader back and good limbs. They were usually tied when transporting goods behind them in a caravan. Soumar transport in our country was mainly related to the transport of salt along the Golden Trail between Passau and Prachatice. In the Middle Ages, a similar principle was also used for the stretchers (talavaskas), which were popular among the nobility and were fixed between two horses.

However, their career was mostly in the heat of the moment, whether it was in transport, industry, postal services or working in difficult conditions and inhospitable terrain. Horsepower was calculated at 735.49875 watts and was introduced as an official unit by James Watt in the 18th century when he compared the power of his steam engine.

The horses were initially harnessed by a yoke (a shaped wooden beam), which, however, choked them under heavier loads, and they wore their heads held high because of this. From the Middle Ages onwards, the so-called modern harnesses became more popular, using a horse-collar or breast harness, which had the advantage that the force of the pull did not act on the neck but on the skeleton and chest. In our countries, the horse-collar has been documented in writing since the 11th century.

The draft type horses were generally more powerful, with a heavy head and a broad, shorter chest. They could thus carry heavier loads, which was realised by means of forman wagons. Formancy was practised as a separate trade or as a supplementary activity of the peasants. Rest, refreshment and accommodation were provided for the formans and their horses by forman taverns with a closed farmyard. Forman wagons covered around 60 km per day without changing horses.

The fastest connection was provided by a cavalry courier service with horse changes at the stations. The year 1526 is considered to be the beginning of the controlled transport of messages in our territory and the introduction of the first postal connection between Prague and Vienna. Light two-wheeled wagons with a hull (chez) pulled by two horses were used to transport correspondence. Later, large mail coaches (diligence) began to appear, which also carried people. A new development in 1823 was the introduction of express mail journeys - mail expresses. They ran between the capitals of the various countries of the monarchy and abroad, and reduced the journey from Prague to Vienna from three days to 37 hours. In the postal patents issued, the gentle treatment of horses was also remembered.

A special type of draught horse was the carriage horse, which was specially bred for both ordinary carriage transport and ceremonial use (e.g. the Old Cladruby horse), where no expense was spared on the magnificent harness. The carriage horse was the main means of transport until the early 20th century.

In addition to private passenger transport, public transport also developed. People who did not own carriages could use stagecoaches, fiacres and drovers (hired carriages), omnibuses (regular public transport), and later horse-drawn trams and horse-drawn railways. However, the vast majority of country people generally rode in ordinary farm wagons, which were adapted for transporting agricultural produce and other materials and were decorated for more festive occasions as required. An example was the ride of the bride and groom from the church with a cracking whip over their heads for the happiness of the newlyweds.