A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course... (Part 2)

The 32p value of Ireland's April 11, 1989 "Parks and Gardens" set of 4 stamps depicts a Connemara pony mare and foal grazing in Connemara National Park. The park is in the Connemara region of County Galway in the west of Ireland.

From Wikipedia, "County Galway in western Ireland, where the breed first became recognized as a distinct type, is a very harsh landscape, thus giving rise to a pony breed of hardy, strong individuals."

So perhaps we have to take the artist's depiction of the Park as lush "with a grain of salt."

Nice stamp and interesting history of the breed.

Thanks t360!

One of the attractions of sharing the images is that looking at the stamp raises questions. I wondered what horses were doing in a national park. So, I went to the Connemara National Park website, and it described the Flora and fauna of the Park, including the Connemara ponies. Educational bonus .

French Polynesia 1968

Mongolia 1958

How about an early postcard?

This 1985 stamp of Brazil commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Farroupilha Revolution, or Ragamuffin War (1835-45) of that country. The painting of mounted secessionists was done by Brazilian modern realist Guido Mondin.

The uprising was caused by economic conditions. The state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south, relied on internal trade, whereas the rest of the country was mainly dependent on exports of raw materials. The war came only 10 years after Brazil's independence.

From Wikipedia, "It is considered the longest and third bloodiest of the failed wars of secession in the Brazilian Empire." There were 20,000 deaths from this uprising. This is quite a large number of casualties considering there were 20,000 national soldiers fighting 14,000 rebel troops.

A couple more American contributions.

Another vintage post card. This from the Grand Canyon, Arizona Territory circa 1906. Starting down the Grand View Trail.

US stamps from mid 20th century.

This French issue of 1997 (Sc.#2609) commemorates the old fresh fish merchants of Boulogne. A speeding wagon with 4 horses is shown rushing the catch to market.

The tradition continues today. From thefishsite.com, "As Europe's largest fish-processing center, handling 330,000 tonnes of fish last year (2009), Boulogne sur Mer holds a strong position in the French fish industry..."

This is a picture postcard from my collection of Dick Sparrow from Zearing, Iowa, USA driving his 40-horse hitch in a parade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. I witnessed him driving the 40-horse hitch in the Iowa State Fair Parade in Des Moines, Iowa, USA many years ago, and watching him turn the corner was a spectacular sight that I will never forget!

Linus

A pottok is depicted on this 1998 issue of France.

According to Wikipedia, "The Pottok or Pottoka is an endangered, semi-feral breed of pony native to the Pyrenees of the Basque Country in France and Spain...It is deemed by the scientific community to have lived in this area for at least several thousand years."

Japan issued this stamp depicting a horse and jockey on October 27, 1989. It commemorates the "100th Running of the Tenno Sho Horse Race." It is Scott #1997.

A mounted archer in the Seto Inland Sea appears on this 1991 prefecture stamp of Japan (Sc #Z91). The stamp was issued to mark the 800th anniversary of the Kagawa Battle of Yashima.

From Wikipedia, "Yashima was...a decisive battleground in the Genpei War (1180-1185) between the Taira and Minamoto clans."