There's a famous poem by Robert Browning 'How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix' that's about a strenuous horse ride, looking as if based on a historical event, but now known to be entirely fictional. The route is plausible, but some critics have suggested that the horse knowledge in it is not. What do you think? The full poem is at www.englishverse.com/poems/how_they_brought_the_good_news_from_ghent_to_aix and the relevant verse is
Not a word to each other; we kept the great pace
Neck by neck, stride by stride, never changing our place;
I turned in my saddle and made its girths tight,
Then shortened each stirrup, and set the pique right,
Rebuckled the cheek-strap, chained slacker the bit,
Nor galloped less steadily Roland a whit.
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True horse knowledge?
12 replies
DeadRisingPies · 18/06/2012 20:50
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