Workhorse

Rural East of England, where I’m based, is pretty much synonymous with the long history of farming, and of working the fields over the centuries with “heavy horses”, also known as “draft horses”. One of these, the Suffolk Punch horse, is the oldest breed of heavy horse still existing in its current form, and was bred specifically for ploughing the county’s heavy clay soil.

Over the years I’ve photographed many animals, and some of these have also been endangered, such as the Snow Leopard and Lynx, but it was an interesting twist that an endangered animal should be on my doorstep.

Getting up close and photographing these massive horses was quite an experience. Their huge frames, highly developed musculature and smooth silky coats, makes them very impressive animals, and well-suited to the black and white photography aesthetic.

For this project, I took an alternative approach to the more traditional equine portrait style, and instead I concentrated on the abstract shapes that their forms created, their flowing lines, and occasionally playful aspects.

The over-sized characteristics of the Suffolk Punch horses are carried through to the limited edition fine-art prints, where most are printed in the large format, with some up to 60 inches in size. Editions are no larger than ten (seven for the largest sizes).

About the Suffolk Punch Horse

All modern Suffolks are descended from just one horse, which was foaled in Ufford, Suffolk in 1768. There were many thousands of them before the First World War, but as farming became more mechanised, numbers of the Suffolk Horse dwindled until, by the mid-1960s, there were just nine foals registered.

Thanks to specialist breeders, the Suffolk Punch has not died out completely, and there are around 500 of them registered in the UK today. They are nonetheless registered as Critically Endangered by the UK’s Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

In the Press

I am thrilled that Black + White Magazine have featured this series in their monthly magazine.