Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Gone but not forgotten

In early 2007, I noticed horse rings at the edge of neighborhood sidewalks. Empty horse rings evoked days of yesteryear, when men tied up their steeds after dismounting on the busy streets. Or they got down from their delivery wagons to tie up those hardworking draft horses so that they could make scheduled deliveries.

Then, something different happened. I saw a toy horse tied to a horse ring and got curious about what was going on. Google helped me discover that there was a movement afoot to place as many toy horses as possible, all started by a guy who moved to Portland and found the horse rings fascinating--The Horse Project, Portland, OR. People participated and then people vandalized and/or stole the horses. Thank goodness I was able to see some of this creativity for myself, but I haven't seen any since last May.

Here's the first horse I photographed on March 31, 2007, on busy NW 23rd a few blocks from our apartment. What a lovely little toy horse, standing proudly.
horse_ring2_414x620

And here's the second one I found, also on NW 23rd. I took this photo on April 5, 2007.
white_horse

Neither horse remained there for more than a week. Have you seen anything like this in your city?

Update: Mama and Duncan are holding their own very well. She's got a doctor's appointment on Tuesday morning.

10 comments:

travelphilippines said...

haha oh my they are sooo cute

Uma por Dia said...

Never saw it, but you are giving me some ideas :)

Anonymous said...

Nice to think somebody left them hoping a child would pick them up but if I had to guess it would be some adult got them both.

On the other hand, there could be a whole camera and film crew from China there taking pictures to see who picks them up. Their Research and Development programs reach all the way into the privacy of bathrooms in hotels, motels and restaurants.

Halcyon said...

What a cute idea! If someone took the horses, they probably really needed them. I'd like to think it was a child in need of toys. :)

Anonymous said...

i have fond memories of the horse rings, as a child growing up in portland. i know there was a horse ring on the corner in front of our house. i have not seen that in any other city i've lived in (and i've lived in a few).

WendyB said...

Great finds!

smilnsigh said...

Such a precious project. I'm so sorry that people are so weird, as to make a mess of it.

Glad you got photos, to show us.

And good news on Mama and Duncan!!! :-)

Mari-Nanci

Sharon said...

no! But I love horses, and I love that!! Sad that people can't just leave things alone :(

Troop 1309 said...

How funny! I have enver heard of that. Great shots!

Saline County, Arkansas Photos said...

The first one is hilarious!