Fuel and Energy Resources - The Power of the Horse Before the Industrial Age!

As early back as the stone age hunters the horse has served some purpose for man. Back then it was before they realized the amazing potential of the horse. Instead of using the horse for riding and work, they were used as a source of food. One horse could feed a family of four for a month. By 3000 BC however, man began to realize they could be used for more than just food and they started taming them to be hitched to a variety of different carts to do work for the people. At this time, the horses that were captured and tamed were probably too small to ride since most only stood 14 hands or 56 inches in height.
It was around 1800 BC when horses were discovered to be far better in warfare than would be expected. The Hittites created the war chariot and were able to conquer Mesopotamia along with Egypt by using chariots drawn by horses. It was about 800 years later that man discovered that the horse could be ridden by individual soldiers. The reason they think that it took so long to move to this phase is because they need to start trying to breed bigger and stronger horses that could carry a man, especially one that might be wearing armor. Not only that they needed to invent all the different things a person would need to try and stay on the horse, things all riders take for granted today.
Once the horse became the key in warfare other things began to arise that people realized that they could do with the horse. One of those was travel. Travel by horse became important for the conquerors who would have to keep control over the territories they won in war. So the horse became the best way to keep track of all of this.
Using the horse for travel continued to be the best and fastest way to get somewhere for both travel and communication between people until the later part of the 19th century when the steam engine was created and the telegraph became popular. But for centuries, the horse was the king of travel and communication.
Another popular reason for horses was to use as a source of entertainment. Even though horses were key in warfare humans soon discovered that if they learned to ride a horse they could use their horse in the sport of hunting and it enabled them to go after bigger and more challenging types of game. It was the Persians and the Greeks that first started racing with horses. It was in Greece where people were encouraged to take an interest in horsemanship, something they used for self discipline as well. In fact the oldest book ever written about being a good horseman was written by Xenophon who was born in 430 BC. His book is called "The Art of Horsemanship".
Beyond war, travel and leisure came work. It took quite a while though for people to realize the horse could also be good at doing work. For much of early human history oxen and donkeys were the biggest sources of work animals. The reason for this is that it took centuries to breed horses that were heavy enough to carry the burden of heavy duty work. Most horses of ancient time were also more expensive to keep and they had to eat more than oxen and donkeys due to their less efficient digestive system.
It was not until the medieval days that horses heavy enough began to appear to be used as farming animals. This was also when the shoulder or horse collar was invented and farmers then were able to use their horses to cover more farmland than their donkeys or oxen could. This was mainly due to their extreme speed and greater strength.
For over 2,500 years or until the internal combustion engine was born, the horse and all horse drawn vehicles were the most effective ways to travel long distance, plow the fields, wage war and fulfill the leisurely needs of mankind. Without horses, it could be possible that our development and exploration may have been slower to develop. The horse, and it's influence on man has been immense over the centuries.

Fuel and Energy Resources - The Power of the Horse Before the Industrial Age!

As early back as the stone age hunters the horse has served some purpose for man. Back then it was before they realized the amazing potential of the horse. Instead of using the horse for riding and work, they were used as a source of food. One horse could feed a family of four for a month. By 3000 BC however, man began to realize they could be used for more than just food and they started taming them to be hitched to a variety of different carts to do work for the people. At this time, the horses that were captured and tamed were probably too small to ride since most only stood 14 hands or 56 inches in height.
It was around 1800 BC when horses were discovered to be far better in warfare than would be expected. The Hittites created the war chariot and were able to conquer Mesopotamia along with Egypt by using chariots drawn by horses. It was about 800 years later that man discovered that the horse could be ridden by individual soldiers. The reason they think that it took so long to move to this phase is because they need to start trying to breed bigger and stronger horses that could carry a man, especially one that might be wearing armor. Not only that they needed to invent all the different things a person would need to try and stay on the horse, things all riders take for granted today.
Once the horse became the key in warfare other things began to arise that people realized that they could do with the horse. One of those was travel. Travel by horse became important for the conquerors who would have to keep control over the territories they won in war. So the horse became the best way to keep track of all of this.
Using the horse for travel continued to be the best and fastest way to get somewhere for both travel and communication between people until the later part of the 19th century when the steam engine was created and the telegraph became popular. But for centuries, the horse was the king of travel and communication.
Another popular reason for horses was to use as a source of entertainment. Even though horses were key in warfare humans soon discovered that if they learned to ride a horse they could use their horse in the sport of hunting and it enabled them to go after bigger and more challenging types of game. It was the Persians and the Greeks that first started racing with horses. It was in Greece where people were encouraged to take an interest in horsemanship, something they used for self discipline as well. In fact the oldest book ever written about being a good horseman was written by Xenophon who was born in 430 BC. His book is called "The Art of Horsemanship".
Beyond war, travel and leisure came work. It took quite a while though for people to realize the horse could also be good at doing work. For much of early human history oxen and donkeys were the biggest sources of work animals. The reason for this is that it took centuries to breed horses that were heavy enough to carry the burden of heavy duty work. Most horses of ancient time were also more expensive to keep and they had to eat more than oxen and donkeys due to their less efficient digestive system.
It was not until the medieval days that horses heavy enough began to appear to be used as farming animals. This was also when the shoulder or horse collar was invented and farmers then were able to use their horses to cover more farmland than their donkeys or oxen could. This was mainly due to their extreme speed and greater strength.
For over 2,500 years or until the internal combustion engine was born, the horse and all horse drawn vehicles were the most effective ways to travel long distance, plow the fields, wage war and fulfill the leisurely needs of mankind. Without horses, it could be possible that our development and exploration may have been slower to develop. The horse, and it's influence on man has been immense over the centuries.

International Day of Mourning

Recommitting to Personal Safety
April 28, 2009, marks Canada's twentieth official observance of the International Day of Mourning. It is surprising how little Canadians seemingly understand of this day's general importance or its significance to individuals across all sectors of the workforce.
This day is a time to reflect upon and commemorate the lives of thousands of workers that have been lost through the decades. In 2009 alone, 939 Canadian workers were killed either at work or travelling to work.
Earlier this year, following a day's work, several equipment operators parked their side-booms-large, tracked vehicles used to lift and install pipe on pipeline projects. After shutting down their equipment, operators exit their cabs using an installed ladder.
For one worker, this sequence of events had become almost instinctual, having done so thousands of times over twenty plus as an operator. But on this particular night, this seasoned worker noticed he had forgotten something in the cab and doubled back to the side-boom.
Instead of utilizing the ladder to enter the cab, as he had done thousands of times previously, he climbed the side-boom's tracks on the opposite side. He then maneuvered his way across the counterweight rails between the tightly secured counterweight and the side-boom cab.
Searching for the misplaced item, he unknowingly hit a lever that released the side-boom's massive counterweight. The 5,000 pound metal object slowly inched its way down the rails toward the operator's position, crushing him in the process.
One might be quick to conclude that this tragic incident could have been easily prevented had the operator simply returned to the cab by the proscribed safe route. No one could have known that he would choose to make this seemingly minor yet tragic decision or prevented him from making this choice.
How many times in the course of a day do each of us make such seemingly minor decisions, completing ordinary tasks under ordinary circumstances with tools and equipment that are familiar to us?
A motorist makes a crucial, split-second decision at a busy intersection to turn left in front of quickly advancing traffic.
A homeowner props a ladder against the house in unstable soil, thinking the job will just take her a second.
A farmhand works around unshielded mechanical parts on equipment because the shields just get in the way and slow him down.
We have all done similar things at some point in our lives. It is only after something goes wrong that we realize the negative or unintended consequences of our actions. We conduct almost instantaneous analyses of risk that are all too often biased by our intended goals.
Following a poor decision, we often wonder, why did I do that? Our answers never truly satisfy the question, yet we ask it time and again. Sometimes we feel entirely comfortable in and around our tools and equipment and take shortcuts because in the past we have gotten away with it, providing positive reinforcement for our questionable behaviours.
It's easy to become complacent about safety. No one ever gets hurt around here. Nothing bad will happen.
We are human, and humans make mistakes and miscalculations. Trial and error is a fundamental aspect of personal growth. Sometimes fatigue leads us to a momentary lapse in judgment.
In almost all cases, when we make a poor decision, we have the chance to right a wrong and hopefully glean some sort of lesson from it. For the equipment operator, the risk of climbing over the side-boom and entering a secure space between the cab and counterweight appeared relatively minor.
But the result of his decision was monumentally tragic. He never had an opportunity to correct his mistake or learn from it.
We rely on the training and education we receive from teachers, instructors, elders, and peers to make informed and reasoned decisions. But when we cross the threshold of that moment when we will make a decision, no amount of education or bureaucratic red-tape ultimately prevents us from making our choice. At that critical moment, it's up to each of us individually to not be complacent about our work or to turn a blind eye to an unsafe act.
Today, April 28, 2011, we reflect on and commemorate the lives of workers that have been lost. If the lessons we learn by reflecting on the equipment operator's story helps prevent future tragic incidents, his passing will not have been in vain. His story, among a thousand others, should be a beacon for workers across Canada to recommit to personal safety and to fully think through actions and their potential consequences.

International Day of Mourning

Recommitting to Personal Safety
April 28, 2009, marks Canada's twentieth official observance of the International Day of Mourning. It is surprising how little Canadians seemingly understand of this day's general importance or its significance to individuals across all sectors of the workforce.
This day is a time to reflect upon and commemorate the lives of thousands of workers that have been lost through the decades. In 2009 alone, 939 Canadian workers were killed either at work or travelling to work.
Earlier this year, following a day's work, several equipment operators parked their side-booms-large, tracked vehicles used to lift and install pipe on pipeline projects. After shutting down their equipment, operators exit their cabs using an installed ladder.
For one worker, this sequence of events had become almost instinctual, having done so thousands of times over twenty plus as an operator. But on this particular night, this seasoned worker noticed he had forgotten something in the cab and doubled back to the side-boom.
Instead of utilizing the ladder to enter the cab, as he had done thousands of times previously, he climbed the side-boom's tracks on the opposite side. He then maneuvered his way across the counterweight rails between the tightly secured counterweight and the side-boom cab.
Searching for the misplaced item, he unknowingly hit a lever that released the side-boom's massive counterweight. The 5,000 pound metal object slowly inched its way down the rails toward the operator's position, crushing him in the process.
One might be quick to conclude that this tragic incident could have been easily prevented had the operator simply returned to the cab by the proscribed safe route. No one could have known that he would choose to make this seemingly minor yet tragic decision or prevented him from making this choice.
How many times in the course of a day do each of us make such seemingly minor decisions, completing ordinary tasks under ordinary circumstances with tools and equipment that are familiar to us?
A motorist makes a crucial, split-second decision at a busy intersection to turn left in front of quickly advancing traffic.
A homeowner props a ladder against the house in unstable soil, thinking the job will just take her a second.
A farmhand works around unshielded mechanical parts on equipment because the shields just get in the way and slow him down.
We have all done similar things at some point in our lives. It is only after something goes wrong that we realize the negative or unintended consequences of our actions. We conduct almost instantaneous analyses of risk that are all too often biased by our intended goals.
Following a poor decision, we often wonder, why did I do that? Our answers never truly satisfy the question, yet we ask it time and again. Sometimes we feel entirely comfortable in and around our tools and equipment and take shortcuts because in the past we have gotten away with it, providing positive reinforcement for our questionable behaviours.
It's easy to become complacent about safety. No one ever gets hurt around here. Nothing bad will happen.
We are human, and humans make mistakes and miscalculations. Trial and error is a fundamental aspect of personal growth. Sometimes fatigue leads us to a momentary lapse in judgment.
In almost all cases, when we make a poor decision, we have the chance to right a wrong and hopefully glean some sort of lesson from it. For the equipment operator, the risk of climbing over the side-boom and entering a secure space between the cab and counterweight appeared relatively minor.
But the result of his decision was monumentally tragic. He never had an opportunity to correct his mistake or learn from it.
We rely on the training and education we receive from teachers, instructors, elders, and peers to make informed and reasoned decisions. But when we cross the threshold of that moment when we will make a decision, no amount of education or bureaucratic red-tape ultimately prevents us from making our choice. At that critical moment, it's up to each of us individually to not be complacent about our work or to turn a blind eye to an unsafe act.
Today, April 28, 2011, we reflect on and commemorate the lives of workers that have been lost. If the lessons we learn by reflecting on the equipment operator's story helps prevent future tragic incidents, his passing will not have been in vain. His story, among a thousand others, should be a beacon for workers across Canada to recommit to personal safety and to fully think through actions and their potential consequences.