12/20 
Feed-basket, stables, automatic drinker and feed-bag
© National Coal Mining Museum for England (Photo: National Coal Mining Museum for England)
© National Coal Mining Museum for England (Photo: National Coal Mining Museum for England)
The staple diet was choppy, a mixture of hay, oats, pulses and maize. Water was freely available at the stable, and most pits had facilities for washing the animals at the end of a shift.
Usually the ponies were fed at work from choppy boxes when the men had their snap or bait (meal) break, and water troughs were available at collection points, but the piece-work system created pressure for the ponies to work right through the shift. They would usually have a nose bag if this was the case, and drink should always have been available.
Usually the ponies were fed at work from choppy boxes when the men had their snap or bait (meal) break, and water troughs were available at collection points, but the piece-work system created pressure for the ponies to work right through the shift. They would usually have a nose bag if this was the case, and drink should always have been available.