This is an excerpt from a 1971 reprint of The Horse-World of London (1893) By W.J. Gordon, originally published in 1893. The book contains information about all classes of the London equine, from the coal ponies, to the stately carriage horses, to the brewsters horses, to the queen’s stables. Although never using their current name, the funeral horses described in the following excerpt are with little doubt what we now know as the Friesian. The descriptions of both appearance and temperament are suprisingly similar to how they are described by adoring owners today. Also it is noted that compared to the harsh working and living conditions other horses in the book endured, the funeral horses are surprisingly well cared for and doted upon.
Update: Google now offers the entirety of this book online for viewing. You can see it, including the excerpt below, at The Horse-world of London.
“A good many of the coal horses are blacks and dark bays, and by some people they are known as “the black brigade”; but the real black brigade of London’s trade are the horses used for funerals.
