Hovis’ Friday Diary: ‘You humans are such peculiar creatures’

Dear Diary

It’s very hard this week to talk about the funnier things in life when all around us things appear to have gone to hell faster than I can do a lap of my field when mother’s trying to catch me; in Australia mostly unreported floods are yet again causing havoc and loss of life, the crisis in Afghanistan and others has stepped up, whilst the eyes of the world are on Ukraine.

As always with these things, I can’t stand idly by whilst news reaches my currently somewhat tufty ears of such suffering, so as we have done so many times before for other crisises, I have set up a Justgiving page for the Hovite Army (and anyone else who wishes to contribute) to raise funds for Ukraine. I have chosen the Red Cross as they do amazing work in these situations (and because the name always makes me think of mother – red faced and cross are her two default positions) and the link is above.

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Hovis shared his weekly diary each Friday on the Horse & Hound website between 2008 and February 2025. Initially located on the popular H&H forum, he moved to the main website in February 2013. He published nine books, each to raise funds for his local equine welfare charity Bransby Horses. You can read all his diary entries below. H&H also published a final tribute to our much-loved equine contributor.

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Hovis’ Friday Diary: ‘You humans are such peculiar creatures’

You humans are such peculiar creatures, capable of such incredible kindness and love and yet also capable of such violence and evil; at least when we equines fall out it’s a quick dust up in the field, a few karate kicks and a Chris Eubank special and usually that settles it.

I know all of you are probably worried about money right now – which again is mother’s default position, but then apparently I run up a bigger bill in a month than heating the Albert Hall for a year at today’s tariffs – but literally every penny/cent/euro that you can donate will go to help.

I will return to much lighter tales (well ¾ tonne tails anyway) next week, but this week it just didn’t seem appropriate.

Laters,

Hovis

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