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Old Horse
Folk custom in north-eastern England / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Old Horse was a folk custom found in an area of north-eastern England. Geographically, the custom was found in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and part of Yorkshire. The tradition entails the use of a hobby horse that is mounted on a pole and carried by an individual hidden under a sackcloth. It represents a regional variation of a "hooded animal" tradition that appears in various forms throughout the British Isles.
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In geographical location and style it displays strong similarities with the Old Tup custom, but in the latter the hobby horse was presented as a goat rather than a horse. The Old Tup was largely found in the same area of England.[1] In Derbyshire, the two customs are often recorded as existing in the same village.[1] Old Horse was less common in Yorkshire than Old Tup, and also spread further into Nottinghamshire than the Old Tup custom did.[1]