New acquisition for the museum
We acquired a winding mechanism used to lower draft horses into mine shafts. It is impressive and certainly worth a visit.
To bring the horses down, they were suspended in a kind of leather harness beneath the lift cage. The stables were located at the bottom of the mine, close to the shaft. Special grooms were employed to handle the horses' daily care, with their duties dedicated solely to the animals. The horses were used to transport materials and haul coal wagons. After several years of working in the dark mine, many of the horses went blind.
