Not all the white horses are in Britain. There are or were at least six in other countries, and these are listed below. Any further information about these, and any information about any foreign white horse not listed here, would be greatly appreciated.
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Ballea Castle, County Cork, Ireland
Approximate location: 51° 49' 08.2" N 8° 25' 17.2" W
Ballea Castle stands on a cliff overlooking the River Owenabue or Owenboy in Carrigaline in County Cork, Ireland, and on the cliff face a large white horse is painted. Local legend says that a daughter of the Hodder family, who held the castle from 1750 until the early 20th century, fell in love with a farmer's son. When her father discovered the couple wanted to marry he was furious and an argument ensued, during which the daughter's horse bolted and fell over the cliff, and the girl and the horse fell to their deaths. The white horse figure was painted on the cliff as a memorial. My thanks to Christine Disant for bringing this one to my attention.
Bloemfontein white horse, Free State, South Africa
This horse is on the east side of Naval Hill in Bloemfontein, and is constructed from rocks painted white. It was built by British troops stationed in the area during the Anglo-Boer war, perhaps as a direction marker for troops taking horses to a remount camp that was established there after Lord Roberts captured Bloemfontein on March 15th 1900. Though a number of people have claimed to have been responsible for it, it was probably created by men of the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh's Wiltshire regiment, so could perhaps be said to be the only Wiltshire white horse that is not in Wiltshire.
Ciudad Juárez white horse, Chihuahua, Mexico
Location: Lat 31.662861N Long 106.587833W
Painted in whitewash on a mountainside west of the border city of Ciudad Juarez by local architect Hector García Acosta and his son Carlos, it is a huge reproduction of the Uffington horse, but facing left not right as the original does. The horse is over half a mile long, and took three years to complete. García Acosta said that he created the figure both as a problem-solving exercise and to draw the attention of passing townsfolk to the beauty of the mountains.
Iouardanan white horse, Er Rif, Morocco
There seems once to have been a white horse in Morocco. Morris Marples, in his 1949 book
White Horses and other Hill Figures, mentioned "a white horse of unknown origin on a mountain in the Riff country of North Africa". He gave no further details. I have information that the mountain is in a place called Iouardanan, in Er Rif, or the Riff Mountains, in Morocco. There is a local legend that the figure was a representation of a horse belonging to the Prophet Sidi Ali. I would like to thank Mohammed el Mathari who provided this information.
Waimate, South Island, New Zealand
This white horse is on a hillside overlooking the town of Waimate (Waimate is a Maori word meaning "slowly moving waters"). The horse is dedicated to the Clydesdale horses which were used to break in the land in the area. It was built in the late nineteen-sixties by Norman Hayman, almost singlehandedly but with some help from his wife Betty. The horse, which is constructed from over 1000 concrete slabs with a pre-cast head weighing two and a half tons, faces left and is situated 1300 feet (396 metres) above sea level. It measures 60 feet (18 metres) high by 48 feet (15 metres) long. My thanks to Grace Martin who drew my attention to the existence of this horse.
White Horse Rock, Ansted, West Virginia, USA
Location: N 38° 07.950 W 081° 06.043 (Datum WGS 1984)
This is a small painting on a rock face by Mill Creek and Hawk's Nest Marina in Ansted, WV. It measures 95 centimetres long and 90 centimetres tall (about 3 foot 2 by 3 foot). At present (2004) the paint apparently looks to be no more than a few years old, but the horse appears to have been painted over an older one. Virginia Ramsey, a lifelong resident, says that the horse has been there as long as she can remember, which would date it from the early 1950s at the latest. She also says that in about 2003, visitors to the area claimed that the horse was painted by their grandfather. My thanks to Dr Lois E Swoboda, who drew my attention to the existence of this horse, made enquiries which produced the above information, and provided photographs.
