Witch-ridden Horses
In olden times it was believed that witches took from their stalls the horses, and rode them through the night. Aubrey, in his “Miscellanies,” mentions the practice and publishes a remedy: “Hang in a string a flint with a hole in it by the manger; but, best of all, they say, hang about their necks, and a flint will do that hath not a hole in it. It is to prevent the nightmare, viz: the hag or witch from riding their horses, who will sometimes sweat all night.” Herrick says—
“Hang up hooks and shears to scare
Hence the hag that rides the mare,
Till they be all over wet
With the mire and the sweat;
This observed, the manes shall be
Of your horses all knot-free.”