This is a photograph taken in 1970 when Max was brought to the surface. He was France's last mining horse, rescued from the Wuter mine in Merlbach.
For decades, horses (and mules) were companions to the miners, sharing the harsh labor and life deep underground. The men, known as "coal miners" (or "black faces" or "gayle noir"), were completely bound by their fate.
Horses working in the mines underwent special and rigorous training. Sometimes they had to descend to depths of over 1200 meters to learn their job. Many horses spent long years underground, 10 to 20 years in total. Some returned to the surface and saw the light of day, while others never returned.
The first horses were brought down to the mines in 1821 in the tunnels of the Loire Valley. Although animal-powered traction was "an old-fashioned" method, it was an indispensable force supporting mine production until at least 1970, when the last horse was brought to the surface.
The fate of humans in coal mining continues to be extremely hard, has been the subjects of great works of literature, films, etc. (i.e., Germinal, by Zola), even if conditions have changed for the better in many countries, especially those ruled by leftist governments.
The photograph was colorized by Bernard Mazzega.
