A horse mill is a mill, sometimes used in conjunction with a watermill or windmill, that uses a horse as the power source. Any milling process can be powered in this way, but the most frequent use of animal power in horse mills was for grinding grain and pumping water. Other animal engines for powering mills are powered by dogs, donkeys and oxen. Treadwheels are engines powered by humans.
In Antwerp, Belgium, the Brewers' House museum is a good example of horse-powered pumping machinery. The building dates from the 16th century; although the original wooden machinery was replaced in cast iron in the mid-19th century, the original layout has been retained.
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The Horse Mill at Wester Kittochside Farm near Glasgow
The Horse Mill at Wester Kittochside Farm near Glasgow
... in the shadow of converted warehouses and ruined flax-mill chimneys, somehow the old dream of freedom through motion has survived (or been revived) in the shape of the horse and its youthful riders.
The commission and an overflow crowd of concerned residents heard a request to rezone a tract of over 50 acres into a mixed residential and commercial development off HarringtonMillRoad at Freedoms Way ... “Horses mean nothing to them,” said Johnson.