pony putter

A pony putter was a mine worker responsible for driving pit ponies that hauled loaded wagons of ore, coal, or stone through underground passages. The ponies, typically Shetland or Welsh breeds standing 10 to 12 hands high, were harnessed to wagons called tubs or drams, and the putter guided them along rails or tramways from the working face to the shaft or surface loading point. This was one of the most common jobs in deep mines during the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in coal operations across Britain, Belgium, and parts of North America.

The work demanded physical strength and an intimate knowledge of the mine's underground layout. A pony putter had to manage the animal, control brake mechanisms on the wagons, and navigate narrow passages sometimes only four or five feet high. The job required careful handling: ponies could become exhausted, spooked by roof falls, or injured by sharp turns. Good putters understood their animals' temperament and learned to read signs of trouble like labored breathing or stumbling. They also maintained basic harness discipline and kept wagons properly balanced so loads did not shift on the inclines.

Variants and conditions

Larger mines employed dozens of putters working in shifts. In some operations, boys as young as ten years old took pony-putter roles, driving animals along beaten tracks while older, stronger men hauled and loaded at the face. The term was also used loosely for any wagoner in a mine, though technically a putter drove animals while a cutter or hewer worked at the coal seam itself. Surface variations included the putter who drove horses on mine railways in sunlight, a less underground and dangerous post.

The name "putter" derives from the action of putting or moving wagons forward. The pony was the essential tool, as they required less ventilation and feed than horses and could navigate cramped, wet, sloping tunnels more safely than larger animals. Ponies could work in such conditions for 20 or 30 years, becoming so accustomed to darkness that bringing them to the surface caused distress. A single pony might haul 8 to 12 tons of material per shift, moving perhaps 40 to 60 loaded tubs in a working day.

Mechanization of mines from the 1920s onward gradually displaced pony putters. Electric haulage systems, conveyor belts, and later diesel locomotives reduced the need for animal-driven transport. By the 1960s, the role had nearly vanished in modern mines, though small mines in remote regions continued using pit ponies into the 1980s. The pony putter represents a specific moment in mining history when animal strength was the dominant solution to underground transport before electrical power became universal.