‘Get to bed before the 10 o’clock horses get ya!

‘That’s what we were told by our mums and dads to get us to bed when we were young. The thought of headless horsemen racing through the streets certainly did get us into bed but I think it also affected our minds in a somewhat disturbing way to the point of us becoming the 10 o’clock horses ‘the people your mother warned you about! ‘
In reality though the 10 o clock horses ( also referred to as the gong men , night riders among others ) were no more than people that use to come with the horse and cart and collect all of the human waste from the bottom of the garden toilet late at night ,It is also believed that they used the nitrate out of the waste to make gunpowder!