Pegasus at Wanlockhead, with a letter from Thomas Sloan to John Taylor

In this letter Burns and his friend Thomas Sloan try to persuade John Taylor a local man of influence to get them priority with the local Farrier to attend to their horses which are slipping on the ice. Burns writes the poem to Taylor on the spot as payment/encouragement for this favour, and Sloan attaches a note to Taylor with the same request.

In this first page of the poem Burns sets the scene with his horse walking rather than flying along because of his iced up shoes. He then goes to a smith in order to fix the horse's shoes to cope with the ice.

The second page of the poem carries the last verse in which Burns appeals to the farriers of Wanlockhead to help him with his poorly shod Pegasus offering to pay them in kind with a sonnet.

The poem is written at Ramage's 3, o' clock, an Inn in Wanlockhead in the winter of 1788 or 1789, after Burns has been unable to persuade to local Farrier to turn over the front edges of the shoes of his horse (frosted) to allow him to ride rather than walk on the icy ground.