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Wouwerman is known above all for his battle scenes, hunting parties, stables, riding schools and army camps, in all of which horses play a leading role. Many of them show an activity being interrupted, as does this early work. The horse is being given a rest from the load it has been carrying, for its rider has dismounted to shed a different kind of load out of sight on the right, which gives the averted gazes of the boy and the dog a slightly comical air.
Wouwerman's masterly orchestration of this small scene has rightly made it one of the most popular in his oeuvre, above all because his 'hallmark' grey horse dominates the small panel with its monumental presence.
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