Houyhnhnm fields of oats". The Houyhnhnms are rational, equine beings and are masters of the land, contrasting strongly with the Yahoos, savage humanoid creatures who are no better than beasts of burden, or livestock. Whereas the Yahoos represent all that is bad about humans, Houyhnhnms have a settled, calm, reliable and rational society. Gulliver much prefers the Houyhnhnms' company to the Yahoos', even though the latter are biologically closer to him. It is possible to interpret the Houyhnhnms in a number of different ways. One might possibly, for example, regard them as a veiled criticism by Swift of the British Empire's
The Glorious Land March", performed by HM Irish Guards. Lyrically, the song refers to militarism and the ongoing Afghan war. The lyrics in the final refrain appear to refer to the disastrous effects of war: "What is the glorious fruit of our land? / the fruit is deformed children / what is the glorious fruit of our land / the fruit is orphaned children." Alex Denney of The Quietus noted that the final refrain is "a chilling finale" to the song. Several lyrics throughout the song ("How is our glorious country ploughed? Not by iron ploughs") are extracts from an untitled Russian folk