The black horse

Rev. 6:5-6 (ESV)
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. [6] And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!"

The Black horse comes with scales and the food costs too much to eat, at least for the average person. The picture is of a person who works for food, and food alone. What they make must be spent on what they eat. And if they cannot work than they cannot eat. In conditions such as these starvation sets in, death follows.