Homage to War Horses

(This blog was originally posted on January 4, 2012)

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

My first real introduction to the concept of a War Horse was in the song, “Comanche (The Brave Horse),” by Johnny Horton and Francis Bandy. This 1959 tribute describes the deeds of an equine survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. According to the lyrics of this ballad, Comanche was the only survivor of this infamous battle. This was not true, but he was severely injured. After being rescued from the battlefield, the horse—which was owned by Captain Myles Keogh, not General Custer—recovered from his wounds and lived the rest of his life as a hero of the American cavalry. I get goose-bumps whenever I listen to the song—which is often, as it is part of an iTunes play list I created for my new horse, Avalon's Galahad.

Galahad is an Arazzon: a "hybrid" in that he is one-half Arabian and one-half Lipizzan. His Arabian side makes him a direct descendant of the original war horse, the Arabian. The Arabian dates back 2000 years. They are legendary campaign horses in the North African and Arabian deserts: Bedouin warriors would ride mares to battle, leaving the stallions to protect the women and children at the camps.

Arabians are also the seminal breed used to create the elegant and rare Lipizzan four hundred years ago. (The Arabian stallion Siglavy is a foundation sire of this breed.) Although the Lipizzaner elevated battle maneuvers to an art form in haute école, these horses were never used in actual combat. They were bred exclusively for the Hapsburg royal family to ride. Over the centuries, various wars have pushed the breed to the brink of extinction. During World War II, American General George S. Patton famously helped Colonel Alois Podhasky, the director of the Spanish Riding School, to smuggle the horses out of Austria. These days, Lipizzaners are renown for their haute école performances at the Spanish Riding School, where the levade, capriole and courbette thrill audiences.

In December 2011, Steven Spielberg released the film adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel, War Horse. At first, I was very wary about going to see the movie. It wasn't that I didn't want to watch the movie. I really did. But I knew it would be a tearjerker.

I ultimately did go to watch the movie. It was very well done. But, I won't say that I "enjoyed" watching it. The battle scenes were harrowing. Not just because war is so devastating, but because the humans who went to war knew (sort of) what they were getting into. However, the equine soldiers who were similarly drafted to charge into the machine-gun fire and swinging swords did not.

When the movie let out, I drove to the barn to see my horse. I wanted to thank him for his gentle companionship and any sacrifices his forbears made for their human companions. On the cover of her book titled Perfect Partners, Kelly Marks encourages everyone to strive to be “the owner that your horse would choose for himself.”

Galahad, that is what I will do for you.

This blog is posted in loving tribute to the service men and service women and the canine and equine soldiers who have sacrificed so much throughout our country’s history to protect our freedom at home and abroad.

     Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.