(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, Galahad.
Galahad is an Arazzon:
a "hybrid" in that he is one-half Arabian and one-half Lipizzaner.
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 Lipizzaner 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.
Happy Veterans Day.
Special offer for Active/Retired First
Responders and Military Personnel
Special
Offer: 25 percent discount off the first hypnotherapy session for all
active/retired military personnel and first responders (police, fire-fighters,
EMT/paramedics, ambulance personnel, emergency dispatchers, E.R.
physicians/nurses).
Sara
R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern
California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation
Institute in
2005. In July 2019 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita,
California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2019
