In the 1990 movie Dances with Wolves, I want to examine the symbolism behind the markings plains Indians painted on their horses. It is commonly believed that Indians only painted their horses for battle, but they were also painted before buffalo hunts. Specific symbols were reserved for hunting to display a horse's past achievements, and bring protection and good luck to the horse and rider. Watch this clip on YouTube that features the character John Dunbar (Kevin Costner) riding with the Lakota warriors to a buffalo hunt, and pay attention to the symbols painted on the horses. On Dunbar's horse, named Cisco, there were zig-zag patterns painted on his legs. These symbols represented lightning bolts that gave honor to the lightning god and were believed to give the horse greater speed. Kicking Bird's horse, the white horse in the group, had a ring painted around its eye and blue patches with white dots on its shoulder and rump. The ring around the eye was meant to enhanced the horse's vision while the blue with the dots represented the buffalo tracks in the ground, which indicated the horse had participated in successful buffalo hunts in the past. Wind in His Hair's horse, a dark bay, had horseshoes on its hind quarters and a hand print on its shoulder. The horseshoe symbols showed how many other horses this horse helped steal from rival tribes and European settlers. It was common for plains Indians to steal horses to enlarge their own tribe's herd. The hand print on the shoulder meant that the horse brought its owner back from a previous dangerous mission. Other hunting symbols that could be painted on horses were a circle around the nostril to enhance the horse's sense of smell; a fence painted on the jaw to keep the good luck from escaping from the mouth; a buffalo painted on the shoulder gave thanks to the Great Spirit for past kills; yellow triangles on the hooves made the horse more sure-footed and nimble; and the sun was to wish for good weather as it was dishonorable to hunt during bad conditions. Paint colors did have some meaning to individual tribes, such as red for the color of blood and blue for the color of wisdom, but individuals would use what ever colors were available at the time with no special meaning. Colors were usually made out of different colored soils, charcoal, and flowers; and then were mixed with something to help it stick, such as animal fat or urine. Here are some fun facts about the buffalo hunt scene in Dances with Wolves:
9 Comments
In this post, I am going to write about ancient Roman chariot racing inspired by the epic scene in the 1959 film Ben Hur starring Charlton Heston. You can watch the scene here: Chariot Race Scene. In this post, I am going to throw some Latin words around, so bear with me. The Circus The circus or arena set in Ben Hur was modeled after the Jerusalem hippodrome built by Herod the Great in the late first century BC. The hippodrome, meaning "horse course," was designed by the Greeks, and later used by the Romans. This type of arena was traditionally only used for horse races, but the Romans would also use it for other games and events. It was shaped like a horseshoe with a square portico at the end that housed the race horses and chariots. In Ben Hur, it took about a thousand workers to build the arena that spanned eighteen acres in the back-lot of Cinecitta Studios outside of Rome. The spina, the median strip, was built with tubing, wood, and plaster and stood forty-feet tall. Thirty-six thousand tons of sand were brought in to cover the surface to help keep the horses from going lame. The arena had cost one million dollars to make, and the whole scene totaled four million dollars and ten weeks to film. Sadly, the whole set was dismantled after the film was completed. The Team In the film, the race was made up of teams of four horses called a quadriga, meaning four yoked. The two outside horses were called the funalis and the two middle ones were the iguales, or the actual yoke horses. The funalis were the faster horses who would set the pace, while the iguales were the ones who pulled the weight of chariot and kept it steady. All the horses would need to work as a team and match pace with each other and take signals from their driver on when to slow down and when to speed up. An uncooperative, flighty horse would have spelled disaster for the whole team. The inside funalis horse, the one closest to the spina, would have had the most difficult job because he had to lead the team around the sharp turns while keeping the fast pace. When a specific horse was named in a quadriga in ancient records, it would usually be the inside funalis horse. In the scene when Judah Ben Hur was asked to race Sheik Ilderim’s team, he speaks about moving his smartest horse to the inside funalis position. In the film, Judah Ben Hur’s horses were called Arabians, but the horses used were actually Andalusians and the other horse teams were made up of Lipizzans. Ancient Roman chariot race teams would have very likely been made up of close ancestors to the modern Arabian. When ancient Roman records mentioned horse breeds, the African breed was the most favored compared to the Spanish, Gaulish, Greek, and Cappadocian breeds. The African breed was described to have the characteristics of speed, endurance, intelligence, and hard hooves which are all present in the Arabian. The driver, usually a male slave to the owner of the team, would need to be very fit to compete in this kind of race. He would need to have the strength to steer four galloping horses and help balance a 900lbs chariot around the sharp turns. Unlike other arena sports, the driver did not race in the nude, but would wear a tunic with a breastplate, leg wrapping, and a metal cap. Charlton Heston was experienced with horses before coming onto this film, but he had to spend a month learning how to stand in a chariot and control a four horse team. The Race The starting line was called the creta, or white line. Starting positions would be determined by drawing lots. Each driver chose his position as his name came up, so there was some strategy on where a driver chose to be placed. Drivers usually wanted to be as close to the spina as possible, but another option would be to be placed next to a team that could be easily intimidated and pushed out of the competition. The horses would run counterclockwise around the spina seven times, although in the film, they ran around nine times. I am not sure if this was an adaptation by the film to make the race more dramatic, or if various ancient circuses would set up their races differently. At the start of the race, teams would sprint to get as close to the spina as possible for the turns. Most crashes happened on the turns where men and horses would be severely hurt if not killed. An altar to honor Taraxippus, a ghost who scared horses, would usually be placed on the turns. I guess everyone can blame a Taraxippus when their horse frightens for no reason. Dirty tactics were used to gain advantages, such as cutting off, tailgating, crowding, and even whipping another team's horses. These tactics were frowned upon, but were considered part of the nature of the sport. Injuries
There were surprisingly no serious injuries for the actors or horses in the making of this scene. The actual race horses in ancient Rome would have been susceptible to strained tendons in the legs, cracked hooves, and strained backs. Records describe care methods to help heal some injuries, such as treating a horse’s eye that had been hit by a whip or how to treat a cut tongue, which indicates how the harsh bits were. The film brought in and trained about eighty horses, so if horses became tired or injured, they could be replaced. The driver would most likely had to deal with grit flying up from the ground and getting in his eyes. It’s amazing these drivers could have even seen where they were going. Charlton Heston had to wear special contacts to protect his eyes from all the flying debris. Drivers would have also been subject to leather burns and blisters from the reins as the actor Stephen Boyd who played Messala suffered from during filming. And of course, if crashes happened, both horses and drivers would have been tangled in leathers and possibly be crushed by their own chariots or been trampled over by another team, as was depicted a few times in Ben Hur. Another risk was drivers usually wrapped the reins around their waists, so they were in danger of being dragged by their horses if they crashed, but in the film the actors only wrapped the reins around their wrists. Roman chariot racing was a very dangerous sport, which made it very appealing in the Roman masses. Every major Roman city and town would have had a circus arena, and horse racing was one of the most favored sports to watch. I thought Ben Hur's adaptation of capturing the excitement and the danger involved in a Roman chariot race while staying historically accurate was done very well. In the Outlander Season 2 episode titled "Untimely Resurrection" when Jamie and Claire are in France, there is a scene where Jamie goes with the Duke of Sandringham to purchase some horses. In the scene, Jamie inspects a horse's teeth and says, “They claim they’re 3-year-olds, but this one has seen a fair few seasons more.” While not an exact science, inspecting a horse’s teeth can give a fairly accurate estimate of a horse’s age. Age is determined by inspecting the 12 front teeth called incisors. Like humans, horses have two sets of teeth: “baby” also called “milk teeth” and "permanent teeth." Age 1 year All the “baby” or “milk teeth” have erupted. They are smaller, rounder, and have a lighter color than permanent teeth. Age 2-3 years The middle, permanent incisors on the upper jaw erupt and will come in contact with the lower incisors at about 3 years of age. Permanent molars have started coming in by this time. Age 4 years The canine teeth have erupted and the corner incisors are not in full contact yet. Special note: Mares usually do not have canine teeth, but stallions/geldings do. Canines are also known as "fighting teeth" and have no benefit for eating. Age 5 years All the permanent teeth have replaced the “milk teeth.” The horse now has what is called a “full mouth” and all the incisors are in full contact. Age 8-10 years Teeth at this point are starting to show wear and yellowing is present. When the permanent teeth erupted at 5 years, there were cups on the biting surfaces. At about 10 years, the cups on the lower, corner incisors will have disappeared. Cups are still present on the upper, corner incisors. After 8 years, it becomes more difficult to accurately estimate age. Age 10 years The incisors start angling more forward and the upper incisors start to look longer. The teeth will start looking less round and more triangular. A dark groove starts to appear at the gum line on the upper corner incisors called the Galvayne’s Groove. Age 15 years The Galvayne’s Groove will reach half way down the incisor. All the cups on the biting surfaces of the upper and lower teeth are gone. Lower incisors start to look shorter than the upper incisors as the teeth angle becomes more acute. Age 20 years Galvayne’s Groove will span the whole length of the incisor teeth from top to bottom. The teeth are more angled and look more triangular. They will also be very yellowed. Age 25 years The top half of Galvayne’s Groove will have disappeared. The angle of teeth is very steep and teeth look very worn. Again, inspecting a horse's teeth is not an exact science in determining its age. A horse that has spent much of its life out on pasture and a horse that has been stabled its whole life can have very different looking teeth even if they are the same age. Vets and horse owners take into account the horse's over-all appearance to estimate its age, such as if the horse's hips and spine are starting to protrude or if there is gray hair around the eyes and muzzle. So, I suspect that Jamie likely saw that the horse had a "full mouth" and the lower and upper incisors were in full contact, indicating that the horse was not 3 years old, but probably somewhere between 5 and 8 years old. Fun facts: Have you ever heard the phrase, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?" It means to not be ungrateful towards a gift. If someone was given a free horse, it would be rude and tacky to look at its mouth to assess its age and monetary value. Also, "You're looking long in the tooth," was inspired from an old horse's teeth looking longer than a younger horse's. Picture drawings are Public Domain and were taken from "The Exterior of the Horse" by Goubaux, Armand, 1820-1890 Barrier, Gustave Harger, Simon J. J I am finally going to write about a horse movie! One of my favorites is Hidalgo which was inspired by Frank Hopkins and his tale about participating in the “Ocean of Fire” race across Arabia in 1891 with his Mustang Paint named Hidalgo against the native desert Bedouins and their purebred Arabian horses. Hopkins’ story has come under scrutiny as there is very little evidence to support his claims. According to his accounts, he raced his Mustang Paint against a hundred Arabian horses across 3,000 miles of desert along the Persian Gulf and the borders of modern day Iraq and Syria. He won the race on the 68th day, 33 hours ahead of his nearest competitor. I’ll let everyone come to their own conclusions on whether Hopkins’ credibility has been tarnished by cynical naysayers or he was just full of horse s**t. No offense towards Mustangs, but the real stars of this movie were the desert Arabians. If you were going to choose a breed to ride across a massive desert, you would be wise to choose a horse that has been shaped by this harsh and very unforgiving environment. The Arabian horse was (and still is) a jewel born from the deserts in the Middle East. Islamic stories claim Allah created the horse from the four winds as he embodies the spirit from the North, strength from the South, speed from the East, and intelligence from the West. Anyone who has been around Arabians for any amount of time can affirm these attributes. The desert environment has created very unique characteristics in the Arabian breed. All purebred Arabs have dark skin to avoid sunburn, and they have large nostrils and lungs to breath in more oxygen to support their unique cardiovascular system that allows them to sweat and cool off quickly. They also have a more compact and thin structure which allows to them to stay more sound by not putting as much strain and stretch on their tendons. They also have one less vertebrae in their backs to help them carry heavier loads. Though they maybe a smaller horse breed, standing usually between 14.2 and 15.1 hands, they require less food and water which is essential to them surviving in an arid environment. Many stories prove how well designed these horses are for going the distance in a short amount of time. For example, in Cairo, an Arabian once traveled 90 miles in a record 7 hours and 52 minutes. So going back to Hopkins’ story, I really have a hard time believing that his Mustang would have beaten his nearest Arabian competitor by 33 hours. Very likely, his horse would have been dead from exhaustion long before he would have reached the finish line if he pushed him that hard. A Mustang can very likely outrun an Arabian in a short sprint, but when it comes to desert endurance racing, there’s no debate on who would come out the champion. Horse endurance racing is still a very active sport all around the globe, but being inspired by this movie, let’s focus on long distance desert racing that is still active in the Persian Gulf. In Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, an annual 125-mile race has occurred every year since 1998 in the Seyh al-Salam desert. Racing around a 19-mile course, think of this as a NASCAR race, but with horses. There are “pit stops” where the horses are hydrated and rested for a time by their support team with extensive veterinary inspections, there are strategies on pace and placement towards the beginning and middle of the race, and then the real push comes towards the end. Only a third of the participants will finish. The horses need to carry at least 150 pounds, so really anyone - man, woman, short, tall - can participate. The race takes about 10 hours to complete at a steady canter, and surprise, surprise, all the horses are Arabians or mostly Arabian. There are other races done in the Persian Gulf, such as in Qatar where they race 75 miles in about 8 hours. Here is a video showing a race from 2012. The American Mustang has its own legends and place in the world, but when it comes to running vast distances across deserts, the Arabian reigns. I am going to examine the cavalry charge scene from a Game of Thrones (GOT) episode in season six titled “Battle of the Bastards” when Jon Snow (good guy) and Ramsay Bolton (very bad guy) battle for control of Winterfell. I am also going to discuss the special training required to make an effective cavalry horse. The cavalry scene can be watched on this YouTube link here. It’s seven minutes long, but I will be focusing on the first four minutes. While viewing, imagine what all five senses - sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch - would detect if you were present in this battle. Warning: If you are sensitive to violence and gore, please don’t watch this. In this scene, we saw a medieval-style battle with heavy cavalry, archers, and armored soldiers. This is one of the most epic battles I have ever seen on screen. Many battle scenes in movies and TV are usually too clean and unrealistic, especially when it comes to the casualties of both man and beast, but Game of Thrones has never shied away from violence and gore. Having a cavalry granted armies many advantages, such as greater tactical mobility, greater striking force, and greater intimidation. As you saw in the scene when the camera was behind Jon Snow and the vast wall of horse flesh was rushing towards him, you could imagine the fear the actual foot soldiers would have had knowing they were going to be trampled or likely stabbed to death before getting a chance to strike a blow. (BTW, that shot of the horses coming at Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) had no CGI. Those were actual horses running towards the actor.) Like a soldier, a cavalry horse needed special training before it could stand on the battlefield. One of the first stages of training, after the horse had been broken to ride, was to accustom it to the elements of a battle. Horses are herbivores, which means they are the prey in the food chain. All their instincts scream for them to run at any perceived threat, which has helped them to survive throughout many millennia. Horses will run or shy away from obnoxious smells and strange sights. Even elements we would not think as a threat, the horse could perceive differently. I have seen a number of horses panic at the sight of plastic bag floating by in the wind. A cavalry horse had to be convinced to ignore its primal instincts and trust its rider's commands to be successful in and, hopefully, survive a battle. From this GOT battle scene, let’s examine what a horse's five senses would have detected: Sight: Other horses, men, swords, lances, bows, flying arrows, men wearing armor, flags flapping in the wind, fire, and a not-so-friendly looking giant. Hearing: Yelling, screaming from both men and horses, weapons clashing, bones breaking. Taste: Dirt, sweat. Smell: Burning flesh (did you see the flayed men on the burning X-shaped crosses?), urine and feces, sweat, fear. Touch: Moisture, cold, wind, heavier rider wearing armor and weapons. All of these elements could cause a disruption to a horse’s obedience, which could turn into a deadly situation for its rider. If something is strange, horses will usually run and ask questions later. Horsemen in charge of training the cavalry horses would need to expose the horses and desensitize them to these elements of battle while they were young. Trainers would very likely ride in armor while carrying weapons and holding flags, maybe have a fire burning near by, and possibly have some rotting corpses around the training area. Although, I am not sure how Ramsay Bolton’s cavalry did not shy away from the giant since giants had been thought to be extinct before Jon Snow found one beyond The Great Wall. During the Third Macedonian War (171-168BC) between ancient Rome and Macedonia, Prince Perseus of Macedon made mock-ups of elephants to desensitize his horses so they would not shy away from the Roman war elephants during battle. My childhood horse was a very docile Arabian, and we would take rides on rural roads. Cars, trucks, and motorcycles would pass us and he never spooked. Barking dogs would run up to the end of their fences, sheep would bleat, and other horses would come to greet us, but my horse would confidently walk by. But one day while passing by a familiar sheep farm, he saw a llama for the first time, and all the sudden we were on the other side of the road cantering away. It never occurred to me he would be afraid of a llama. He had never seen one before and assumed it was dangerous. Anytime we passed by this farm and the llama was out, I would have my horse stop and gaze at the llama from a distance. After awhile, my horse realized this llama was not a demon that was going to come over the fence and eat him alive, and he eventually walked confidently past. Again, it comes back to things we may not see as threatening, but horses do. Once the horses had been desensitized, they would need to be taught special maneuvers that could give a soldier a greater chance of success in defeating the enemy and surviving the battle. Many skills a cavalry horse would need to learn are very similar to what a modern day cattle or reining horse learns. For example, flying lead changes would be useful to change direction quickly while staying balanced to avoid being speared with a lance, rollbacks and back-ups could get the horse and rider quickly away from advancing enemies, and sliding stops could help keep a soldier wearing armor from being launched over his horse's head if they need to come to a sudden stop. Other useful skills would be to have the horse rear and strike with its hooves, kick, bite, and ram on command. Check out these photos on this blog from Horse Nation that show the skills of the cavalry horses from the 1920s and 1930s. A cavalry horse was as a much of a soldier as a man in the army. The amount of bravery and training a horse needed to run into a battle is astounding and they should be revered when one looks back at the epic cavalry battles in history. This scene from GOT is able to give us an idea of how brutal and bloody a battle could be for both the men and the horses involved. Let’s talk about the horses in STARZ's Outlander television show and the horse breeds you would find in 18th-century Scotland. If you want to read up on the show's premise, you can read about it here. In the episodes that took place in Scotland, Jamie and Murtagh were riding Friesian horses, Dougal’s horse looked like a Percheron draft, and I am guessing Claire’s white horse from season two was an Andalusian. It’s no surprise Outlander and many other TV shows and movies love to use tall, flashy horses. Friesians, in particular, are one of the most mesmerizing horse breeds with their black silky coats, long flowing manes and tails, and wispy leg “feathers." You can’t help but stop and admire these beautiful horses. However, if you time traveled through a stone circle and were lucky (or unlucky) enough to end up in 18th-century Scotland, you would find that the horses would not be as impressive as the ones on the show. Friesians, Percherons, and Andalusians are among the draft and “light draft” breeds, but the only draft horse you would have found in Scotland was the Clydesdale. It may surprise some people that this breed, which is mostly known for its association with a German-American beer company, was originally from Scotland. Modern Clydesdales typically grow to be 18 hands tall and weigh about 1 ton, whereupon they eat about 25-50 pounds of hay per day. I wondered how farmers were able to support an animal with such a large appetite. But in the 18th-century, Clydesdales used to be smaller until they were bred with taller Flemish horses later on, so their smaller sizes and smaller appetites would have been more manageable. Even though Clydesdales were smaller, they still would have been giants compared to other Scottish horse breeds present in the 18th-century. Scotland is mostly known for its robust pony breeds. While travelling through mountainous landscape and boggy moors, one would want a lightweight, sure-footed, sound steed to navigate the changing landscape. The most common breed to be found in the Scottish Highlands was the Highland Pony. Standing 13-14 hands tall, they could carry a full- grown man very comfortably. They have very sturdy feet that could manage rocky terrain without easily going lame. Like the Clydesdale, they were used for various chores around the farm from pulling plows to carrying hunted game, however, the smaller Highland Pony would have been more practical for riding on narrow and steep mountain trails. Plus, their lighter 750-850lbs bodies would not sink as far into boggy ground. Other pony breeds developed on the Scottish Islands, such as the Eriskay Pony from the Hebrides and the Shetland Pony from the Shetland Islands. The Eriskay Pony stood 12-13 hands high and was known for its thick winter coat that would help it survive in the windy and wet climate. They were used as crofter ponies to haul light loads and to carry children. The Shetland Pony became a hardy breed being raised in a climate that gets over 1,200 inches of rain per year and hardly gets over 50F degrees in the summer. Being only 10 hands high, the Shetland Pony was not utilized for work until the 19th-century to cart their weight in coal out from the mines. My experiences with Shetland Ponies have always been positive. They embody who the Scottish Highlanders were - strong, resilient, and brave. I worked on a horse farm one summer teaching kids how to ride, and my favorite horse was a Shetland pony named Kermit. Besides being the cutest thing to walk the earth, (yes, even cuter than my kids,) he was what horse people would call “bomb proof.” Nothing could faze him. Kermit was a the most patient, gentle pony I had ever encountered. He could keep up with the larger horses while carrying a child, and would not spook easily. One time while I was leading a trail ride, my 15-hand, usually confident horse almost ran off with me when a fawn surprised him on the trail, but little Kermit was the brave one who stood calmly as the fawn passed by. The last breed I will mention is the Galloway Pony that became extinct in the 18th-century due to crossbreeding. This breed stood 12-14 hands high and was known to be a hardy creature that could transverse mountain trails and moors. Farmers started breeding this pony with drafts to create a stockier, more robust pony to work their farms. Modern breeds - the Dales Pony, Fell Pony, and the Highland Pony- carry this breed’s bloodlines. It would be safe to say that most of the horses you would see in 18th-century Scotland would be medium size ponies and “small” drafts that were suitable for farm work. I can imagine seeing other breeds, such as Thoroughbreds and Arabians, being brought up from England by English soldiers and aristocrats, but they would have been rare. While we love seeing the Outlander actors riding large, gorgeous Friesians around the mystical Scottish Highlands, in reality, 18th-century Scots would have likely been riding the smaller and grubbier Highland ponies. |
Details
AuthorI am Amy. I love movies, TV, and horses. I grew up with horses and taught kids how to ride during my summer breaks from school. Now I am a country girl living in a city hoping to someday move back into a rural area and own a horse again. Archives
April 2018
Categories
All
|