Shorty and Secretariat
Triple Crown winner Secretariat and his groom Eddie “Shorty” Sweat were buddies. Secretariat was not a “people” horse. He was high-strung, demanding, and intelligent, and often nipped passersby. Sweat calmed his nerves, soothing his anxieties with quiet conversation. He even sometimes slept on a cot outside the racing champion’s stall.
Every morning, horse and groom greeted each other with a shake—Sweat’s hand and Secretariat’s outstretched tongue. The two times that Secretariat finished out of first place, the horse stood facing the back of his stall until Sweat came by to bolster his spirits. And whenever Secretariat flew cross-country for races, Sweat was responsible for loading him onto the plane and accompanying him on the journey . . . at his side the whole time.
Sweat also shared a little of Secretariat’s spotlight. After the 1973 Kentucky Derby, Sweat got to come out from behind the backstretch to walk Secretariat into the winner’s circle. And when a life-size bronze statue of Secretariat was unveiled at the Kentucky Horse Park, it included jockey Ron Turcotte aboard and Eddie Sweat leading the horse.
Not for the Weak
Susan Esseltine, from Ontario’s Western Fair Raceway, won the title of Groom of the Year in 2006. A well-known figure around the paddock, she’s spent 30 years at the track. Her father ran Western Fair’s tack shop, and at 15, Esseltine started mucking stalls. She became a groom soon after.
Esseltine usually works at least 12 hours a day. She begins at dawn, and if one of her horses runs on a night racing card, she may not have the horse paddocked before 1:00 a.m. Esseltine is particularly remarkable, though, because she’s also fighting leukemia. Each week she takes a day off to obtain treatment at the local cancer clinic, yet as the next day dawns, she’s back at the track—business as usual. Esseltine may not make lots of money at her job, but she and other grooms sign up for the other benefit: the relationships they develop with the horses in their care.
Go Greek
The ancient Greeks were avid horsepeople who introduced four-horse chariot races to the Olympics in 680 BC. Men started competing in the Olympics on horseback around the same time.
A Nice Day for a Ride
Since the mid-1930s, visitors to New York City have been able to take carriage horse rides through Central Park. At only $34 for a half-hour, it may seem like a steal. But some say that for the horses, it’s no walk in the park.
A holdover from the Victorian era, when horses were used as a primary means of transportation, carriage horse rides have long been associated with the romance and mystique of New York City. It’s difficult to say exactly when the tradition began—records indicate it was in full swing by 1935, though drivers likely offered rides even before that—but since then, it’s become a staple of city life. It’s also created a lot of controversy.
Park and Ride
As of 2006 (the last count taken), 221 horses were licensed to give rides in Central Park. The city also licenses the drivers (293 of them) and the carriages they pull (68, ranging from Cinderella–style to hansom cabs).
The city keeps the horses’ activities fairly well regulated, too, at least on paper. The laws surrounding carriage horses are as follows:
•Horses can work no more than nine hours a day and must get a 15-minute rest period every two hours.
•No horses are allowed to work when the temperature is below 19°F or above 89°F. In the winter, blankets must be put over horses when they aren’t giving rides. In adverse weather, horses must be sent back to the stables (although the definition of “adverse” is open to interpretation).
•Horses who are lame or ill cannot work.
•Carriage horse rides are prohibited between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday to avoid any conflicts with rush-hour traffic. From 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, carriage horses are allowed only in Central Park and nowhere else in the city.
•Horses are never allowed on bridges or inside tunnels.
The Problem
Sounds good, right? Well, the ASPCA and other animal-rights groups don’t think so. In June 2007, New York City comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. released an 18-page audit of the city’s carriage horse industry and found some problems. Some drivers ignored many of the laws. (After all, no one except the carriage driver can ensure that the horses get their breaks.) The average working life of a carriage horse was four years (as compared to the 15-year working life of horses in the city’s mounted police force). Many horses weren’t given enough water, illness and injuries were often overlooked, veterinary care was sometimes absent, and paperwork certifying the horses wasn’t always properly maintained.
The Other Side
The report led to a wave of criticism, and several groups (including the ASPCA) called for a ban of carriage horses altogether. Carriage horses have already been banned in Paris, London, Beijing, and other major cities—either to prevent accidents, to avoid traffic congestion, or because of complaints about mistreatment of the animals. The ASPCA wanted New York to follow suit.
But the Horse and Carriage Association of New York, a group that represents the owners of carriage horses in the city, said that the industry treats its horses well and works hard to ensure that animals are healthy—in fact, after working in the carriage industry, the horses are usually retired to farms. And in March 2008, the group hired a veterinarian to check on horses at five stables in the city. He said that all the horses were healthy and well cared for.
And so the debate over horse-drawn carriages continues, but the practice remains popular in New York. For his part, Thompson, who initiated the audit, called for a balance between the two sides: “The carriage-horse industry is an important part of our City’s charm and appeal for New Yorkers and tourists alike. The City must take its role more seriously to ensure the health and well-being of carriage-horses and the regulation of the industry in general.”
Mares can give birth in as few as 15 minutes.
The Mongol Express
During the 13th century, the Mongols kept track of their empire from the backs of horses.
The Yam
Horses were central to the Mongols’ culture and economic well-being. Geldings were used for riding; mares for food and as draft animals. Mare’s milk was a staple in their diet. And by becoming the Middle Ages’ most expert horsemen, the Mongols managed to control a vast area that stretched from the Yellow Sea to the Mediterranean. Beginning with the conquests of Genghis Khan around 1200, their territory ultimately encompassed more than 12 million square miles.
The Mongols built that empire using a combination of armed conquest and negotiated trade deals—the latter often agreed to under threat of the former. Both techniques required fast, efficient communication between the central government, namely the khan (or ruler), and his armies and emissaries. So the Mongols developed the yam system, in which couriers on horseback carried messages from relay station to relay station, in much the same way the American Pony Express did centuries later.
Easier Said Than Done
Simple as the concept was, carrying it out wasn’t easy. The khan established relay stations every 25 miles. Each station maintained a stock of 400 fresh horses for the couriers, who traded horses to make sure that the animals were always rested enough to perform at peak speeds.
The horses were bedraggled, sinewy, clumsy-looking runts, almost small enough to be considered ponies by modern Western standards. But their toughness and stamina more than made up for their lack of good looks and size. They could survive climates from subarctic to equatorial and managed nicely in rugged mountains or desolate deserts. They weren’t picky eaters either, and remained independent enough to forage on their own.
Only the Best
Riders selected as yam couriers were the empire’s best horsemen: strong, young, and skilled. They had to be. Some trips required only 50 to 70 miles a day, but distances of 200 to 250 miles were not uncommon. One rider carried his message the full, grueling distance
. The riders were even strapped into their saddles to make sure they stayed on task.
At the height of the Mongol Empire, the yam network covered more than 187,000 miles and employed as many as 3 million horses. It lasted throughout the period of the Mongols’ rule and remained intact, though cut back, until the empire crumbled in the 15th century.
Saddle Up!
The Chinese were harnessing and riding horses as early as 4000 BC, but they rode bareback. The first saddles— a strip of animal hide or a piece of heavy cloth— weren’t developed until much later.
Not So Easy Riders
Arguments rage over who invented the first saddles—some say it was the nomadic Scythians from Siberia, others claim it was the ancient Greeks, and the Moors in North Africa often get credit. But the Assyrians (from modern-day Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey) were certainly among the first. Around 700 BC, Assyrian warriors went into battle riding on thick, decorative riding pads, and they used straps that resembled modern girths. The Mongols followed with a primitive saddle tree and a padded felt saddle on a wooden frame.
A saddle that included four horns, complete with a solid saddle tree, emerged from the Roman Empire around AD 200. But the first saddle that’s most like the ones we know today belonged to the Sarmatians, a nomadic Indo-Iranian people from central Asia. Around AD 365, the Sarmatians appeared with a saddle that included a saddle tree, breastplate, girth, and metal stirrups.
European Invasion
It was the Mongols who brought the Sarmatian saddle to Europe. In the fourth century, Mongol Huns battled the Sarmatians in Asia, adopted their saddle design, and introduced it to new cultures when they invaded southeastern Europe. Over the next few centuries, Europeans used the Sarmatian saddle in battle, tournaments, and even during the Crusades. It wasn’t until chivalrous medieval knights needed to excel on horseback while dressed in full armor and carrying an arsenal of weapons that the saddle changed again.
The result was a wooden tree with a higher pommel and cantle that kept the knight securely seated and balanced on his horse during battle. For comfort, the saddles were padded with wool or horsehair and covered with leather, untanned hides, or sturdy fabrics. Elaborate leatherwork, precious metals, jewels, tokens, and embroidery denoted a knight’s rank, and metal stirrups helped him keep control of his horse.
Are You Western or English?
The saddle remained largely unchanged for several centuries. But by the 1800s, its evolution had divided. The primary reason for the split: the saddle horn. Cowboys needed a horn at the front of the saddle to secure their lassos, and the military used it for leverage and balance while they were fighting on horseback. With one hand firmly gripped on the saddle horn, the soldiers could fight enemies and not fall off their horses. So in the 19th century, these groups developed the Western saddle, which had a horn and two strong cinches holding the saddle firmly on the horse. Western saddles were heavier than English saddles and covered more of the horses’ back.
The English saddle has no horn. Its padding (leather cowhide or pigskin) is built over layers of wood usually reinforced with spring steel. English saddles are smaller, lighter, and designed to give the rider close contact with the horse.
Giddyap!
Today, saddles come in many styles—dressage, jumping, roping, show saddles—and in sizes to fit any rider and breed of horse. But deciding which saddle to use is a very personal choice. For most equestrians, borrowing a saddle is like borrowing someone else’s shoes—it might work in a pinch, but it’ll never really fit.
Horse of a Different Color
You can’t predict a horse’s adult color when it’s a foal. All horses change color several times when they’re young, finally settling on a shade when they’re about two years old.
More Military Mounts
Here are two more military horse heroes
Last Horse Standing . . . Sort Of
During the Indian Wars of the 19th century, Myles Keogh, a captain in the U.S. 7th Cavalry, rode a mustang/Morgan horse named Comanche. The horse was fast, strong, and brave, and Keogh gave him his name after a particularly fierce fight with a Comanche tribe in Kansas. The horse was wounded in the battle, but he let Keogh keep riding—and fighting.
In 1876, Keogh and his men took off for the Battle of the Little Bighorn (Custer’s Last Stand). Keogh rode Comanche, of course, but the battle was a disaster for the cavalry. The Cheyenne and Lakota tribes soundly defeated them, and Custer (who led the charge) was killed. Keogh also died, but two days after the fight was over, Comanche emerged, severely wounded but alive.
Nursing him back to health took months, but the horse eventually recovered. The U.S. military then officially retired him to a life of luxury—during his retirement he was fed a regular diet of “whisky bran mash and buckets of beer.” Comanche died in 1897 at the age of 29. His loyalty and stoicism led to stories that he was the only military survivor at Little Bighorn, but he wasn’t. Apparently, several of the other horses and a bulldog also survived the battle. Comanche remains the most famous, though, and the most revered: he was the first of two horses in U.S. history to be buried with full military honors.
The Sentimental Favorite
The second horse buried with full honors? Black Jack. If any military horse can be said to have captured American hearts in the 20th century, it was Black Jack. Named after General John “Black Jack” Pershing of World War I fame, the Morgan/quarter horse was born in 1947 and was the last horse to carry the “U.S.” brand of the army.
Black Jack was the riderless horse who attended the funerals of four presidents (Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, and Lyndon Johnson) and one general (Douglas MacArthur). It was Kennedy’s funeral procession, though, that made Black Jack famous. Millions of people worldwide watched him following behind the president’s casket, the boots and stirrups he carried turned backward. Black Jack retired from military service in 1973 and died in 1976.
For more military horses, turn to page 155.
Wild horse herds usually have just one stallion.
Life in the Pits
For more than 100 years, ponies worked for their supper in the coal mines of Britain and North America.
A Dirty Job
In March 2007, an historic obituary crossed the desks of British newspapers. Sparky—36 years old, the last of Britain’s deep-pit coal ponies—had died.
Sparky began at the mines when he was four years old and was a pit pony for 13 years. During his working years, he hauled ore carts—sometimes four at a time. He also hauled mine timbers and heavy machinery. Sparky sometimes had to work without light, and he often wore a steel helmet because part of his job was bumping open ventilation doors as he made his way along the narrow shafts.
Sparky was a typical deep-pit pony. At shift’s end, he retired to underground stables that many miners said were nicer than their own accommodations. The animals ate high-quality food and always had access to fresh water. The ponies did live underground for years and some never saw the sun, but many mine bosses so valued the animals that miners who mistreated them were fired immediately—even if the ponies were so bold as to steal a miner’s lunch (which they often did).
Small Stature, Big Heart
Before coal mines in Britain and North America became mechanized in the mid-20th century, pit ponies were indispensable to the industry. The little horses could get into places men couldn’t and hauled cartfuls of ore from the drifts to the mine head.
The animals varied in size from Shetlands to Fells, depending on the height and width of the mine shafts. They were bred particularly for strength and a calm disposition. Long necks helped too, especially in sections where ceilings were low and the ponies had to duck to pass.
Laws required that pit ponies be four years old when they went to work in the mines, but most were at least five—mine owners wanted them to be strong and fully mature. The animals came from a variety of places: The English imported Shetlands from Scotland. The Americans broug
ht in ponies from Finland, and in Canada’s maritime provinces, most of the ponies were bred locally. Not all made the grade, however. The most sturdy, tireless, docile, and easily trained were the most desirable picks because work areas were tight, and an aggressive or temperamental pony could endanger miners and the other animals.
Who’s the Boss?
That doesn’t mean the ponies didn’t have personality. One pony in England’s Durham coalfields never gave his usual driver a problem, but when a new driver was assigned to him, the pony misbehaved. At every sharp turn on a narrow underground rail line, the pony sped up, tipping the coal carts. That stopped all traffic in the pony’s section of the mine. And while the driver set the carts back on the tracks and re-loaded the ore, the pony waited patiently . . . periodically glancing over his shoulder to see how his cursing driver was progressing.
Another pony, accustomed to pulling three carts at a time, permitted his driver to hook up a fourth for the last run before the end of the shift at their mine in Alberta, Canada. One day, the driver slyly hooked up a fifth. As the pony started out, the first cart moved on the rails and then came the second, third, and fourth. But when the pony felt the fifth, he stopped immediately and wouldn’t budge. His wise driver unhooked the fifth cart and, as a gesture of appeasement, also the fourth. As soon as he did, the pony went back to work.
Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Horse Lover's Companion Page 14