Forums at Society of the Military Horse

History isn't boring. It's the telling and teaching of history that can put you to sleep. That's what happened to me Sunday night when I tried to watch the highly promoted Explosion 1812 on the History Channel. The "documentary" is an account of an engagement in the War of 1812 when Britis...

Gentlemen: I am in the middle of reading Finding Everett Ruess, the gripping story of a young artist, poet and solo wanderer who disappeared in the U.S. Southwest in 1934. The story of his travels with burros and horses, and mysterious disappearance, continues to spark interest and detailed examinat...

Gentlemen: While researching the Governor Geaneral's Body Guard in connection with the saddle post in the UP form, I came on this excerpt in the Canadian Genealogy site. It recounts a cavalry action during the Fenian Raids into Canada 1866-1870. The action took place in the southeast corner of Ontar...

Gentlemen: Inspired by that PBS documentary, which was not very complimentary to Custer, I spent a cold rainy Sunday browsing the web on the subject, where I found the outstanding Friends of the Little Big Horn site. The site has answers to virtually any question one could have on the subject, inclu...

Gentlemen: I watched the remake of True Grit last night when the DVD was finally released (I haven't been in a movie theatre since they started showing commercials) and have to say it is a first rate movie - at various times funny, scenic, warm and violent, although Rooster's portrayal is even more ...

The question about sabre manufacturers, and the fact that I have just watched Ken Burns' monumental Civil War for about the fourth time, prompts me to wonder how effective sabres were as a weapon and if they actually saw much use as such. Historian Shelby Foote noted in the production that bayonet w...

I found this while browsing. Don't miss the part about the stampede. Larry Home » Army Service Corps The ASC Remounts Companies A long line of horses and soldiers at the enormous trough at a watering point. IWM photograph NZH647, with permission. Photo taken on 17 July 1918 by Thomas Scales. Part of...

Browsing a bookstore Thursday I came across a small volume: Presentation of Sword of Gen. Andrew Jackson, 1855. It is not in great condition but might be of some interest. The book had just come in and the proprietor had not even researched or priced it. If anyone is interested, email me and I will ...

Gentlemen: History channel has apparently turned War Horse into a documentary and Steven Spielberg is making it into a movie, for release next fall. I will be interested to see what kind of tack and saddlery they use in the WW1 era story. I feel the great failing of many period films involving horse...

Gentlemen: Here"s the last word on Bonfire: Bonfire was given to John McCrae to use by him during the war by Dr. John Todd. Bonfire was to be returned to the Todd’s but when they went to meet the ship that he was supposedly on…no Bonfire. Other stories say he was sold into “honourable retiremen...

Gentlemen: As an officer Col McCrae would have been entitled to a charger although I am not sure how far down the officer corps that entitlement started. In any event Bonfire was McCrae's own horse that he took overseas with him. Here's an excerpt from some documentation plucked from the web: "...

I am forwarding this on from Jesse Bargholz of the Mounted Forces Association of Canada Larry Searching for the Queen’s Cowboys Author - Tony Maxwell (cover picture is at the end of the text) - A shorter version of this review is intended to be posted on Amazon I found this book to be excellent. You...

Hi Pat: Both my grandfathers worked full time with horses on their Ontario farms, and my paternal grandfather also at a sawmill, in the 20s 30s and 40s. My maternal grandfather had a tractor but kept the horses until he sold the family farm about 1950 Fast-forward to today and my daughter works even...

Ride the Rising Wind: One Woman"s Journey Across Canada: This is the astounding story of Barbara Kingscote's solo, 4000-mile ride from Quebec to British Columbia over a 16-month period in 1949-50. It is a remarkable story not only because of the accomplishment, but for the fact that it was unde...

We were 10 minutes out of camp on our first day of packhorse training under Mike King's guidance, and I was flat on my back in the Halfway River in northern British Columbia. Talk about a total-immersion baptism. "Well if that's the worst thing that happens, it'll be a good trip, " Mike ob...

Reading the above got me wondering: Is it possible the horse will outlive the internal combustion engine ? I don't see society returning to the use of horses in transportation and industry, but I can imagine a time in the future (with four vehicles in the drive, not in my lifetime, I hope) that othe...

I saw an interesting piece on the history channel last night about the discovery of the remains of the 9,000-tonne White Star liner Armenian, which was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Cornwall in 1915. It was carrying 3,000 mules from the U.S. destined for the Allied war effort, and the wre...

Here's an excerpt from the website of 1st The Queen's Dragood Guards that might help explain the Broderick cap: Late Nineteenth Century During the latter decades of the nineteenth century, khaki had been replacing the old scarlet on active service conditions. India and the Sudan established its util...

Timothy Findley's outstanding WW1 novel, which will have special meaning to members of the Society because of the role played by horses. I won't even try to do justice to the book by describing it. Rather I quote from the dust jacket: "Robert Ross, a sensitive 19-year-old Canadian officer went ...

John: Is there a date on that document? Perhaps it is from the 30s, because under Covers there is a reference to Bren gun and Bren spare barrel. Interestingly, there is also a mention of curry combs, which in the First World War were supposedly forbidden for use on the horses because it was feared t...