Do the horses in funeral procession look stressed?

[Gozleme]

Don’t know a lot about horses and am just musing while watching tv… but I noticed one in particular throwing its head around a bit and they like a bit out of step with each with quite a bit of head throwing at times

This must be a stressful situation for them with all the people and music.. or are they specific “parade horses” that are used to this sort of thing?

No bùt they are skittish if the coffin is empty. They can sense it.

I expect they are not as used to it as they were pre-lockdown.

One day it will be seen as unacceptable to break in/train horses to just comply with what humans want. In the same way that people are realising is not ok to ride elephants. Sadly just not there yet.

Hahaha if you try to force a horse to do something it doesn't want to you won't be on it very long!

Another extremely overly simplistic view. It's amazing what can be achieved with training and force.

👏👏👏. The amount of times I've had arguments with people because I've told them their horses are in pain or trying to tell them something and not that they're 'naughty' or trying to get out of work. I had to stop volunteering with RDA at a riding school because I tried to tell them one of the ponies was lame and they told me he just did it to avoid work. It's heartbreaking. Even my non horsey DH says our horses act so differently compared to the stressed cooped up horses he's seen when we were on livery yards that demonstrated loads of vices because they're essentially kept in a tiny little cage with little to no interaction with other equines. We rescued a pony last year that had spent a year in a stable and the difference in his mannerisms, facial expressions and the way he holds himself 12 months later is a different animal because he doesn't have the same stress and tension in his body. But most 'horse' people wouldn't even notice these subtle changes because they won't educate themselves on horse body language and behaviour. I really really wish attitudes would change around horses and maybe they are but just not quick enough.

Also this! If a foal is shown force and dominance from weaning (around 6 months old) of course you will wear it down and essentially groom it into 'behaving' when it comes to being ridden. Like they do with the elephants that someone mentioned downthread. If you can beat an elephant into submission over years then of course the same can be done to a horse.

To be fair I think there has been a creeping awareness of horse behaviour and communication over the last 10 years. Barefoot is now becoming more common, bitless is going that way. More owners are aware of stereotypical behaviours and stress signals being linked to inadequate turnout and interaction with other horses and an awareness of ulcers etc caused by stress or pain which cause behavioural issues rather than a horse being "naughty". There is still a long way to go but the general awareness is definitely there now. Science is leading the way in this.

I know these horses…for all those saying the horses are picked for their temperament’s and trained to deal with situations like today… it’s Only really true for police horses. For the household cavalry horses they basically go to Ireland and buy up all the black horses… with fairly little crowd / city training until they are in Knightsbridge. There are a lot of new horses in at the moment.

they then have strong bits in their mouths, fairly novice riders, heavy saddles and equipment - so can have sore backs, hence some of the reactions you can see.

they are amazing animals - and are well cared for (just in an old school kind of way) and deserve all the recognition they get.

I thought the horses today looked pretty calm given the occasion. Head tossing, tail swishing and jogging are signs of stress yes but not necessarily distress.

It was more irritation and impatient than pain or fear. Probably similar to what you may have seen from humans in "the queue", and definitely similar to the feelings some of the troops will have had today. They wanted to move a bit quicker, were a bit bored, wanted a bit of a stretch, maybe getting a bit tired or hungry, perhaps wanted a wee or were being bugged by a fly. Nothing that they won't be completely over after a good roll, a feed and a brush.

There were several that looked to be having a lovely day. The gorgeous grey police horse at Windsor was having a lovely day out and seemed very pleased with himself. Emma seemed relaxed and calm too and she's not used to ceremonies.

I really hope so @twistyizzy but like someone else said, I don't think racing will ever change because of how much money is involved. I would love to see police horses and the Royal horses used in ceremonies such as today banned in my lifetime.

Did they use the same horses in London as in Windsor? Getting them all in horse boxes and unloaded again was quite a feat if so.

I’d imagine they were different horses.

Did you see the pics of Emma. She was wearing the headscarf that the queen usually rides in on her saddle.

Because a horse understands what a coffin is and is creeped out by it being empty??

Please! 🙄

During the procession when they took the Queen to lie in state, one of the horses in a pair pulling the carriage kept its nose to its partners cheek almost the whole way...It looked like it was kissing it or whispering to it the whole journey!

But I did wonder if it was uncomfortable on the rein or stressed, can anyone tell me?

Not a horsey person so don't know the right terms (and please enlighten me!) but its partner was the one being ridden so it was on a shortish rein to the rider.

I know what you mean - yes, the gun horses. I always think the non ridden horse looks uncomfortably bent towards the ridden one.

Anyone else see on the long walk when one was going a bit side ways that it’s tail knocked over one of the people guarding on the left as it swished him in the face? He stumbled and then got back to guarding.

The horse then went backwards for a bit before it was brought into line. A few people reflect walked backwards when the horse came towards them but he didn’t.

also everyone walking through the shit. They weren’t allowed to side step or take a big step so they marched through it and spread it. My friend had said they were going to wear poo catching bags!

I agree with a lot of this in that it is fascinating to watch horses interact together as a herd. Training methods are changing and there is, thank heavens, more awareness of natural horse behaviour. However, I also think there is a balance to be struck. Herd dynamics and natural environments are not always kind. Wild horses are often under nourished, carrying painful injuries or heavy worm burdens.

Up to the introduction of the motor car, every member of the general population would have had huge familiarity and practical experience of living cheek by jowl with equines and them with us. Since then, we have lost a huge depth of understanding and wealth of knowledge which has not been fully reclaimed. Imho though, not riding and working with horses will only lead to extinction. It's already happening with shire horses. And I heard on the TV today that the Queen was more or less solely responsible for revitalising seven of our native breeds.

Imho, the best route to understanding and treating horses with compassion, is to live and work with them more and more, not the reverse.

On the horse theme, a sweet and informal clip from 1992 of proud Grannie supervising her Grandchildren out hacking.

In her element, surrounded by family, dogs and horses.

Interesting to see glimpses of the cousins' personality traits :

Zara already showing her equestrian skills. Looks so confident and at home in the saddle. Future Olympian right there.

10 yr old William being kindly and responsible, leading a tiny Beatrice atop Smokey the Shetland!

Harry independently doing his own thing.

(3 minutes long)

I have no idea but the Queens pony Emma stamped one foot like she was saluting when the coffin went past which I thought was lovely

I agree with a lot of this in that it is fascinating to watch horses interact together as a herd. Training methods are changing and there is, thank heavens, more awareness of natural horse behaviour. However, I also think there is a balance to be struck. Herd dynamics and natural environments are not always kind. Wild horses are often under nourished, carrying painful injuries or heavy worm burdens.

@Shortandfurry301 advocating for horses to be kept as naturally as possible doesn't mean not worming them, treating them for injuries or starving them . And obviously if one was getting the crap beaten out of it in my small herd I wouldn't just stand by and let it happen because of 'nature'. But on the majority of the livery yards near me horses are either in stables or in tiny little electric fenced squares on their own so they don't 'hurt each other' and they're not allowed to experience a herd and the safety that comes with it. Makes me sad.

The horses up front (police and Mounties) behaved impeccably. Some further back in the procession did look to get a bit fed up as it was very slow going back there. Of course they are properly trained parade horses but they are still animals and will behave as such. It looked a warm day in London also which means the flies would be out. Some horses are more sensitive to flies buzzing round their heads than others but they'd have the same issue if turned out to graze

Since then, we have lost a huge depth of understanding and wealth of knowledge which has not been fully reclaimed. Imho though, not riding and working with horses will only lead to extinction. It's already happening with shire horses.

I wondered about this. Surely if horses cannot be kept to be ridden then they won’t be kept at all. You can’t keep a horse just to be running around your back garden. And should the same apply to dogs, cats and other pets? None of them lead natural lives.

I don’t have a view on this btw, because I don’t keep pets (or horses). Just wondering what the logical conclusion would be if they weren’t allowed to be ridden.

I’ve only read the first 2 pages of this and can’t be bothered with the rest- I knew it would end up with the same old comments on here that horses shouldn’t be ridden (usually from people who’ve never been within 10 feet of a horse and couldn’t distinguish it’s mane from its tail)

i have a horse who absolutely shows when he is happy to work and to be ridden. And equally, he shows when he’s definitely not happy to work and be ridden. And since he weighs around 600kg, I can’t exactly make him do anything against his will. If he didn’t want to jump, he wouldn’t. I can’t physically make him. But thankfully he does. He’s happy. And I’m happy.

he’s my boy and I love him to bits, but he also has a purpose and thankfully he’s happy with it. Horses are not cute cuddly pets like cats and dogs. I spend hours grooming and cooing over my horse everyday, but ultimately his purpose is for jumping and that’s why I have him. If I let him roam about the field like a ‘natural horse’ as some posters have said, he would get bored and fed up pretty quickly. He is a working horse. I’d say that’s cruel to let him waste away and be miserable without a job which he has proven to be happy in.