RhineStone
Well-Known Member
There is a nice article in the Nov. issue of Driving Digest about horses in parades and what to consider before exhibiting in one. It reminded me of when we have done parades with our mini horse club. We have taken horses both in hand and driven, but always had someone on the ground. Most of the time if was "uneventful". However, there was one time that the local Boy Scout troop had the "duty" of cleaning up after the horses, and the boys took their job a little too seriously, practically trying to catch it as it came out of the horses! To add fuel to the fire, they were on rollerblades! My mom, who was walking a very quiet mare in hand finally had to put her foot down and tell them that they could not go in front of her, because they were stressing out especially the driving horses that couldn't see them, but heard them as they were coming up behind them very fast with scoop shovels, jockeying for position as first to reach the piles!
Then there was another time that a pair of Percherons bolted in a parade. The driver was able to turn the pair in an intersection, but doubled back on the rest of the parade behind him. My mom was again leading a mini, but grabbed our driving mini by the reins/bridle, and pulled it up on the curb with the rest of the crowd. The Arabian riders behind us were not as lucky, as they didn't "fit" on the curb like the minis did, and a few of the ladies in their Native Costumes ended up on parking meters! The pair was finally stopped by a parked Cadillac and a van. I think that was an expensive parade for them.
Then there was another time that a pair of Percherons bolted in a parade. The driver was able to turn the pair in an intersection, but doubled back on the rest of the parade behind him. My mom was again leading a mini, but grabbed our driving mini by the reins/bridle, and pulled it up on the curb with the rest of the crowd. The Arabian riders behind us were not as lucky, as they didn't "fit" on the curb like the minis did, and a few of the ladies in their Native Costumes ended up on parking meters! The pair was finally stopped by a parked Cadillac and a van. I think that was an expensive parade for them.