In referring to statues of mounted war heroes, there is a hidden meaning to the position of the horses legs that will tell you how the general, or other high ranking officer, died. If all four hooves of the horse are on the ground, the general died at peace in his home. If one leg is raised, the general died after receiving an injury in battle.
What's the meaning of the number of feet the horse has off the ground in statues of war heroes? I recall hearing one foot off meant the person was injured and recovered while two feet meant he was fatally wounded. Your columnist confesses he went into this figuring it was a crock. Your columnist ...
The hoof code mostly holds true in terms of Gettysburg equestrian statues, but there is at least one exception. James Longstreet wasn't wounded in this battle yet his horse has one foot raised. (illustration from Longstreet page) The article has a pretty good list of statues that do and don't match the "tradition". Short version of the article -
What Is the Meaning of a Horse Statue With Its Legs Raised? A horse statue with legs raised in the air is said to signify that the rider was killed in battle. Although this is a common belief among some equestrians and artisans alike, this designation is not universally applied.
The Friesian was used as a war horse by Friesian soldiers fighting with the Norman Armies, and later used by knights and travelled all the way to the Middle East with the Crusaders. In the seventeenth century, Iberian horses who had been left in the Netherlands influenced the breed and led them to be more refined with a higher extravagant action.
For example, in Gettysburg, the statue of James Longstreet features his horse with one foot raised, even though Longstreet was not wounded in battle. Even the most cursory look at the statues around Washington, D.C. quickly disproves that the hoof code at all holds sway in that locale.
Myth: The way a soldier’s horse is portrayed in an equestrian statue indicates how the soldier died. This myth, perpetuated by many a tourist guide the world over, simply isn’t true. (Not unlike how tourist guides around the equator will often tell you that what hemisphere you’re in effects the way the water swirls down the toilet or drain.
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Friesian horses range on average from 15 hands to 16.2 It is not unheard of to have a Friesian horse standing at 17 hands. The movement of the Friesian horse must be extravagant to catch the eye of the FPS judges who rate these horses first of all as weanlings and give them a premium rating from one to three.
The Friesian horse today is used both in harness and under saddle, particularly in the discipline of dressage. In harness, they are used for competitive and recreational driving, both singly and in teams. A traditional carriage seen in some events designed for Friesian horses is a high-wheeled cart called a sjees.
