drum horse
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English[edit]
Noun[edit]
drum horse (plural drum horses)
- (UK) A horse that carries a rider and two silver kettle drums in certain ceremonies of state.
- 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Rout of the White Hussars”, in Plain Tales from the Hills:
- The soul of the Regiment lives in the Drum-Horse who carries the silver kettle-drums. He is nearly always a big piebald Waler. That is a point of honour; and a Regiment will spend anything you please on a piebald.
- 1963, Cyril Nelson Barclay, History of the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers, 1925-1961, page 194:
- “Alexander,” The Life Guards' drum horse, kindly lent for the occasion, carried the 5th Lancer's silver kettle-drums draped with the 16th Lancer's drum banners.
- 2009, Michael Korda, Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life:
- As they drew closer, I recognized the horse— it was none other than Clarence, the regimental drum horse of the mounted band of the Life Guards, who on parade bears a vast, heavy silver kettle drum on either side just ahead of the saddle.
- 6 May 2023, Rachel Cooke, “It was ludicrous but also magnificent: the coronation stirred every emotion”, in The Guardian[1]:
- A drum horse called Apollo would not behave, skittering sideways determinedly.
- A breed of heavy riding horse with thick main and tail and abundant feathers starting at the knees and hocks.
- 1993, William Lloyd, Challengers and Chargers: A History of the Life Guards, 1945–92, page 74:
- The Queen, whose profound knowledge of the breeding of horses is well known, became interested in breeding drum-horses in recent years and has provided some to the Household Cavalry and has further potential stock at Hampton Court.
- 2009, The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide, page 381:
- Inspections for licensing of stallions are the same for both the Drum Horse and Gypsy Cob.
- 2017, Élise Rousseau, Horses of the World, page 55:
- There are very few of them in the world, and it is very rare to see Drum Horses, whose antecedents are also small in number.
- 2023, Bernadette Johnson, The Big Book of Horse Trivia for Kids:
- The drum horse is a breed of draft (or draught) horse originally bred in England to carry kettledrum players and their heavy 300-pound drums during processions that included the English royal family's Household Cavalry.