We finally got Charlie back into ceremonial work today. He hadn't been in a ceremony for the past six months due to his sarcoid treatment and surgery. The surgery removed a large patch of skin from his right cheek. The wound is now almost completely healed and the scab is small enough to be covered by the cheek straps on his halter. Amazingly, most of the hair has returned to his cheek and there is only a small spot where it hasn't grown back yet.
Charlie was a bit excited about being back in the show. Once we began to maneuver into position for the charge, he began to crow hop and dance around. However, once the charge began he forgot what he was supposed to do and fell way behind the other horses. He is also not in the best shape having been out of the lineup for so long.
I realized later that it was my first ceremony and charge since my own injuries suffered last January. I was a little winded afterwards, but otherwise suffered no problems. I will try again with Charlie on Thursday during another ceremony and hopefully both of us will perform a little better.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Cavalry Heritage Day
Last Saturday we held a cavalry competition event for the public. It was our first attempt to do something like this. We invited the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment horse detachment from Fort Irwin, California, to join us. We had a mounted saber event and a mounted pistol event in the morning and then individual riding demonstrations by each unit in the afternoon.
We have ridden with the Fort Irwin guys many times in the past and have always had a good relationship with them. As the two western-most Army horse detachments, we are kind of isolated from the rest of the Army horse community. The 11th ACR detachment represents the cavalry as it existed in 1901 while B Troop represents the cavalry of the 1880's. The two detachments together made for a colorful event.
It was a good day and both units had a chance to see what they need to work on before going to the National Cavalry Competition in September. Hopefully, we will have an opportunity to do this again next year.
We have ridden with the Fort Irwin guys many times in the past and have always had a good relationship with them. As the two western-most Army horse detachments, we are kind of isolated from the rest of the Army horse community. The 11th ACR detachment represents the cavalry as it existed in 1901 while B Troop represents the cavalry of the 1880's. The two detachments together made for a colorful event.
It was a good day and both units had a chance to see what they need to work on before going to the National Cavalry Competition in September. Hopefully, we will have an opportunity to do this again next year.
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| B Troop and 11th ACR readying for the opening ceremony. |
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| An 11th ACR rider on the saber course. |
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| A B Troop rider on the pistol course. |
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| The 11th ACR demo team |
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| B Troop pistol charge |
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| Interacting sith the spectators after the demo. |
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Dismounted Fighting
One of the myths of the old cavalry is that they always fought mounted. This myth has been perpetuated in film, but is often advanced in Civil War battle re-enactments. Mounted attacks are more colorful and dramatic when depicted on film and in battle re-enactments. The truth is that mounted cavalry attacks were normally only used against other mounted units or against unprepared or scattered infantry units. For a cavalry unit to attack a prepared infantry unit would have been suicidal. Men on horses make very large targets for infantry and trying to hit anything with a pistol or carbine while on a galloping horse is a difficult enterprise unless at very close range.
In reality, a cavalry unit would typically dismount when fighting. This practice of dismounted cavalry to fight was perfected by Phillip Sheridan during the Civil War. However, you will never see this standard tactic depicted in the movies or in a re-enactment because it is difficult to do and somewhat boring to watch. However, since it is the mission of B Troop is to promote the history and heritage of the cavalry, we have resolved to demonstrate the tactic of dismounting cavalry to fight on foot.
The tactic of dismounting cavalrymen to fight requires the right equipment and lots of practice. The Indian Wars period halter has a special link-strap that was used to bind the horses together when their riders were dismounted. The idea was for each group of four troopers would dismount three men and have the fourth man hold the horses. The three dismounted horses would be linked together and the fourth man would stay mounted and hold them. The dismounted men would advance and engage the enemy with carbine fire. While this was happening, the horse-holder would maneuver the linked horses to the rear and out of the line of fire.
Although this all sounds very simple and straightforward, it is in reality, very difficult to do. The men have the complicated task of mounting and dismounting with a carbine slung over their backs and the horses have to be trained to be able to be led while linked together.
Mounting and dismounting with a slung carbine takes a fair amount of practice. The rider must first remove his carbine from its scabbard, attach it to his carbine sling, sling it over his back, and dismount without clobbering himself in the head with the carbine. Getting off this way is much easier than getting back on. The first thing you discover is that the carbine sling chokes you slightly when you drop the carbine over your back. This is not as bad, however, as when you are trying to remount and the carbine swings around to your right side and gets tangled in your leg so that you end up sitting on your own rifle.
Our efforts to master this simple maneuver resulted in a few bruises and much hilarity. I outdid everyone else in buffoonery when I manged to fall off my horse during the mounting effort. My carbine had slipped to my right while mounting so I attempted to shift my weight to re-center the rifle as I slung my leg over. At that moment, the Apache decided to shift himself to the left which caused me to fall head first over his right side. As I lay on the ground with my trusty carbine at my side, Apache stood and looked down at me with bemused look on his face while my comrades enjoyed a good laugh at my expense.
After we had beat ourselves senseless with this exercise, we decided to try it while linking the horses. Again, this was initially amusing, as the horses had no clue what they were supposed to do. I was the horse-holder and was having a hard time convincing the three linked horses that they were supposed to follow me as I wheeled to the left. The #3 horse, the one closest to me, refused to budge and was generally annoyed about the whole activity. However, the first and second horses figured it out and began to push him around the arc so that we were able to execute a fairly decent wheel movement while linked.
Meanwhile, the troopers had become fairly adept at dismounting with carbines slung and forming a skirmish line. I eventually figured out how to time the wheel movement of the linked horses so they arrived on line just as the skirmishers were returning to remount. After we had practiced it for about an hour, we began to look like a fairly competent mounted fighting force instead of a group of confused lunatics.
The difficulty of executing what was once a routine procedure of the cavalry, makes me wonder how often it was practiced. Doing it with a handful of men and horses is one thing, but I can't imagine this maneuver being executed with thousands of horses. It must have been really something to watch.
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In reality, a cavalry unit would typically dismount when fighting. This practice of dismounted cavalry to fight was perfected by Phillip Sheridan during the Civil War. However, you will never see this standard tactic depicted in the movies or in a re-enactment because it is difficult to do and somewhat boring to watch. However, since it is the mission of B Troop is to promote the history and heritage of the cavalry, we have resolved to demonstrate the tactic of dismounting cavalry to fight on foot.
The tactic of dismounting cavalrymen to fight requires the right equipment and lots of practice. The Indian Wars period halter has a special link-strap that was used to bind the horses together when their riders were dismounted. The idea was for each group of four troopers would dismount three men and have the fourth man hold the horses. The three dismounted horses would be linked together and the fourth man would stay mounted and hold them. The dismounted men would advance and engage the enemy with carbine fire. While this was happening, the horse-holder would maneuver the linked horses to the rear and out of the line of fire.
Although this all sounds very simple and straightforward, it is in reality, very difficult to do. The men have the complicated task of mounting and dismounting with a carbine slung over their backs and the horses have to be trained to be able to be led while linked together.
Mounting and dismounting with a slung carbine takes a fair amount of practice. The rider must first remove his carbine from its scabbard, attach it to his carbine sling, sling it over his back, and dismount without clobbering himself in the head with the carbine. Getting off this way is much easier than getting back on. The first thing you discover is that the carbine sling chokes you slightly when you drop the carbine over your back. This is not as bad, however, as when you are trying to remount and the carbine swings around to your right side and gets tangled in your leg so that you end up sitting on your own rifle.
Our efforts to master this simple maneuver resulted in a few bruises and much hilarity. I outdid everyone else in buffoonery when I manged to fall off my horse during the mounting effort. My carbine had slipped to my right while mounting so I attempted to shift my weight to re-center the rifle as I slung my leg over. At that moment, the Apache decided to shift himself to the left which caused me to fall head first over his right side. As I lay on the ground with my trusty carbine at my side, Apache stood and looked down at me with bemused look on his face while my comrades enjoyed a good laugh at my expense.
After we had beat ourselves senseless with this exercise, we decided to try it while linking the horses. Again, this was initially amusing, as the horses had no clue what they were supposed to do. I was the horse-holder and was having a hard time convincing the three linked horses that they were supposed to follow me as I wheeled to the left. The #3 horse, the one closest to me, refused to budge and was generally annoyed about the whole activity. However, the first and second horses figured it out and began to push him around the arc so that we were able to execute a fairly decent wheel movement while linked.
Meanwhile, the troopers had become fairly adept at dismounting with carbines slung and forming a skirmish line. I eventually figured out how to time the wheel movement of the linked horses so they arrived on line just as the skirmishers were returning to remount. After we had practiced it for about an hour, we began to look like a fairly competent mounted fighting force instead of a group of confused lunatics.
The difficulty of executing what was once a routine procedure of the cavalry, makes me wonder how often it was practiced. Doing it with a handful of men and horses is one thing, but I can't imagine this maneuver being executed with thousands of horses. It must have been really something to watch.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Graduation Ceremony
Fort Report B-Troop Riding School Graduation from U.S. Army Fort Huachuca on Vimeo.
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This video was taken during the Cavalry Riding School graduation ceremony. It shows just how fast the horses move out during the charge. One of the horses, Journey, spooked at some traffic cones when his rider made a left flank. You can see Journey back up and move away from the cones before taking off. He still managed to get down the field ahead of the other horses though.
It was a nice ceremony and we all went back to the stables after to celebrate with a barbecue.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Charlie's Sarcoid Removal
Charlie has had a sarcoid on his face for a long time now. The mil vets tried to treat it by surgically removing part of it and treating the rest of it with a type of cream that kills the cancer cells. However, after several months, it was obvious that the treatment had not worked and had, in fact, made it worse. An ugly cauliflower-like growth appeared on the right side of Charlie's face making him essentially unusable for ceremonial work.
Last Thursday we received approval from the mil vets to take Charlie up to Arizona Equine for treatment. AZ Equine provides the best horse care you can get in this state and we frequently take the Army horses up there for treatment. Our mil vets are good, but AZ Equine deals exclusively with horse issues on a daily basis and sometimes you just have to go with the experts, even though it is much more expensive.
Charlie was moved into the operating area stocks as soon as we arrived, sedated, and prepped for surgery. Once Charlie was sedated, the surgeon made a circular incision all the way around the sarcoid on Charlie's cheek. What happened next was like a scene from "Silence of the Lambs." They peeled back the flap of skin and snipped it loose from the underlying tissue with a scissors. It was like watching someone getting scalped in slow motion. Once they removed the "scalp," they cut some of the suspicious looking areas from the sub-dermal layer. It was pretty grotesque, but fascinating at the same time. Charlie pretty much dozed through the whole thing with his chin resting on a specially designed horse-head prop.
After they had finished, the wrapped his head up in bandages and then Debbie put on his Mexican-wrestler hoodie to help keep the bandages in place. It will take a couple months for the skin to grow back and Charlie will always have a bald spot on his cheek. The bald spot will mostly be covered by his ceremonial tack, so he shouldn't look to unsightly as long as the sarcoid doesn't come back.
Last Thursday we received approval from the mil vets to take Charlie up to Arizona Equine for treatment. AZ Equine provides the best horse care you can get in this state and we frequently take the Army horses up there for treatment. Our mil vets are good, but AZ Equine deals exclusively with horse issues on a daily basis and sometimes you just have to go with the experts, even though it is much more expensive.
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| Charlie at home after the surgery |
Charlie was moved into the operating area stocks as soon as we arrived, sedated, and prepped for surgery. Once Charlie was sedated, the surgeon made a circular incision all the way around the sarcoid on Charlie's cheek. What happened next was like a scene from "Silence of the Lambs." They peeled back the flap of skin and snipped it loose from the underlying tissue with a scissors. It was like watching someone getting scalped in slow motion. Once they removed the "scalp," they cut some of the suspicious looking areas from the sub-dermal layer. It was pretty grotesque, but fascinating at the same time. Charlie pretty much dozed through the whole thing with his chin resting on a specially designed horse-head prop.
After they had finished, the wrapped his head up in bandages and then Debbie put on his Mexican-wrestler hoodie to help keep the bandages in place. It will take a couple months for the skin to grow back and Charlie will always have a bald spot on his cheek. The bald spot will mostly be covered by his ceremonial tack, so he shouldn't look to unsightly as long as the sarcoid doesn't come back.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Rose Thorns
Photos by Kelly Paige
Today was my first attempt to participate in a public event since my riding accident back in January. We participated in the Rose Festival Parade in Tombstone. I guess I should have realized by the dark storm clouds in the sky that I was better off staying home. It was a cold and windy day. Not much rain, thankfully, but unusually cold for an April day in Arizona.
Our preparations at the stables went smoothly enough, or at least I thought so. We elected to keep all the horses in last night because of the weather, but still everyone was able to tend to their steeds and be ready to roll at the appointed time. The weather was lousy, but not lousy enough to result in the cancellation of the parade--something all of us would have accepted without complaint. We had two new riders participating in their first event since passing their final riding tests last Wednesday.
When we arrived in Tombstone, things continued to go smoothly, until I overheard someone saying that our new sidesaddle rider had forgotten her bridle. This was a problem since we couldn't just leave her behind by herself. One other horse and rider (me in this case since I was her escort) would have to stay behind or her horse would have panicked when the rest of the herd rode away. Some people began to suggest that I just tow her along by her lead rope. I rejected this idea on the grounds that if her horse broke away she might end up being dragged up Allen street by her stirrup.
Instead, we decided to get someone to bring us another bridle. I called my wife, who was only 30 minutes away to bring a bridle from our tack shed. Meanwhile someone else called a friend and asked them to go back to Fort Huachuca and get a bridle from there. It turned out to be a fortuitous phone call as we soon had another problem on our hands.
Somehow, we managed to lock the keys to one of our trucks inside the truck. Unfortunately, the three troopers who had been in the truck had left their uniform in there. We then contacted the individual who was on his way to the fort (thank goodness for cell phones) and asked him to get the spare keys to the truck and bring those along with the extra bridle. Fortunately, all the tack and keys made it to us before we had to step out on the parade.
The parade itself went fine. We had the usual incidents of audience interaction with the denizens of Tombstone. One guy actually walked up to a trooper during the parade and started asking questions. Another individual decided to argue points of historical authenticity with our Executive Officer as we rode through town. These kind of incidents seem to be unique to the town of Tombstone. Maybe it is something in the water...or the whiskey.
When we returned to the fort and released the horses into pasture, we gathered on the porch to review the day's events and assign appropriate beverage fines for what had transpired. Both the nubes had forgotten an item of equipment. Although all the goof ups had been pretty exasperating, no one really got angry about it. In fact, we all had a pretty good laugh about it. We are just fortunate to have people in our outfit that find ways to overcome problems, no matter how ridiculous they may be.
Today was my first attempt to participate in a public event since my riding accident back in January. We participated in the Rose Festival Parade in Tombstone. I guess I should have realized by the dark storm clouds in the sky that I was better off staying home. It was a cold and windy day. Not much rain, thankfully, but unusually cold for an April day in Arizona.
Our preparations at the stables went smoothly enough, or at least I thought so. We elected to keep all the horses in last night because of the weather, but still everyone was able to tend to their steeds and be ready to roll at the appointed time. The weather was lousy, but not lousy enough to result in the cancellation of the parade--something all of us would have accepted without complaint. We had two new riders participating in their first event since passing their final riding tests last Wednesday.
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| Heading up Allen Street |
When we arrived in Tombstone, things continued to go smoothly, until I overheard someone saying that our new sidesaddle rider had forgotten her bridle. This was a problem since we couldn't just leave her behind by herself. One other horse and rider (me in this case since I was her escort) would have to stay behind or her horse would have panicked when the rest of the herd rode away. Some people began to suggest that I just tow her along by her lead rope. I rejected this idea on the grounds that if her horse broke away she might end up being dragged up Allen street by her stirrup.
Instead, we decided to get someone to bring us another bridle. I called my wife, who was only 30 minutes away to bring a bridle from our tack shed. Meanwhile someone else called a friend and asked them to go back to Fort Huachuca and get a bridle from there. It turned out to be a fortuitous phone call as we soon had another problem on our hands.
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| Lady escort |
Somehow, we managed to lock the keys to one of our trucks inside the truck. Unfortunately, the three troopers who had been in the truck had left their uniform in there. We then contacted the individual who was on his way to the fort (thank goodness for cell phones) and asked him to get the spare keys to the truck and bring those along with the extra bridle. Fortunately, all the tack and keys made it to us before we had to step out on the parade.
The parade itself went fine. We had the usual incidents of audience interaction with the denizens of Tombstone. One guy actually walked up to a trooper during the parade and started asking questions. Another individual decided to argue points of historical authenticity with our Executive Officer as we rode through town. These kind of incidents seem to be unique to the town of Tombstone. Maybe it is something in the water...or the whiskey.
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| Parading past a few brave souls |
When we returned to the fort and released the horses into pasture, we gathered on the porch to review the day's events and assign appropriate beverage fines for what had transpired. Both the nubes had forgotten an item of equipment. Although all the goof ups had been pretty exasperating, no one really got angry about it. In fact, we all had a pretty good laugh about it. We are just fortunate to have people in our outfit that find ways to overcome problems, no matter how ridiculous they may be.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
More Cavalry Charge Practice
On Saturday the troopers took the students out for more charge practice except this time they took pistols along to enhance the experience. The horses typically get a little more excited when the pistols come out. The weather was perfect and the field was in good shape.
Last week they worked at mostly a trot and slow canter, but this week they moved up to a full gallop. It is a much different kind of experience when the horses are really moving.
Things were going pretty well until one of the students was bucked off when they transitioned to a gallop. Fortunately the rider wasn't hurt except for a few bruises. It just goes to show how dangerous this business can be. The student was wearing a helmet which likely saved her from serious injury.
However, the practice session ended fairly well and everyone got back to the stables safely.
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| The riders forming up into a skirmish line. |
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| The riders trying to hold the line while charging. |
However, the practice session ended fairly well and everyone got back to the stables safely.
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