Like a scene from Black Beauty, a horse goes down in the shafts of a delivery wagon on a Boston street, sometime between 1917 and 1934. From the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.
A blizzard hit the Northeast Corridor of the United States today. For the next few days, we might be hunkered down, with or without power and wifi. But no matter how bad it is, we'll be back on the highways in a few days at most.
FedEx will deliver. The airlines will fly. The supermarkets will re-stock their shelves.
But it wasn't always that way. Winter was a different story 100 years ago, when horses had to travel the streets of cities and towns in order for the mail to move, or trains to be unloaded, or even for the roads to be plowed.
First and foremost, horses had to stay on their feet. And many days, that was no easy feat.
A brief excerpt from a PBS documentary on the sculptor Saint-Gaudens, who created the Shaw Memorial on Boston Common. We take it for granted 364 days a year but Memorial Day seemed like a good time to stop and take a closer look. What memorials are in your town?
I don't know how many times I have walked by this statue--hundreds?--and never stopped to think much about it. It's part of the fabric of the city. We learned all about it in school. I saw the movie "Glory", which was Hollywood's version of who these people were. You probably saw it too.
I was intrigued by the horse's legs and hooves. Remember that this is a relief sculpture. It's not exactly 3-D. It's more like 2.5-D. And hard to do. This is the best my iPhone could record in the dark.
But the other night I stopped there at the top of Boston's Beacon Hill because I was taken with the horse and I wanted to see it close up.
It struck me that the foot soldiers are all leaning forward. But the rider and horse are not. In fact, they seem a bit hesitant. The horse's ears are back.
That's when I decided to start doing some more reading. And start forgetting Hollywood.
As soon as the Civil War began, African-American men in the North tried to enlist in the Union Army. They were turned away.
Colonel Shaw ended up in
an unmarked grave with his
fallen black soldiers.
Then it happened: it was two years into the bloody war, in 1863. Massachusetts, the hot bed home of the abolitionists, received permission from Washington to form a Black regiment.
They knew was they were up against. Confederacy policy was to enslave any captured Black soliders.
The governor of Massachusetts assured them that African American soldiers would be treated equally; they would receive the same pay and the same benefits as white recruits.
Only white men, however, could serve as officers. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the only son of one of Boston's leading abolitionist families, would lead the regiment. He was only 25 years old.
Hollywood made Americans much more aware of the 54th.
On May 28th, the regiment was ready to fight; they marched through the streets of Boston, to the cheers of thousands of well-wishers the same way we lined the streets when the Red Sox won the World Series. This is the moment memorialized in the sculpture. They marched right to the docks and boarded ships headed south.
One of their first engagements was on July 18th at Fort Wagner, in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. Colonel Shaw led 600 men up the embankment. Almost half his men were killed, wounded, or captured.
Colonel Shaw was shot through the heart; the Confederates buried him in a common (unmarked) grave alongside 74 of his men.
Who were the black men who
modeled for the sculptor?
His parents said he would have wanted it that way.
The War Department, meanwhile, did not deliver on the governor's promise to the soldiers. The men of the 54th were paid only $10 per month--$3 less than the white soldiers.
So, they decided if they could not receive equal pay, they would accept no pay.
For 18 months, soldiers could send no money home. In turn, they received heartbreaking letters from their impoverished families back in Massachusetts.
Finally, in July 1864, Congress acted to give African-American soldiers the equal pay they had been promised, retroactive to the date of their enlistments.
In winter, the three-dimensional relief sculpture comes to life. They march on.
Memorial Day was declared a holiday in 1868, so that Americans would stop what they were doing and place flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers--a custom that began in Mississippi. It was called Decoration Day.
On May 31, 1897, 60 veterans of the 54th Regiment were among hundreds of people who gathered on the Common for the unveiling of the memorial. This bronze relief statue, which took the leading sculptor in the United States 14 years to create, is considered one of the greatest works of public art in the United States and was the first to portray black men in uniform.
Sculptor Saint-Gaudens' original plan was to craft a magnificent equestrian statue of Shaw--alone on his horse, on a pedestal. But Shaw's family wouldn't hear of it. Saint-Gaudens bought into their line of thinking and designed the first public sculpture to show an officer and enlisted soldiers together.
And, probably, blacks and whites together.
It was commissioned by the black citizens of Massachusetts, who raised funds to pay Saint-Gaudens. I'm just not sure why it is called the Robert Gould Shaw memorial. I hope someday I'll hear that its name will be changed to honor the whole regiment.
When it was unveiled back in 1897, people could read the names of the five white officers killed in battle; they were inscribed on the back of the monument.
It wouldn't be until 1981 that the names of the fallen black soldiers would be carved into that stone.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
That's a long apron! I think horseshoer Steve Norman, who is quite tall, wears such a long one because he often has shorts on underneath! This could be an historic photo; Steve is shoeing Winstar Farms' undefeated Gemologist for trainer Todd Pletcher.
The biggest day of the year is here. What's going on behind the scenes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky? The Hoof Blog has assembled a gallery of images for you that you probably won't see anywhere else. Thanks to Dan Burke of Farrier Product Distribution for his shots of horses being shod this morning. Place your bets, sip your julip and take an intimate look at a few hooves!
Dan stopped by the track kitchen and pointed out to me that the kitchen has been insured good luck always: a lone horseshoe hangs over the counter. Yes, the heels point upward because whoever nailed it there believes that they are holding the luck in that way.
Back in the shedrow, Churchill Downs horseshoer Todd Boston lays a new Kerckhaert raceplate on a hoof of Prospective, trained by Mark Casse.
Details, details: Churchill Downs knows the power of details.
Where are you celebrating the Derby today?
A vet's station wagon left open while he or she was working on the backside at Churchill. Tabitha Kaylee Hawk photo.
Stormy skies interrupted yesterday's races. The horses were cleared from the track when lightning threatened.
Steve Norman and his assistant work their way around El Padrino for Todd Pletcher. This horse has been below the radar the past few weeks.
Which horse's name will go up on the paddock sign next?
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
For old times' sake: The Louisville Courier-Journal asked horseshoer Steve Norman
what he thought about toe grabs a few years ago. This is what they heard.
It's Derby Week! But before Churchill Downs rolls out the red-rose carpet for the Kentucky Derby, the track hosts the very special Oaks Day, an impressive card of stakes races topped by the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.
The country's top three-year-old fillies lined up for yesterday's race but first they had to be shod. Luckily, Dan Burke of Farrier Product Distribution (FPD) in nearby Shelbyville, Kentucky took some photos of some of the filles having their hooves done.
Horseshoer Todd Boston is right at home at Churchill Downs. Here he is shoeing Believe You Can, the winner of the Grade One Kentucky Oaks. Small world: The filly was ridden by Rosie Napravnik, daughter of the New Jersey horseshoer. It was Rosie's first Grade One victory. She finished a fast-closing second in the race last year.
Todd Boston worked on a hind foot of Summer Applause, who finished fourth in the Kentucky Oaks. Todd is nailing on Kerckhaert raceplates, which are distributed to US sales outlets by FPD.
Say hello to Sacristy, trained by Wayne Catalano; she was a late entry and finished seventh in the Oaks. This is what her feet looked like before she was re-shod for the race on Thursday by Pat Broadus.
The Hoof Blog sends a big thank you to Dan Burke, who just might have some more photos of the colts later today. In the meantime, visit Dan's blog on the FPD web site to see a video of Todd Boston shoeing a hind foot on Summer Applause.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any direct compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned, other than Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
I live in a place that takes the traditions of the Fourth of July very seriously. It's a celebration here of Olympic proportions, as 800,000 or so of your closest friends all get together on the banks of the Charles River in Boston and wait for the sky to erupt in one of the most dazzling fireworks displays anywhere. Everyone waits for the orchestra to strike up the grand finale, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. The church bells ring, cannons fire, and the fireworks begin.
And it's all choreographed perfectly--every year!
But people haven't always cheered to the 1812. Tchaikovsky didn't even write his 1812 Overture until the 1880s and he probably never heard it performed outdoors with cannons and church bells.
Musical tone anvils are still manufactured today outside Boston, Massachusetts, as demonstrated here by manufacturer/percussionist Neil Grover.
No, that was Boston's idea. Back in the 1980s, the city needed to boost the outdoor concert; they needed a grand finale showstopper. The 1812 filled the bill, since there were churches nearby to help out with the bells. It worked so well that other cities and orchestras followed suit and now everyone connects that piece of music with fireworks and the US celebration of the Fourth of July. And everyone knows there was a war in the United States in 1812, even though the music was written to commemorate Napoleon's ill-fated siege of Moscow in 1812.
So what did they play for a grand finale back in the old days? Chances are, they played the Anvil Chorus. And they played it very loud. With anvils.
Like most Americans of a certain age, I grew up listening to the Anvil Chorus because it was built so many of the soundtracks of the cartoons I watched on television. When you heard the familiar chorus, it signaled something dramatic to follow. Usually it was Roadrunner being buried under a pile of boulders that tumbled on top of him in time to the music.
To celebrate the end of the Civil War in Boston, 100 farrier anvils provided percussion for a performance of Verdi's Anvil Chorus in what was the largest outdoor concert in history until Woodstock in 1969. Did anyone play an anvil there? Here you see the firemen rehearsing.
Verdi's opera Il Trovatore, which contains the Anvil Chorus, premiered in 1853, in an era when so-called "musical" anvils were already embedded in orchestras' percussion sections. Wagner used them elaborately in his German operas, but Verdi brought the anvils on stage. His score directed that the sound of the anvils was not to emanate from the orchestra pit. The singers in the chorus were to hammer the anvils: basses should play (hit) their anvils on the beat; tenors provided the offbeat on-stage percussion. The audience loved it, and the rest is history.
Percussionists have always appreciated what an anvil could offer them. But as percussion became more sophisticated, orchestras didn't use just any anvils; there actually was a demand for anvils identifiable not for their horn shape or heel width, but for their tones.
Even though the sound of an anvil can be created and manipulated electronically, percussion anvils--which look nothing at all like "real" anvils, but sound just like them--are still manufactured and sold; one manufacturer is Grover Pro Percussion, in Woburn, Massachusetts.
But sometimes just an anvil or two would not be enough: Wagner wrote music for 16 different anvils in his opera, Das Rheingold. And when the city of Boston was ready to celebrate the end of the Civil War, the party planners knew what the audience would want to hear. They put a call out to the city's horseshoers, who donated a whopping 100 anvils for the big night. The city's firemen were dressed up in finery to play the anvils. In an age with no microphones, no sound systems, and no speakers, you can be sure that the people in the back row over by the river heard the percussion for the Anvil Chorus.
That concert, by the way, was the largest attendance at a musical event in history, until Woodstock came along 100 years later. Were there anvils on stage at Woodstock? The great tradition of the Anvil Chorus has always had a way of making anvils heard, wherever and whenever great music is made.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: The Hoof Blog (Hoofcare Publishing) has not received any direct compensation for writing this post. Hoofcare Publishing has no material connection to the brands, products, or services mentioned, other than products and services of Hoofcare Publishing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
A feet-first introduction: Meet Visionaire, trained by Michael Matz. He's wearing a Kerckhaert aluminum race plate, imported from Holland. Visionaire's farrier is Todd Boston.
One shoe is worth a thousand words for Kentucky's Colonel: Look at this shoe shape. It's the "Fast Break" raceplate from Kerckhaert, also imported from Holland. Notice how broad the toe bend is. Colonel John is owned by WinStar Farm and trained by Irishman Eoin Harty. His farrier is Steve Norman.
Blog readers must wonder if there are other horses entered in Saturday's Kentucky Derby besides Pyro and Big Brown. The blog has focused on the special footwear worn by those two...but the other 18 horses have feet and some special shoes, too!
Our friend Dan Burke of Farrier Product Distribution (FPD) must have some sort of a VIP backstage pass at the Derby. He seems to show up at the stakes barn every year and usually has some great photos to share.
Thanks to Dan for sharing these photos. I guess it is no coincidence that these two horses are wearing Kerckhaert plates, as was War Emblem a few years ago. Dan's company imports Kerckhaert shoes to the USA. Thanks, Dan!
PS For all the racing people checking in to this blog, especially the ones referred by the New York Times (thank you!): Look at these feet and you will see why we put so much store in the size, shape, and fine points of a horse's hooves. You can easily see that the frog (triangular tissue protruding on base of foot) is very different in each horse, as is the shape of the foot. There are always differences between front and hind shapes, and often between left and right, on the same horse, but the difference from horse to horse may not be obvious until you see two photos together, as we are showing you here. Unfortunately, the horse with the best feet is often not the fastest, or else we'd have cleaned up at the betting window years ago. However, the horses with better feet stand a chance of racing longer and staying sounder. If you are going to race a gelding, you want him to have great feet!
