Owen D Posted 31 August , 2006 Share Posted 31 August , 2006 SQUIRREL's idea. OK - topic for September - Battalion transport. Must include a horse, mule or donkey, or multiples thereof in the picture. Here's my first entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 31 August , 2006 Share Posted 31 August , 2006 Ok -I'll get to work on that...... Not the donkey- the topic that is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 31 August , 2006 Share Posted 31 August , 2006 not a donkey, a mule I think. The one on the left is a lion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 31 August , 2006 Share Posted 31 August , 2006 I initially wrote mule, but to be honest mate, I haven't got a clue vis a vis donkey/ mule/ pony etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ypres1418 Posted 31 August , 2006 Share Posted 31 August , 2006 I can not believe that Owen he has pinched my entry, well i had a different photo in mind but the subjects were the same!!!! Although I could put up the one with Meg and Mack, couldn't I? Mandy, going back to the drawing board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ypres1418 Posted 31 August , 2006 Share Posted 31 August , 2006 Decided to go with it anyway for the time being. Mandy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Posted 1 September , 2006 Share Posted 1 September , 2006 Could it be a hinny? Roxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted 1 September , 2006 Share Posted 1 September , 2006 I think I might have a try, will have to photograph the drawing though cause the scanner is kerput. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted 1 September , 2006 Share Posted 1 September , 2006 So basically Horse + Donkey =Mule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted 1 September , 2006 Share Posted 1 September , 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted 1 September , 2006 Share Posted 1 September , 2006 Note the emotional state of the mule/horse. :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike10764 Posted 1 September , 2006 Share Posted 1 September , 2006 Cue someone telling us them's not tears, them's sweat..... A welcome first MGWAT entry Stephanie..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 2 September , 2006 Share Posted 2 September , 2006 The Team. The bay’s sweat lathered skin rippled as the muscles beneath trembled with strain. His hooves pushed further into the mud, trying to find solid ground. His offside partner stumbled and fell, sliding under the horse behind him. Men screamed curses as the leather traces tore, throwing the whole team into confusion. The sixty pounder came to a halt, the spoked wheels sinking. He felt his rider’s body slump with exhaustion, the hand on the reins resting on his neck. An officer was bawling at anyone, and everyone, in his frustration. The bay flicked his ears back as he heard a strange sniffling sound coming from his rider. He lifted his weary head as he felt the soldier’s legs tighten, his body tensing. He heard his rider’s voice shouting. “Aye, Sir, the guns must get through, through this sh*t, while we kill these beasts that pull these bleedin’ guns.” The officer chose to ignore the soldier. He saw the tears, the dirty sleeve wiping at the hairless sunken cheeks, the slumped weariness of the soldier’s shoulders. The Major’s own mount stood trembling from the effort of galloping up and down the lines of teams, over battle debris, through glutinous mud, while his master beseeched, ordered and swore that the guns must get through. The officer unconsciously stroked his horse’s neck, continuing to urge the men on. “Repair those traces, get that horse up and back in position. There are men up there dying while we delay here.” “You’ve no heart, you ain’t,” the soldier muttered. He knew that he was being unfair. Their officer was from the same town. He had watched Major Grimsey’s family ride past, mounted on well bred hunters. He’d seen the stables, where no expense was spared in the care of the horses. The soldier had grown up with slow, lumbering cart horses and had been envious of the Major’s horses. Now, he wished every one to hell, the men who had created this madness, the soldiers who fought it, the officers, the local population, everyone. He just wanted a green pasture where he could sit by a stream and watch his half draught bay - his mate, graze peacefully, the only noise, the birds and the ripple of water. Instead, the frenzied neighing of terrified horses, the screams of the men, and the crashing banging shells, pounded him until he thought he would go mad. He slid from the saddle, stroking the bay’s nose as he left him, and pushed through the treacherous mud to where the stricken horse lay exhausted. He stroked the chestnut’s neck, murmuring softly to him, before suggesting to the other men, “We’ll need a rope around his a*se. Jimmy, you get his head. Frank, you get the other side of him.” The soldier took a rope from the carriage and passed it under the horse’s tail, settling it into the curve of the rump. Giving the other end to Frank, he took the strain on the rope and yelled “Pull!” Jimmy tugged at the bridle, swearing as the chestnut threw his head up and caught him on the chin. The horse had felt the rope draw tight under his tail, startling him. He struggled to rise, his hooves slipping as he tried to stand. He grunted as he slipped back into the mud, his strength sapped. His muzzle sank into the slime, his will giving out. “Strip his harness, leave him for the Vets.” the Major yelled. The soldier turned and stared at the Major, his brown eyes showing his pain. “He’ll die before they get here. The rats’ll start in on him. Or a shell. Shoot him, Sir, ……..please. He’s done for.” The Major nodded slightly as he yelled, “Get those other horses back in line, get them hooked up to the gun.” No-one heard him as he turned his face away and said, “Seven horses now, to do what needs ten. A boy doing a man’s work. What is this madness have we come to.” The men refigured the team; there was no spare horse to put in. With hasty changes to the harness so that one horse stood alone at the front and three pair behind, the horses were now again hitched to the heavy brute of a gun, and the men remounted on the nearside horses of the team. He watched as they urged the horses forward again, not one of the soldiers landing the whips that they cracked, their bodies urging their labouring mounts forward. They yelled at, pleaded with, and promised everything to the horses, if only they would get the gun moving. The short break had given the horse’s time to get their breath and they lunged into their breast plates, heads down, muscles bulging, their nostrils flaring. Slowly the wheels of the gun carriage began to move forward up the incline, inch by inch, until it was free of the mass that had held it. Waiting until they had moved on, he drew his Webley from its holster and guided his mount over to the stricken chestnut that lay with its sides heaving, his eyes rolled back into his head, showing only the white. Dismounting, the officer aimed through the forehead and down the spine, only pulling the trigger when he was confident his shaking hand would not miss its target. As the shot rang out in a sudden silence, he glanced to his left where the team of seven were still pulling hard. A head turned back, and the eyes of the boy soldier met the Major’s in a silent thankyou. The Officer replaced his revolver in its holster, straightened his shoulders and remounted his waiting horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beersheba Posted 2 September , 2006 Share Posted 2 September , 2006 Kim mate..where's "the team" from .??a book.?or your own work.. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Posted 2 September , 2006 Share Posted 2 September , 2006 well, a bit of everything in this one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 3 September , 2006 Share Posted 3 September , 2006 Andy, it is my own work. That's the idea of the GWMAT, that people can put up their own work for comment. Cheers Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 3 September , 2006 Share Posted 3 September , 2006 Soren is that a lady they are all looking at? Again you capture moment in time so well. Cheers Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beersheba Posted 3 September , 2006 Share Posted 3 September , 2006 Kim. thanks for that one then mate..so much stuff on this forum its hard to keep up with it all sometimes..and the same "faces appear all over as well... O.k. if this is what this thread is for here's one of mine. I used to have a big old cob called bandit,which was my first "owned" horse as i allways had borrowed or loaned them before.When i moved to the states some years ago i had to sell him to a mate of mine and this was what i came up with on the way home from droping him off....a long sad journey as he was a great horse. MY OLD BOY The words ain't been said that's so clear and so true That a man and his horse are friends through and through The man tends to his needs and looks after his mate The horse carries his master onto both of their fates. Through fire,shot,and shell,through rain,wind and snow Both cold wet and hungry,relentless they go Then the battles are over,the wars at an end So its back to the stables they wearily mend And thats were i left him, my four legged friend A haynet and water his reward in the end No medals,no glory,no parade or half pay. Just a soft bed of straw at the end of the day. I'll always remember those cavalry days As well as his strange and odd little ways. He'd close on the foe,keep me warm in the night. Then pull back his ears to give me a bite. So Sound out reveille.boots and saddles once more. And i'll meet him again by his stable door. My faithfull companion,my comrade so true. And once more together,we'll ride off into the blue. Sad that this was'nt what most of the animals got i know (as per our chats about the boogle song etc) but i like it...Discuss Andy @ history horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soren Posted 3 September , 2006 Share Posted 3 September , 2006 I had'nt thought of that! a good observation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 3 September , 2006 Share Posted 3 September , 2006 Well done, Andy. Yes, it is a shame that the horses, donkeys, mules, dogs and pigeons were not given greater recognition. Where would the soldiers have been without them???? Have you read "Animal Heroes" by Anthony Hill? It is available from the AWM online shop. Have a hankerchief at the ready. Cheers Kim Cheers Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beersheba Posted 3 September , 2006 Share Posted 3 September , 2006 Kim. will check that book out..might get my mate charlie to get it for me if they dont ship over seas...I also love that bush poem "pearl of them all" you know that one i'm sure..very hard to read aloud that one..Banjo,the breaker,and ofcourse Will ogilvie....great stuff cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Posted 5 September , 2006 Share Posted 5 September , 2006 Kim, I've recently seen a book: The Animals' War: Animals in Wartime from the First World War to the Present Day by Juliet Gardiner Synopsis from the Amazon.uk site From the First World War to the present day, animals have played a key part in warfare - and many have suffered and died as a result. Juliet Gardiner's book is a moving tribute to their efforts and sacrifice - illustrated with hundreds of evocative photographs and paintings. Many different animals have played a role on the battlefield - horses and mules carrying supplies and munitions; dogs, like Buster in Iraq, seeking out ammo dumps; canaries trained by tunnellers to detect gas; carrier pigeons sending messages, like Gustav who flew back with the first reports of the D-Day landings; camels used in the Arab Revolt in the First World War; and dolphins trained to protect submarines. I've only glanced through it, but it looked good to me - I instantly thought of you! In the UK it's available in hardcover from Amazon (via the link in the LLT!) for £13.20 (RRP = £20) Roxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 5 September , 2006 Share Posted 5 September , 2006 Thanks for the tip Roxy. I'll have to have a look at that one. Cheers Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beersheba Posted 5 September , 2006 Share Posted 5 September , 2006 animals war book Kim i have this book.its not bad..however it says that "the first mule was imported to britian from america in 1912"(pg 68) I've emailed the author and told her this in incorrect...unless she is refering to the importation of mules diectly before the first world war..her statement seems to confuse me let alone person who knows little about the subject..she also has a picture on page 177 down as a mule,when i think it can only be some sort of pony..again a little confuseing.. Apart from that..not a bad book,lots of nice photos and stories..but you know when a book has stuff in it you know is wrong..and you cant help but wonder what else might be wrong thats not in your field.???makes you wonder if other stuff is correct..I've ask the author if she wants to visit my display in london in 2 weeks at the national army museum..have a chat about it..she if she turns up.. Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzie Posted 6 September , 2006 Share Posted 6 September , 2006 Thanks Andy, I hope she turns up to discuss. Cheers Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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