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Meet the Drum Horse and discover how gentle and different this breed is. There exist a bunch of different breeds and we, at Malgré Tout Media, have decided to focus on some of them. In this article you can get to know a gentle giant with extraordinary gaits. Meet the impressive horse and find out why it has exactly this name.
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Not many people know about this breed probably because there only exist a small number of them. Originally this horse is bred to carry massive drums, hence the name, in royal parades in Britain. As the years has passed “the Household Cavalry” had to compensate with Clydesdale because so few Drum Horses were available.
The Drum Horse is an important member of the Queen of England's Band of the Lifeguards. These horses carry two large solid silver kettle Drums, plus a fully outfitted rider, through crowds of thousands, during the Queen’s processions! The fact that they can remain quiet in large crowds of people while being controlled entirely by reins attached to their rider’s feet is a testament to the Drum Horse's extraordinary disposition.
The Cavalry Drum Horse is one of the most popular and recognizable members of the regiment. Although they are usually piebald or skewbald in colour it is not uncommon to see them in solid colours as well.
Drum Horses must be strong enough to carry the weight of the large kettledrums and the drummer, often in excess of 300 pounds. They must also remain calm and sensible in crowded environments during ceremonies. It takes a very special horse to fill such a prominent role in the Queen's Household Cavalry.
As we have no Queen's processions, Drum Horses are being redefined for use internationally in various ridden and driven disciplines. They combine the size and stature of the Shire and Clydesdale with the colour and hair of the Gypsy Horse to create an animal that possesses the best traits of each breed. Slightly lighter than their full-blood draft counterparts the Drum Horse makes a talented athletic mount which can compete successfully in many ridden disciplines.
Cold-blooded horses are seldomly that qualified at dressage work at least not in the more complicated exercises and levels. Nevertheless, Drum Horses are actually quite good at dressage. You do not necessarily win all the competitions all the time, but you can defiantly compete on a higher level. The reason is that this horse has long legs, a slender body which provides it with a great deal of advantages when it comes to dressage, especially compared to other cold-blooded horses.
Read also: If You Were a Horse, What Breed Do You Think You Would You Be?
