Kamis, 05 Februari 2009

no sir, i am a real horse

That's one of the taglines of Mr Horse from the truly great Ren and Stimpy. It's been running through my head ever since I stumbled upon a page about one of Napoleon Bonaparte's horses: Le Vizir, who trotted off this mortal coil in 1829, 8 years after his master. Taxidermied, he stands enshrined in a case at the Musee d'Armee de l'Hotel des Invalides in Paris -- where Napoleon is entombed. You may see him here, and note his spiffy brand. Though I don't much care for how that probably hurt him.

Napoleon's most famed horse was Marengo, it seems, whose actual name was probably something else. Napoleon had a habit of nicknaming his horses after battles. Little and fast, he yet was captured after Waterloo, brought to Britain, and lived to old age as a stud. So that's not so bad. His skeleton was preserved and stands today in London's National Army Museum.

There's a BBC page that tells a lot about Napoleon's various horses, with lots of interesting facts. Take a look.

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