October 6, 2011
Kandour, the magnificent police horse.
This video was recorded on June 12th, during the Walkerville protest on the Capitol Square here in Madison. The reason for posting it today is revealed in this edited version, and you can read more here.
SPOILER ALERT: Watch the video before reading any comments.
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52 comments:
That is too bad. Horses can get sick with encephalitis really fast. It is a real killer. He was a fine looking animal.
I had to make the decision to have my dachshund put down (spinal problems) - - second worst day of my life (my Mother passing away when I was 16 being the worst).
My sympathy to Kandour's family. Even though the decision was most certainly the best one, it doesn't make it an easier.
That is terribly sad. I've never loved a horse, but I've loved several dogs and losing them is excruciating. Worst is when the choices you're given are losing them or prolonging their pain to keep them around a little longer. Very sad.
But I still think Fred4Pres should have said [Spoiler alert] before his comment, for those of us who hadn't yet watched the video.
Sorry Coketown, I should have done that. RIP Kandour.
The farm next to ours had a Percheron mare, they're steady, sweet tempered horses. We would slip on a halter, pile 4 or 5 kids on bareback and mosey through the pastures and down the irrigation levee banks. It was like riding a warm sofa. She'd humor us until she decided it was time to return to the barn.
From the article: Darrow first met Kandour, a Percheron draft horse and member of the Madison Police Department's Mounted Patrol, in October 2010.
That was long before the protests. But could the encephalitis have caused the decline if they had first met in Oct 2011 -- that is, over this past weekend at the earliest? (And then they have to get the presser out too after the fact).
The horse looked beautiful. Very sad that it has passed, whatever the timing circumstances.
Yes, sad about the horse, but I'm amazed none of you rabble-rousers have taken exception to what the cop said. "We know where they live"!!!!!! Very unnerving from a "public servant." The officer should be disciplined for that remark.
Tyronne...That "know where you live" threat was from the loudspeakers over at the mob gathering the police were watching.
@Tyrone That statement isn't from the cop! That's from the protest.
Are my subtitles really too subtle!???
Is there supposed to be some sort of connection between the protests and the sad demise of the horse?
Poor old fellow. He looked like a good pony. Splendid mahogany bay.
A Percheron is an odd choice for a police horse, I would think, unless their temperament is more stolid. Usually you see saddle, rather than draft, breeds used - although, in WI, I'm sure there's an abundance of draft horses.
Just be sure you don't call that police horse "gay", or it's off to the klink with you!
wv: "comakers" -- the other folks in the room at one of those swinger parties.
Is there supposed to be some sort of connection between the protests and the sad demise of the horse?
It was the virus of liberalism that killed that horse.
Glorious horse.
A few years ago a police horse broke free at the Alliant Center, jumped over a car, and landed on the hood of my friend's car. While he was in it. Wonder if it was Kandour.
@Jeff in Okla
Sorry to hear about your daschshund. (and your Mother of course).
A mount has to be 16 hands to qualify for Lexington Mounted Police. Looks like Kandour had that beat for sure.
http://friendslexingtonmountedpolice.org/
@ Garage - - thank you.
Even at the jaded age of 46, I cried like a baby when Oscar had to be put down over a year ago, still brings me watery eyes to this day. He was a great friend.
@garage the video clip is what it is. Just what I was seeing at the time, completely unedited.
Oscar is a nice name for a wiener dog.
I adore Percherons, such solid, steady horses. I used to ride one at our farm--he actually would ride jumper courses, kind of like sitting on a sofa jumping fences like they were nothing. A few months ago he passed away suddenly...we were all devastated. It is amazing, if you've never been around horses, how attached you can get to them. Kind of like dogs, except that you have to trust them a lot more if you are on their back while they leave the ground.
Thanks for sharing.
What was he? A Belgian Work Horse perhaps? It takes a lot stamina to walk around with 200lb rider plus equipment all day. Hansom beast whatever he was. Hope he went to horsey heaven.
When I saw the horse's name, I thought it was a play on "Can Do Her." This being Madison, though, I am sure it has another explanation.
The passing of any beloved animal is heartbreaking. When our little "Pupa" ("Little Bean" in Lithuanian) died three years ago, I attributed how badly I felt to her passing. Turns out it was something else.
In the 1960s, during the Chicago riots, my Dad used to say that there weren't enough mounted police. Good for crowd control. Size intimidates. So does shit.
The Men in Shorts stylized caption is beautiful.
Percherons were originally war horses, then later draft horses. Large and fairly docile, I would think they would be excellent for Police work.
- big, as in intimidating
- big enough to carry a large rider
- docile enough not to get nervous with crowds or loud noises
Even at the jaded age of 46, I cried like a baby when Oscar had to be put down over a year ago, still brings me watery eyes to this day. He was a great friend.
I've been in your position and reacted the same way. Dachshunds are such cool little dogs too. I can see how someone could get really attached to them.
(This post has me so agitated I wrote gibberish, dropping verbs and everything. Take two)
I hope Kandour did not die of EEE or WEE (equine infectious encephalitis) because the affected horse can spread the virus via mosquitoes to every other horse in the barn before he shows symptoms. It can even infect humans. I guy in Scotland died of it in 2007.
This should encourage the mounted police vet to run the Coggins test at least every few weeks until the January weather kills off all the adult mosquitoes.
Back when I was actively riding and breeding I got my horses tested every 24 months, or just before a sale finalized. If I were in that life style now (I hope to be again if the Obamony ever turns around) I'd test every six months or sooner. EEE is back with a vengeance all over the East and Midwest.
BTW, Ann, does Madison have any handsome cabs or coach rides downtown?
Triangle Man said (with his signature ironic humor)...
It was the virus of liberalism that killed that horse.
Ha. Yes, to the untrained eye, it might appear to be so - brain swelling, grandiosity, lethargy, confusion- all symptoms liberals typically present with.
But the Walkerville Protestinaires' Disease was actually caused by a highly contagious bacterium spread primarily by poor toilet habits and ill-advised hemp-sharing practices:
Arrheadzarplastama vuvuzelarecticum
Horses necks, horses necks,
The way they curve,
So proud, so strong...
We are calm
In horses presence,
Unknotted every wrong.
I am curious about the namesake. I can't find anything spelled in English as "Kandour" on a web search.
Was his name based on the capital city of Superman's home planet Krypton, "Kandor"?
Or Kandur, a city in India?
Or al Kandur, a city in Libya?
Or maybe it was just a cool, vaguely Arabic sounding name. :)
Horses necks, horses necks,
The way they curve,
So proud, so strong;
We are calm
In horses' presence,
Unknotted every wrong.
Sad. I like draft horses, big, strong sturdy and noble. Look how big that horse is next to Meade!
I visited Grant's Farm in St. Louis as a kid. Huge Clydesdales. During the 1982 World's Fair and for a few years afterwards, a veterinarian at UT was the official doctor of the Budweiser Clydesdales. There are a few Clydesdales and other draft horses like Kandour on farms in my area. The other horses leave them alone. (No horsing around.)
And for my final try at correct punctuation:
Horses' necks, horses' necks,
The way they curve,
So proud, so strong...
We are calm
In horses' presence,
Unknotted every wrong.
Jesus, Garage. A beautiful animal died in its prime. Althouse honors it. You smell politics.
Condolences to the friends of magnificent Kandour. The sorrow at the passing of an animal friend is difficult to express.
When I started viewing this and put my earbuds in, I'd forgotten the computer was playing music on shuffle at the time.
It turns out this clip is especially poignant set to "The Raft" from the Rome soundtrack.
Oscar is a nice name for a wiener dog.
He was my fee for defending a nice older lady being persecuted and prosecuted by the local animal control. He became a Christmas present for my step-daughter, we put him in a wrapped box under the tree - - a priceless image when that gift was opened.
His registered name was supposed to be Abbey's Oscar Mayer, but AKC misprinted it. When we got his papers back it read Abbey's Oscar Maver - the name stuck with him always, "Oscar Maver."
Thanks for letting me write about Oscar.
Quoting myself:
BTW, Ann, does Madison have any handsome cabs or coach rides downtown?
The correct spelling is hansom, not handsome, tho' some cabs are nice to look at.
I'm curious about your downtown horses because I'm worried about the source of Kandour's fatal illness. I assume the police horses are stabled together and that all are closely monitored through regular vet visits, therefore a more likely vector would be an outside horse. But where would a police horse encounter an outsider? A passing phaeton or hansom, perhaps?
Some horses can become asymptomatic carriers of the virus.
I knew a girl who had a Coggins-positive horse. She loved that gelding and tried to keep him far from other horses. But the county sued her, and she was forced to put him down.
Oscar is a nice name for a wiener dog.
Anthony also comes to mind.
Beautiful animal.
Of course in the animal world we long past adapted the practice of euthanization of dying ones considered outside "livestock". Humane. No dog or horse in Vet ICU hooked up to tubes and in great pain to see if we could heroically extend their suffering by several weeks.
You know where I am going.
"It's all a slippery slope. Euthanize a horse and next thing - you will diminish the sacred nature of human life by talking about euthanizing the cancer patient begging to die, or the Alzheimer's veggie covered in sores and hooked up to a stomach feeding tube and diapers. Then we will be euthanizing welfare mommas next!"
Yeah, I tripped on my own feet there. My netbook speakers are so Lilliputian I couldn't hear the actual sounds, so I was going by the subtitles, which are too subtitle, er, subtle for me.
big enough to carry a large rider
Who becomes really bow-legged.
What a great sturdy boy that Kandour. Taken down too early.
Just some fun background from our horse farm here in Wisconsin. Over the past 15 yrs there has been a move toward crossing draft breeds with TB's or Irish Draughts with certain warmbloods...you get the strength and power and personality of the draft and the suppleness, speed and spririt of the TB and Warmbloods. You will see that many of them have been winning the Olympic 3 Day Eventing (which was originally the military's test for horses, speed, jumping, agility, and dressage for discipline).
Last week at the Wisconsin/Nebraska football game I saw two police horses, a bit smaller, but black and drafty working. They were in great condition. Congratulations to the Madison Equine Patrol on your program and your very fine mounts.
SunnyJ said...
"Last week at the Wisconsin/Nebraska football game I saw two police horses, a bit smaller, but black and drafty working. "
Yes, we saw Kandour and his mount last Saturday in the State St. crowds but didn't get close enough for photos. He'll be missed by many.
Yes, we saw Kandour and his mount...
er, mountie?
wv: infarbly = closely
Over the past 15 yrs there has been a move toward crossing draft breeds with TB's or Irish Draughts with certain warmbloods...you get the strength and power and personality of the draft and the suppleness, speed and spririt of the TB and Warmbloods.
Many breeders have reasoned that hot blood / cold blood cross would produce an animal with stronger and more enduring legs -- big bones were better was the assumption. Some years ago a research vet at New Bolton Center did some studies on bones taken from fresh cadavers, Thoroughbreds, warm bloods, and draft types, which yielded some counter-intuitive information. It seems that as far as cannon bones are concerned girth and mass to not translate to strength or resiliency. The strongest bones, though best able to withstand mechanically applied compression, torsion and shearing forces came from Thoroughbred and Arab bodies.
(For the benefit of the non-horsey, the cannon bone is the long, straight bone between the knee and the fetlock joint on the front legs, and the hock and fetlock on the hind legs. Anatomically these joints and bones are all misnamed. The "knee" is analogous to the human wrist, while the front cannons correspond to human fingers. The hock is analogous to our heel, and the hind cannons are toes. A horse is an animal with one functioning digit on each limb, and stands, walks, runs and jumps literally on its nails.)
Oscar is a nice name for a wiener dog.
Common, too, I guess. That's what my kids named their wiener dog. (The Pug named Gabbie, after Mr. Milhouse.
That is a good looking horse.
The first house I ever built was in an 1886 barn that was built to house Percherons. I was impressed with how high the bite marks were on the wooden stalls - those are some large darned horses. You might not appreciate just how large until you are right next to one.
RIP, Kandour - it is heartbreaking when such a wonderful animal dies.
I would like to point out that the "Man in Shorts" was walking a Labrador Retriever.
THAT is a redeeming quality!
@edutcher
I'm sure you didn't mean to insult Kandour, or display your horsie ignorance, but... In the equine world, "pony" means a horse shorter than 14.5 hands. Kandour was anything BUT a pony.
David wrote...
"Jesus, Garage. A beautiful animal died in its prime. Althouse honors it. You smell."
FTFY.
@Questor Here in Wisconsin you have to have an annual Coggins to take a horse to a show, on a trail ride, or basically anywhere off your own property. So the vector is likely just the fact that EIA is endemic here -- we have no shortage of biting insects. As I recall, the first case of EIA in the US was in Wisconsin in the late 1800s, so we have quite the history of it.
I love the big draft horses. They're handsome and I've never met a skittish one on the trail. But their riders say that trailering them can be interesting.
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