I must admit my favorite part of the ornate harnesses of the horses at the St. Alfio festival in Sicily is the plumage. The plumes on these horses reach epic proportions, and are unlike anything I've seen elsewhere. They are simply spectacular!
Continue reading "The plumes of St. Alfio" »
This post features details of the bridles and harnesses of the horses at the St. Alfio festival in Sicily, which reader Al Zammataro was kind enough to send me.
Continue reading "Beautiful harnesses at the St. Alfio festival" »
Sicily has a strong tradition of puppet theater, featuring legends of ancient battles and heroic deeds. You can read much more about the fascinating tradition in this article and this one.
Continue reading "St. Alfio: the puppets" »
The harnesses worn by the horses at the St. Alfio festival often include elaborate embroidered, painted or beaded battle scenes.
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Elaborately decorated carts are part of the tradition at the St. Alfio festival in Sicily.
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Al Zammataro wins the award for biggest fan of Global Horse Culture! Last year he sent me some snapshots from an incredible festival in Sicily, where spectacularly-adorned horses and carts are paraded in celebration of St. Alfio's festival day.
This year, he sent me more photos - taken by a friend of his - with even more detail of the costumes, harnesses, plumes and elaborate carts. There are even puppets acting out legendary battle scenes mounted on the horses!
Continue reading "The return of the amazing St. Alfio festival" »
A reader named Corujalinda made an interesting comment on the post about the Campolina horse. She said that technically they don't call the distinctive nose of the Campolina a "Roman nose."
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The Freio de Ouro (Golden Bit) is a huge annual competition for the Crioulo breed in Brazil. Competitors and breeders from throughout southern Latin America come together in Esteio, a city in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, for a best of breed competition and associated auctions and expositions. The Crioulo is the main breed found in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, and is also bred in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile (in those Spanish-speaking countries it is called the Criollo). Argentina and Uruguay in particular share a strong horse culture and breed bloodlines with Rio Grande do Sul.
Continue reading "Freio de Ouro 2010" »
Something you'll come across on occasion in parts of Brazil (I've seen it mostly in the state of São Paulo) is parade tack made of brass rings. Here is an example of a breast collar, being shown to me by a student at the Universidade do Cavalo, in Sorocaba:
Continue reading "Ringed parade tack" »