It’s always fascinating to see which blog posts garner the most hits – which aspects of horses preoccupy people? One of my “surprise hits” is a slightly snarky post about horses with long manes and tails (often augmented with extensions that have to be stolen from some other horse) – something which has become a bit of a trend in recent years. It turns out that there’s history to this phenomenon. Firstly, here are some 19th-century tall tales about herds of My Little Pony-esque steeds roaming Oregon, and the few specimens that were exhibited to the public, seen here in a nicely researched piece. And now a wander through Wikimedia Commons brought me to this 17th or 18th century painting captured by Andreas Praefcke at, I think, Burg Waldburg, Germany. If anyone knows any more about this prancer, do get in touch. The rock in the foreground seems to be saying this horse was known as the Swan of Arnstadt, a town in Thüringia.
Spanish horses were highly prized at that time and often contemporary Lusitano horses and the occasional Andalusian will have the tremendous flowing mane and tail sown in the painting. Pignon’s Templado is one of the most famous- his photos are all over the web.
Teller’s Tale, The: Lives of the Classic Fairy Tale Writers / Bechstein apprenticed in Arnstadt for four years and completed in 1822. worked in court apothecary in 1826 (Swam Apothecary ) near Salzung. He wrote and published many fairy tales I believe the Swan of Arnstadt can be found in Tellers Tale.
Thank you! I will investigate!