They aren't cute, I wouldn't want to own one, and I'd never preserve one of mine in this way. However, taxidermied horses are interesting artifacts of culture, art/craftsmanship, and history. Some famous horses have been stuffed -- more than I thought. Here are a few blog articles on stuffed horses:
- Taxidermy from Timothy Allen, Photographer web site
- Ravishing beasts: Horses (post from a blog about taxidermy)
- Taxidermist to the dead stars (Red Deer Advocate)
- Dead horse "lives" in marvel of taxidermy (how Phar Lap was stuffed)
- Trigger's taxidermist now busy with TV werewolves (Seattle Times)
- Roy Roger's stuffed horse sold for 266K (CBC News)
- Commanche, horse on display (Roadside America)
- Unusual stuffed horse on Ebay from boingboing.com
Photo from Roadside America Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions
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Not for me, that's for sure, but I suppose it's a way for people to cling to the past and remember.
ReplyDeleteI prefer to remember my horses in their living, breathing form.
I'm glad that some famous animals like Trigger have been preserved. I think it's a good way to remember the animals and let future generations see them in person.
ReplyDeleteNot that I would ever have any of my animals stuffed. I prefer to just put an engraved rock with their name on it in my garden. ;) It would be more than a little disturbing, having a beloved pet stuffed and set on my mantle.
I recently came across this post about Phar Lap's skeleton in new Zealand.
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/2fqj26x
In the days before color film and communications technology, taxidermy was the way to show what something was like in life. It's just not as necessary now, though definitely has curiousity value. When I was a kid I used to love going to a big sporting goods store which had a HUGE kodiak bear on display.