A first time for everything
Boris the brave
BORIS (pictured, above) is a six-year-old who arrived at The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in July to commence training as a military working horse. Once trained, he will participate in royal gun salutes, Trooping the Colour and other state ceremonial occasions.
Military life is a steep learning curve for horses and can take two years. In just a few months, he has been introduced to the heavy traffic on London’s streets, heard the massed bands of the military, got accustomed to military tack and swords, had teams of horses galloping gun carriages in front, behind and alongside, and having those same guns firing.
In November, Boris deployed with The King’s Troop over Remembrance weekend as a spare horse. When one of the chargers went lame, Boris was put on parade, as an untrained remount, for a royal gun salute. He undertook his duties with customary calmness. While in the “wagon lines”, the first gun fired, and Boris was seen to casually flick an ear while resting his chin
