when a president is on a horse statue what does it mean when the horses leg is raiesed up?

Answer 1

It is often said that there is a recognized "code" used by sculptors of equestrian statues, though no one can
Most often it is said to go something like this.
1) one leg raised = wounded in battle
2) two legs raised = died in or as a result of battle
3) survived the war
(People vary in opinion on details such as whether 'wounded in battle' may refer to a battle at/near where the statue is located.)

Unfortunately, it does not wash.

To begin with -- you asked about PRESIDENTS. The likenesses of a handful of 'war-hero' presidents are included in equestrian statues (as far as I know -- Washington, Jackson, W.H. Harrison, Grant, T. Roosevelt are all mounted, and Taylor stands next to his horse). But one look at the statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park (Washington DC) undercuts the idea of this 'code'. Jackson is mounted on a horse with BOTH its front hooves raised. That should mean he did not survive the War of 1812, in which case there was some mean conspiracy going on in the White House in the 1830s!
See the Jackson statue:
http://www.whitehousehistory.org/04/subs_pph/PresidentDetail.aspx?ID=13&imageID=1418

In fact, the whole "code"idea fails miserably in the Washington D.C. area, as snopes points out.
http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.htm

Some try to suggest that it only applies at Gettysburg. Well, perhaps so, except for the final addition (James Longstreet's statue, 1998). But as Cecil at Straight Dope notes, that amounts to an impressive SIX free-standing statues! Not much to base a pattern on!
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_074.html

(To see these six statues, go to: http://www.virtualantietam.com/vgExhibit/monuments/action.cfm and look for "equestrian statues")

Compare http://experts.about.com/q/Historical-War-Reenactment-2296/Equestrian-war-statues.htm

Answer 2

Front legs together and standing square, back legs slightly one in front of the other is the classic standing position. (See Beswick horse on ebay or the such like) This is the position horses should be presented to the judges in in the show ring.

Answer 3

I'm not sure I remember where I read this, but I thought that one leg up meant that the person on the horse was injured in combat, and two legs meant that they were killed. Obviously, if that is the case, then there shouldn't be any presidents with a horse up on it's hind legs, huh....

Answer 4

The horses leg being up could mean a number of things..... but I do know one thing for sure... the type of horses they used were tennessee walking horses; these types of horses lift their legs up really high and over extend with each step when they walk.

Answer 5

None of these answers are true. The position of the horse is the artist's decision. See snopes.com

Answer 6

when there is an equestrian statue and both of the horse's legs are lift up it means that the man depicted died in battle, if one leg is lift up he died of wounds in a battle and if both are on the ground he died of natural causes...

Answer 7

with statues the rule was originally both legs up means they were killed in battle, one leg up died as a result of an injury recieve in battle no legs up died some other way.

Answer 8

The legs are raised up to signify a victory or accomplishment in battle.

Answer 9

What goes up, must come down.

Answer 10

I think it means to move forward and succeed.