Why is he backwards? I know it's probably an old tradition to show respect but I need more...
2006-11-20 05:41:48 · 3 answers · asked by amos012003 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
The single riderless horse that followed the caisson with boots reversed in the stirrups is called the "caparisoned horse" in reference to its ornamental coverings, which have a detailed protocol all to themselves. By tradition in military funeral honors, a caparisoned horse follows the casket of an Army or Marine Corps officer who was a colonel or above, or the casket of a president, by virtue of having been the nation's military commander in chief.
The custom is believed to date back to the time of Genghis Khan, when a horse was sacrificed to serve the fallen warrior in the next world. The caparisoned horse later came to symbolize a warrior who would ride no more. Abraham Lincoln, who was killed in 1865, was the first U.S. president to be honored with a caparisoned horse at his funeral.
2006-11-20 05:51:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
the rider represents the fallen serviceman. it is a symbol that the serviceman will never ride again but says farewell to his living comrades.
2006-11-20 15:36:05 · answer #2 · answered by Okami Ryuu 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I thought they put the dead person's boots in the stirrups backwards. What's this about a rider? What rider?
2006-11-20 13:50:31 · answer #3 · answered by auntb93again 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋