Why does the horse in Peter the Great’s statue have two hooves up?

Question

This is for my own curiosity, not a class or anything. But I recently saw a photo of the statue in St. Petersburg. The beautiful art work shows, Peter on a charging stallion with both hooves in the air.

I thought that the posture of the horse had meaning in such statuary. One hoove up meaning that a hero died as a rest of injuries sustained battle. Two hooves up meaning that the hero died in battle.

Didn’t Peter die in bed, of a bladder condition? He was not involved in a battle, correct? Why is he depicted this way?

Answer 1

he died on bed of a bladder condition according to his autopsy; he didnt die on battle. I know all the horse thing means what you just said, that statue might have been an exception, or probably all that hooves up means for certain sculptures of a certain time and art movement...

Answer 2

Believe it or not, it has no significance (other thant aesthetics).

Folk lore /urban legends say that equestrian statues contain a code whereby the rider's fate can be determined by noting how many hooves the horse has raised. The most common theory has it that if one hoof is raised, the rider was wounded in battle (possibly dying of those wounds later but not necessarily so); two raised hooves, death in battle; all four hooves on the ground, the rider survived all battles unharmed.

Answer 3

Actually that deal about hooves in the air symbolizing death in battle is false. I'm guessing that is how Peter the Great wanted his statue to look. Many military heroes and heads of state have their statues posed like that as a sort of macho statement.

Answer 4

Actually, I believe he died of hypothermia, after he dove in a river to save a drowning soldier. The statue could consider that a 'battle' or just thought it looked pretty to do it that way.