When statues of kings or military leaders are shown on horses, what does the stance of the horse usually show about the king or military leader?

BRY2K

If you believe the folks @ Snopes, then it is an urban myth equating the number of hooves lifted in the air of a given statue to a "code" for the way in which the regal rider died. See here: http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.asp Feb 21 09, 3:02 PM

star_gazer

Interesting, this site claims the opposite. http://books.google.com/books?id=cyD059eY2RYC&pg=PA265&lpg=PA265&dq=statue+horses+stance+show+about+rider&source=bl&ots=ROM6QDnPd7&sig=slAvp4yRqo8bliisvaT5ZGlZ1_M&hl=en&ei=LX-gSf6QGIT8NJXj5MkL&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result Above link is Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder -- See Equestrian. Zb Feb 21 09, 4:27 PM

queproblema

I've always believed what Snopes debunks, probably because it does hold true for most of the Civil War statues, which abound in this country, and assumed those who didn't hold to the "code" were, well, not up to code. I see I was mistaken. But at least I'm in good company, such as star_gazer's ;-) and Merriam-Webster's. What could possibly more macho, though? http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RampantHorse Feb 21 09, 5:16 PM

zbeckabee

It is an interesting concept, however, it is not true. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1093/in-statues-does-the-number-of-feet-the-horse-has-off-the-ground-indicate-the-fate-of-the-rider Feb 21 09, 5:33 PM