War Reenactment? Tack? Erm?

[Denbob]

Really quite an odd one today! My little brother has expressed an interest in riding (eek!) with the long term aim of maybe doing some reenactments in the future. The company he's with at the moment have a 'no horse' policy and all others I've come across do a mock 'charge' before any people actually get on the field to do any firing/battles.

Being me however I have launched into it with mad enthusiasm, but have no idea where to look for ideas on tack that aren't custom (although it's far enough in the future that IF my brother wanted to do it enough and D grows up to be suitably sensible/is properly trained he could sort) and therefore a fortune.

Just for interests sake does anyone have any experience with reenactments, with or without horses? It's a whole area I'd never considered!

 

[Steerpike]

I know the English Civil War Society do use horses in their re enactments http://www.ecws.org.uk
I used to be a member, but didn't have a horse at the time so was a foot soldier

 

[hairycob]

I know a few people involved Napoleonic and WW1. Sounds like they have a lot of fun. No idea about the tack though. They do stuff like Battle Proms and cavalry skills competitions too.

 

[TheHairyOne]

There is a club that comes to my yard once a month for a long weekend to practice and do a few away day demos every year. No idea where you are but can get some more info if it would be of any use?

 

[conniegirl]

I know the English Civil War Society do use horses in their re enactments http://www.ecws.org.uk
I used to be a member, but didn't have a horse at the time so was a foot soldier

I am currently a member of the ecws cavalry.
You do Not need your own horse or tack as they will normally be provided. Owner/riders are more than welcome however.

We do full battles on horse back, no mock charges etc. So horses need to be fit and used to close quarters cannon fire.

Your best bet for saddlery is probably going somewhere like TORM (the original reenactors market) which is normally on twice a year, (normally March and October).
There were several companies doing saddlery there last time I went.

That said if the horses are not going to be in close quarters with the general public then we quite often use moder bridles etc.

Feel free to pm me and I’ll put you in touch with the people to talk to if it is something he wants to do

 

[Cortez]

We provide horses, period saddlery and clothing for a number of time periods for living history displays and some re-enactors. We mostly do documentaries and film as both providers and consultants. The first thing you need to do is decide which time period you are going to cover, research the correct tack, type of horse and riding style (or ask me, I'll be happy to help with references), and take it from there. The standard of riding, horses and training in most reenactments is pretty dire, although people do have a lot of fun (not so sure about the poor horses....).

 

[Denbob]

Thank you all that's a lot to think about! I'll pass this on to my brother and see what he wants to do, though will be suggesting some lessons as although D is pretty chilled out he's not a beginners ride - I'd be wanting to make sure they were both up to scratch. I can't imagine he'd cope well with a full battle situation without a LOT of prep so long time off at the moment.

Interesting about hiring/borrowing horses, I might gently suggest that if he's interested that would be the way to go until I'm 100% sure about D. At the moment he does American Civil War so already has all the gear on that one! Thank you again!

 

[ironhorse]

The yard i kept my horse at a few years back had a couple of horses that they loaned to the Sealed Knot (we're near Edgehill so re-enactments are big locally). The horses were hunter hirelings, their riders were guys that had ridden as children but only got on a horse as adults for battles The horses LOVED it but were a bit wild for a a few days afterwards. Useful prep would be hunting or the sort of manic fun rides that these days would be my idea of hell!
They supplied bridles and 'dressing' for the horses but I think they used their normal saddles - it's worth googling 'sealed knot' or similar to see what pics come up to give you an idea.