Military selection

QHow are horses selected for the Army? Sam Bailey, Barnard Castle

Paddy says... Most military horses come from Ireland. In the case of the Household Cavalry, the majority are black, stand a minimum of 16.2hh, have a long enough back to carry our saddle, good conformation — and are the right price!

We buy them between five and seven years old — some come trained, others can be a bit wild. Either way, we train them again ourselves before introducing them to our uniform, kit and equipment. Often the hardest part of the training is getting horses used to being on the streets in London.

Pulling guns

The King’s Troop horses have a different role. They pull guns and so this section is after a different type of horse that can work in harness and maintain very high levels of fitness. They are required to be 15.2hh to 16.2hh and are ‘colour graded’. This determines to which of the six sub-sections they will belong — the lightest in colour being ‘A Sub’, through to ‘F Sub’ who are black.