The Animals of Bosworth Battlefield

One of the joys of the anniversary recreation is the non-human participants. Our pup doesn’t like the guns much; although, she loves the social aspect of it. The first year, once the large guns started booming she dragged me off the site and two parking lots away before she allowed me to stop; so, we don’t take her to this. It really makes me appreciate the courage of the war horses who continue in battle regardless.

At one point, I went to the bird enclosure, where the wonderful birds of prey that were so associated with hunting and the nobility of the time rested.

 

I didn’t see much of the Birds of Prey display because I was wandering, but it was fun watching the birds decide to do what the woman handling them asked. Most of the time they did, because of the reward at the end, but every so often one would decide otherwise. One flew across the field to the top of the roof on the museum and sat there for a while surveying the area! The show moved on and finally, the bird decided to return and complete whatever task it had been set.

I turned around and there she was, stretched out beside her human fast asleep and oblivious to the bustle and noise around her. This shot was taken during the guns display.

What a lovely creature. I wondered at the time how he would react to the battle, since he seemed to be all right with big guns display.

What a happy puppy.

After the joust, the horses were taken over to a small enclosure where they could rest in the shade, take water and food, and generally be pampered.

And then it was time for the battle recreation to begin. Horses were saddled, knights clambered aboard with their swords and lances.

The welfare of the horses is paramount to the recreationists. During the joust, the horses were a bit twitchy because the weather was unsettled. Storms were predicted and the wind had picked up. The wind began to affect the horses’ ability to maintain calm during the joust, so the joust was ended. Luckily, the storms held off and so …

Next week, the Battle of Bosworth recreation – 530 years of history.