Dictionary

drum horse en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (UK) A horse that carries a rider and two silver kettle drums in certain ceremonies of state.
   • As they drew closer, I recognized the horse— it was none other than Clarence, the regimental drum horse of the mounted band of the Life Guards, who on parade bears a vast, heavy silver kettle drum on either side just ahead of the saddle. 2009, Michael Korda, Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life:
   • “Alexander,” The Life Guards' drum horse, kindly lent for the occasion, carried the 5th Lancer's silver kettle-drums draped with the 16th Lancer's drum banners. 1963, Cyril Nelson Barclay, History of the 16th/5th The Queen's Royal Lancers, 1925-1961, page 194:
   • The soul of the Regiment lives in the Drum-Horse who carries the silver kettle-drums. He is nearly always a big piebald Waler. That is a point of honour; and a Regiment will spend anything you please on a piebald. 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “The Rout of the White Hussars”, in Plain Tales from the Hills:
   • A drum horse called Apollo would not behave, skittering sideways determinedly. 6 May 2023, Rachel Cooke, “It was ludicrous but also magnificent: the coronation stirred every emotion”, in The Guardian:
2. A breed of heavy riding horse with thick main and tail and abundant feathers starting at the knees and hocks.
   • There are very few of them in the world, and it is very rare to see Drum Horses, whose antecedents are also small in number. 2017, Élise Rousseau, Horses of the World, page 55:
   • Inspections for licensing of stallions are the same for both the Drum Horse and Gypsy Cob. 2009, The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide, page 381:
   • The drum horse is a breed of draft (or draught) horse originally bred in England to carry kettledrum players and their heavy 300-pound drums during processions that included the English royal family's Household Cavalry. 2023, Bernadette Johnson, The Big Book of Horse Trivia for Kids:
   • The Queen, whose profound knowledge of the breeding of horses is well known, became interested in breeding drum-horses in recent years and has provided some to the Household Cavalry and has further potential stock at Hampton Court. 1993, William Lloyd, Challengers and Chargers: A History of the Life Guards, 1945–92, page 74:

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