Chris Zimmerman, program coordinator for B-Troop, has a chat with Big Whiskey, a feisty thorougbred who is being groomed to be a mount for the cavalry unit. (By Ed Honda-Herald/Review)
Posted on 05/15/2006 10:05:33 PM PDT by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — Described as a “big goofy, lovable animal” that appears to have a touch of the equine equivalent of attention deficit disorder Big Whiskey is going from training as a race horse to become a cavalry mount.
That the thoroughbred is even alive to do something else is a miracle, Chris Zimmerman said. A few years ago, he was in a trailer that overturned and one of the major injuries the horse received was a piece of metal that went through one side of his neck and came out the other, he said.
The previous owners decided he would not be good for racing after the accident and stopped training him, said Zimmerman, who is the program manager for B Troop, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Memorial) on Fort Huachuca.
The animal was purchased through a horse trader, and it was a good deal, he said.
What his name before it became Big Whiskey is unknown, Zimmerman said.
At 17.1 hands tall, the big in the horse’s name is for his size, he said.
A horse’s height is listed in hands, based on an old English measurement equating to 4 inches to a hand. In the case of Big Whiskey he is 17.1 hh — hands high — or 69 inches from the ground to his withers, the highest part of the back between t he shoulder blades.
Whiskey is due to his brown color, which has a look of various alcoholic beverages, said Zimmerman, who equates his full-time B Troop job as being a ranch foreman.
“He’s a young horse and at the right age to be trained as a cavalry mount,” he said.
Big Whiskey is also the tallest of the troop’s herd of 16 horses.
But, he isn’t the herd leader, for that is Zeus, who keeps the rambunctious young Big Whiskey in his place, Zimmerman said.
When it comes to the herd’s pecking order, Big Whiskey is at the bottom, he said.
One of the other horses nipped Big Whiskey on the back, which means until the injury heals the horse can’t be saddled.
Any herd has its own version of law and order and ways of dealing with miscreants with the ranks, Zimmerman said.
Like a teenager, the horse feels his oats some days “because he’s young and high strung.”
Not only is Big Whiskey trying to establish his place in the troop’s herd he also causes some of his own problems, he said.
Big Whiskey is forgetful and accident prone, Zimmerman said.
Last week, the horse had a large bandage on his forehead after he bumped his head while in his pen.
Zimmerman was going to do some reinforcement training with the animal and took Big Whiskey out of his personal enclosure to do some work in another area.
Round penning, the name for a specific type of training, seemed to be looked forward to by Big Whiskey, as he was led over to the area by Zimmerman.
Obtained by the troop when he was about 3, Big Whiskey, now about 6, is ready for intense training to make him into a cavalry mount, he said. Like most thoroughbreds there is an instinct to race, to go around a track, Zimmerman said.
What a cavalry mount has to do is a different form of racing, called charging, and to ensure horses like Big Whiskey can do that they have to be taught many maneuvers, he said.
As for the fort’s memorial unit, established to continue the post’s cavalry tradition of the late 1800s, horses have to be trained to ignore distractions, Zimmerman said.
During shows or at official ceremonies there is band music, flags fluttering, pistol or carbines firing, sabers rattling, all which can distract a horse’s attention away from what the rider wants to accomplish, he said.
Formerly, Zimmerman was the commander of B troop, a position that is usually held for only a year.
The retired Air Force major, who worked at the Joint Interoperability Test Command on the fort, fell in love with the West remaining in the area after he left the military.
And, the position at the troop allows him to what he enjoys.
Usually every other day, Zimmerman puts Big Whiskey through about an hour of training.
The horse is also being taught by a certified horse trainer, named Steve Wren, and when that happens Big Whiskey is taken to Wren’s place. Zimmerman said although the animal was in a vehicle accident, and the trailer he was in overturned “he surprisingly loads into a trailer pretty well.”
That’s good because when B Troop goes places, most of the time the horses travel to an area in a trailer.
Inside the training pen, Zimmerman put the horse through some paces.
It appeared as if the natural race track instinct of Big Whiskey remains.
He galloped around the pen, and as he passed people on the outside of the area, one could hear the almost synchronized sound of hooves, along with the movement of Big Whiskey’s nostrils, exhaling and taking in air.
Zimmerman stood in the middle of the training pen, encouraging the animal with words like, “good boy,” “that’s the way,” “yes.”
With simple movement of his hands, Zimmerman got Big Whiskey to change the direction of his movement.
Other signals slowed the animal down.
But, it did take Zimmerman a little time to get Big Whiskey to stop and walk over to him.
“I think he’s a little upset with me for some reason,” he said.
Or, it could have been the animal was just showing a rebellious teen streak.
Finally, Big Whiskey stopped and walked over to Zimmerman.
One of the main things a cavalry mount has to do is “hip over,” and walk backward, he said demonstrating Big Whiskey has learned that.
While thoroughbreds like the horse love to race a cavalry mount has to be taught to stop and with all the animals that can be difficult because they love to run, he said.
“You’re a good boy,” Zimmerman said to the horse, who nodded in agreement, as if saying “Of course I am.’
Zimmerman said Big Whiskey will be a full-time project and in about a year he will be taking part in troop ceremonies.
At the beginning on going out with the troop, he probably will be ridden by Zimmerman.
“He’s too much for a new trooper,” he said of those who volunteer for the unit. “Most new riders would probably not be able to stay on him.”
Reaching up, Zimmerman patted the horse behind his ears.
“He’s just a big puppy,” he said, as Big Whiskey shook his head up and down again, agreeing with Zimmerman.
SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
Just for all you animal lovers - tonight was just too serious and needed a break.
Ping.
Thank you for the article! What a great story!
BTTT
Hey USAHL - ping!!
Thanks for the Ping!
Great article, SandRat! I liked the story alot.
Nice read, thanks for the ping
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