Last Night, 12-09-2016, I was driving home.....singing.....and a thought occurred.....
I bet not too many people any more know what "Bells On Bob Tails" means..... (Uncle David probably does

Dashing Through The Snow
In A One Horse Open Sleigh
Over The Fields We Go Laughing All The Way

~*Bells On Bob Tails Ring*~
Making Spirits Bright......
Oh What Fun It Is To Ride In A Sleighing Song Tonight.....

OH, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells....

So What IS a Bob Tail and Why Bells?

When people bred their horses for driving (pulling sleighs and carriages) They would 'Bob' or that is Cut Off their tails about 10" down from the body.....Why? So that the tail did not get caught in the harnesses or hit the horse behind them in the face causing problems in the team, and/or more that that, so that the tail would not hit the people in the face as they went down the trails/rodaways.

Why Bells?

Not because it was Christmas. But in later years it became that.
Back then they did not have "trail groomers" to groom trails. So the pathways, roadways, were snowy and narrow. They used the Sleigh Bells so that other people/teams of horses using the trails could hear them coming and both teams could get slowed down and ready to pass, as well as let wildlife know to get off the trail. The Bells were a Safety Measure.

So now, when at Parades or Watching TV Commercials and the Clydesdales come on.....YOU have Trivia to share.

-- The Does My Butt Look Big In The Saddle Team
Sat, 10 Dec 2016 12:43:08 -0500