Victorian cavalry drill, and 'tent pegging' at Fort Rinella

[@SquireComedy]

Bloody interesting stuff. That, or I'm searching for reasons to avoid sleeping. At any rate, those uniforms are top rate.

[@nialltomy15]

+Squire What are you doing here, go play War Thunder or something.

[@johnsmith-qv2nv]

+Squire Bbbbbbbriitain!

[@seanneeson7834]

+Squire you do seem right at home here, though maybe in the wrong era

[@grimIitz]

+Squire I say, Mr. Squire, why don't you go amuse yourself with some whimsical flying contraption?

[@SquireComedy]

Hahahaha! Bravo, boys.

[@LB-ou8wt]

Love to see people giving old horses a second chance at life or a second career while exploring some historical cavalry.

[@Siriussky22]

Yes it is very good

[@michaelhenman4887]

The text at the end was almost exactly what my year 12 (ages 16-17) maths teacher said to me on my first lesson. The quote was about a cow; If you ask a biologist about a cow they will tell you about its taxonomy. If you ask a chemist they will start off by looking at the composition by element. If you ask a physicist they start off by assuming the cow is a sphere.

[@modestMouseism]

These Malta videos are lovely, Lloyd.

[@polymath7]

+modestMouseism Your profile picture is a portrait of Dostoevsky and your screen name is apparently an allusion to Moussorgsky's _Pictures at an Exhibition_. Interesting.

[@modestMouseism]

it's both, really, I do love Mod'est Mussorgsky and I love Modest Mouse, with is a Virginia Woolf phrase, turned into a band name. The Dostoyevsky part is true, too. It is a famous painting of him. The only difference between the two is, that Modest as in the composer's name is pronounced with a [dy], as in the Southern English Pronunciation of 'during' or 'endure'.

[@VictorianLifeForm]

I can't believe a place like this exists still. It's completely fascinating I'd love to go one day

[@garyreynolds5733]

Went there with my adult son in August 2016. Brilliant. We both fired rifles. He fired a cannon after the horse show!

[@c1derpunk]

I went to Fort Rinella 'cos of your first video and it was by far the highlight of my holiday! these guys (and horses) do a great job!

[@stocktonjoans]

not to be mistaken with the more modern practice of "pegging" (don't google it on a work computer)

[@ThanksIhateyoutoo]

That was wholly unnecessary. It was funny all the same. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@s0me1up]

i googled it and now am traumatized... why do they do that?!

[@ThanksIhateyoutoo]

s0me1up some women like that sort f thing, so it's not so surprising that some men like it too. whatever floats your boat.

[@oz_jones]

+s0me1up Because they enjoy it.

[@salvatoreshiggerino6810]

+s0me1up It's just another expression of the current cuckold culture.

[@RodCornholio]

"Pegging" huh huh huh. "Pitching a tent" huh huh heh heh.

[@alfatazer_8991]

Oh, you cheeky bugger....;)

[@resolute123]

Fascinating. To quote Antonio Banderas, "Pointy end goes into the man." Seeing these lancer preform drills, there was a lot of technique and purpose using the lance. Very Impressive. Thanks for sharing.

[@willynthepoorboys2]

Old or not the horses were beautiful.

[@ridinglessons1605]

they are well made/schooled. then they go well & look good even if they're aged.

[@brooksequine7621]

@@ridinglessons1605 : Yes ... so let's now school the riders in rising , sitting trot and the other basics such as cantering on the correct leg . That would be a great start !

[@robertbenson1957]

I really enjoyed the lance drills and the explanation.

[@theknifesong]

not the kind of pegging video I was looking for

[@b33lze6u6]

+theknifesong prob wont get much luck on yt

[@TuberoseKisser]

lol

[@sealot1]

You forgot that the spherical horses are racing along a frictionless track

[@WhatIsSanity]

+Anders Gjolme Eriksen You're right there is still atmosphere in a vacuum....

[@sealot1]

+Luke DS well, unless they're flying horses they'd need a track, yes? and ignoring the issue of oropelling themselves, asiming they glide along a frictionles track makes everything easier. if they're driifting through space, I see your point. to conckude this ramble, the sphrical horses woul probably be sliding along a frictionless track to sinplify the motion

[@ivanlagrossemoule]

+Anders Gjolme Eriksen Well you can have friction and assume the sphere is rolling at a constant speed. Or you can simplify the horse to a point in space with a mass, velocity and acceleration.

[@sealot1]

ivanlagrossemoule well, at that point, the whole sphere thing kinda stops making sense though.

[@WhatIsSanity]

Anders Gjolme Eriksen That was the point.

[@BlackTango25]

Great to see these guys going through the drill. It's very illuminating to see how lancers would have trained for battle and how a lance would be used.

[@ajxuereb]

I never got a chance to go to fort Rinella. The day I had planned to go it was closed. I'm glad you have posted a bunch of these videos. it isn't the same but I won't be back in Malta anytime soon. Thanks :)

[@freedoomed]

Those pith helmets look huge

[@ThanksIhateyoutoo]

They most likely have riding helmets under them. I saw something similar in a parade where there were horse riders in large top hats that had riding helmets under them.

[@lindybeige]

+Nicholas Musser I'm fairly sure they didn't.

[@ThanksIhateyoutoo]

+Lindybeige hmm, then it's perplexing indeed. did you get close enough to feel a helmet? is it actually a functioning helmet, or is it just a hat like any other.

[@grimIitz]

+Nicholas Musser The purpose of all these warm-weather (if not tropical) helmets was to protect the wearer from the Sun and heat, not much else. I doubt they had a special hardened version for cavalry.

[@ThanksIhateyoutoo]

Stierlitz if they were just for sun, then why did they call them helmets? it's very misleading, they should just have called them hats.

[@SpySappingMyKeyboard]

Tent pegging seems like something that would happen in a prank war than a normal war.

[@spndx66]

Lancers would invade and surprise attack enemy encampments in the dark, removing their enemy’s tent pegs in the mélée

[@alecblunden8615]

@@spndx66n Wth the result that the tents inhabitants were somewhat incommoded.

[@davidelkinsUN3379]

Thank you Lloyd.. my father told me he did this when he was in Palestine just after the war. It was one of the things he was good at and enjoyed it very much... it was great to see it in action.

[@Tiger74147]

This was AWESOME! I don't think I've ever seen anything at all akin to realistic military cavalry drills.

[@TheJimmyp427]

I would pay for a full length Lindybeige documentary about anything

[@TheTOXICpineapple]

Never realised they flipped the lance and used the back of it, that's pretty cool

[@pepperspray7386]

I always wondered why lancers took so long to upgrade in Civ5. Looks like it's because lancers were around for a long time.

[@Cythil]

+Drone Legion Poland even used them in WWII. But we know where that got them. Though to be fair even by that time the poles where starting to drop the lance.

[@melfisa]

+Cythil Where has it got them? Polish cavalry in WWII was actually mobile infantry with extra anti-tank weapons (no, not a lance, actual anti-tank weapons used after dismount). They also had several *successful* mounted charges against German infantry and *cavalry*.

[@melfisa]

+Cythil btw, the last mounted charge of WWII was attempted by Americans image.slidesharecdn.com/10th20mountain20division20in20italy1944-19451-110505081314-phpapp02/95/10th-mountain-division-in-italy-19441945-part-2-51-728.jpg but it was *unsuccessful*

[@Cythil]

Maiki Bodhisattva Yeah sorry if I was a bit crass there. I know that they had phased out lances by the time (1937). But as I understand it a Polish Calvary men could have the lance weapon of choice. There is also a myth created by the Germans about the Polish chairing German panzars with lance and sabres. But that is of course totally fictional. (also why I added the even the poles where starting to drop the lance by that time.)

[@melfisa]

+Drone Legion Exactly. Cavalry still made perfect sense against infantry until tanks and machine guns became really ubiquitous. Poland lost not because of the cavalry being obsolete, but because it was attacked from all directions by two of the most powerful land armies on the continent. Actually thanks to high mobility cavalry they were able to hold much longer than predicted in the treaty with France and England, that were supposed to open the western front within two weeks while Polish forces bind the Germans burning expensive petrol in chases around Polish plains.

[@Wes1972]

Nice display of victorian protocols ;) Been to guernsey last month. Its full of Both victorian and WW2 fortifications they even had a victorian routine every day at 12 Afternoon by shooting a victorian cannon.

[@grahamking2239]

They also have the BIG gun , great show

[@Strawbclock0]

You still haven't made why women have breasts part 2 and I'm very upset

[@lindybeige]

+Strawbclock0 Oh dear. It's been so long since part one (and perhaps I didn't make a great job of part one) that I feel I have to start again from scratch.

[@jethro035181]

+Strawbclock0 .....obviously, women have breasts so men will talk to 'em....no other reason

[@godofimagination]

+Lindybeige You said you'd make another chariot video too.

[@Sidedlist]

How have I not seen this video yet this was absolutely amazing

[@KB4QAA]

Marvelous. I've never seen Lancer demonstrations. Thanks!

[@e.zponder7526]

Bit of a non-sequitur, but the horses reminded me of something. When I was a teenager I once spent a weekend with a couple of friends trying to work out if the "parthian shot" would have been feasible for the much lauded Numidian Cavalry. For context, this was around the time that the BBC's "Time Commanders" aired and featured several battles from Hannibal's campaigns. We had some superficial success turning around in the saddle to sit backwards and throw tennis balls behind us, but I wouldn't like to try it in a battle situation. I know the Numidians rode bareback, so that might have made it more comfortable natural for them compared to a modern stirrup using sissy like myself, but my impression is it would be too risky a sacrifice of their speed and manoeuvrability. Is there any historical evidence of javelin armed cavalrymen using this tactic in real battle? It's certainly possible to do it, but whether it's useful for anything more than showing off is a different matter.

[@lindybeige]

+Thelonius Disreali Supposedly, one reason that cavalry broke mainly to the right was so that riders could throw one last javelin over the left shoulder.

[@Jesses001]

Aww the spear. One of human's oldest engineered weapons. An adaptation of the stick, one of human's oldest none engineered weapons.

[@robertnett9793]

Say what you will - in the end it's always the pointy stick. Run out of bullets? Bayonett-charge - which is also just a pointy stick... Fancy sci-fi orbital bombardment weapons? Also just pointy sticks...

[@Jesses001]

@@robertnett9793 I guess if you see a rifle as a pointy stick that can launch its tip, then we have not come as far in weapon engineering as it feels.

[@thedudemeisteragain]

Charge of the Beige Brigade! Why do they have some many mobile phone pockets? ;)

[@thedudemeisteragain]

What i heard is that there was no standardization yet, so every empire had their own phone network, Teslaphone and Edisons were the 2 biggest players as far as i know ;)

[@PregnantOrc]

+Dennis Bauer Then you add in the need for extras for regions where those big contractors had not reached yet but various local distributors existed as well as a need for ones working on illicit pirate networks set up by friendly resistance movements

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

don't even get me started on the roaming charges I amassed in the Crimean affair with Eddison phones.

[@thedudemeisteragain]

+Dimes On His Eyes Didn't you use Napoleon Express? you get some discount on those charges ;)

[@TheSparda81]

+Dennis Bauer Hrmm. The Beige Brigade... that should be a thing. Possibly something to call all fans of Lindy's channel? I dunno.

[@annarboriter]

It's heartening that such living history museums maintain high standards that they strive to improve upon.

[@nilodrallub7812]

WOW , very cool Lindy !

[@blacksilkblacksilk]

That was the best physicist`s joke I have read in a loooong time and originally being a phsicist I have read a looot of them Cheers

[@DarthTellor]

+blacksilkblacksilk I don't think I get the joke. Help?

[@233NATOMAN]

Great another cheerful and informative video.

[@lensman67]

Note the over handed jab from horseback. Reminds one of the Bayeux Tapestry.

[@harlmol]

Super awesome video as always!

[@ME-hm7zm]

Hm. I don't think I've ever thought about using the back end of a lance for anything. I am now more enlightened.

[@getupstarthustling4062]

Fantastic video

[@henrykkeszenowicz4664]

I'm a simple cossack, I see the cavalry and I press the like button.

[@UP-qr6gc]

This sport was started in Punjab, Pakistan. Very common here. We have tournaments every year. People love this.

[@AHDBification]

It's nice to see those horses being worked with and taken care of. I was shocked when you said they were 25 years old. That's amazingly good for a pony. Especially to be running (sort of) around with a full grown man on their back.

[@LYLEWOLD]

very cool. as others have already said, i do have to add malta to some future travel itinerary. the example of tent pegging (not that other, please god remove that image from my brain) reminded me of the second "man from snowy river" movie. great horsemanship in both of them. thanks for making cool videos lindybeige.

[@falcons1988]

I remember watching this at deepcut back in 2009. Armed forces day with the RLC. The RLC have there own pegging troop. They did mention in the commentary that it was used by the British units in 19th century campaigns. I can't remember too many specifics.

[@Nygaard2]

You should get a grant from the Malta board of tourism. Great work.

[@sasquatchycowboy5585]

I'm so interested in this. As a horseman I would love to at least scratch the surface of the different disciplines of war horses throughout the years. I've already gotten into mounted archery. Lance and saber would be amazing as well.

[@mikewilburn5884]

Thank you

[@TacoPineapple]

Every year I watch this at an annual show in the city However they have an alternate scoring method. After the charge each rider will present arms to whoever is scoring. The pegs are thin enough that all those scoring have to do is count which riders have managed to keep the pegs on all the way to the end. As far as I new that was the standard method. Good to see some diversity.

[@tauIrrydah]

That was wonderful. I can imagine what the companion cavalry might have achieved if they had saddles and stirrups!

[@TheNoodleGod9001]

Horses are pretty good.

[@b33lze6u6]

+TheNoodleGod they are a cool thing

[@mysterioushooded]

+TheNoodleGod yeah, great with a bit of pepper

[@_Fornad]

+TheNoodleGod With your avatar I imagine you'd prefer pigs

[@m8e]

+TheNoodleGod They might be better as meatballs. ;P

[@TheNoodleGod9001]

+Fornad Adûn hehehehehhe

[@eoppen]

Cool stuff! And I like those helmets.

[@theogoltzman5372]

Wait thoroughbreds galloping at 50 mph? That seems way too fast. I seem to remember that the top speed of a horse is 30 odd miles per hour. Just for fun lets do some research (I'll approximate here, just doing some rough math): the record for the Kentucky Derby (1.25 miles) is about 2 mins (1:59.40 Secretariat, 1973). So, 1.25 times 30(2 mins a lap, 30 laps per hour) = roughly 37 miles per hour. So figure an average thoroughbred (that's an all time track record) can hit 35 ish and the average horse less than that 30-33 mph (thoroughbreds are the racecars of the horse world). So lower than 50. For reference on animal speeds-the fastest animal in N. america, the Pronghorn antelope, can hit 45 mph. The cheetah can hit 65-75 mph, a springbok, one of the fastest antelope, can hit 55 mph. Great video Lindy, but no horses don't run at highway speed. If they did, getting around would have been so much easier.

[@GunFunZS]

I'm impressed with the viewers for not making a particular tiresome comment.

[@enscroggs]

The was a blood sport variation of tent pegging called pig sticking, which involved sticking a pig.

[@PatGilliland]

Great stuff thanks for posting!

[@SirVilder]

Ah, I do love the witty comment at the end of these videos.

[@matthewzamm]

I hope you enjoyed your stay at Malta :)

[@monumentstosuffering2995]

Good to see that the Maltese are rightly proud of their history. So should the UK be proud.

[@고유진-o7c]

how did they approach infantry armed with bolt action rifles?

[@Gitfidlpickr]

In the U.S. cavalry (at least). four riders would dismount and one would hold four horses. Three would fire rifles (generally kneeling) This is exactly what happened after Major Marcus Reno's charge failed .. he withdrew to a wooded area near the Little Big Horn and tried to reassemble his force (poorly)(Sioux in close pursuit) When that failed Reno (and scattered elements ) fled back across the Little Big Horn and, being attacked by Sioux, did their best to get back to Captain Benteen (who failed to support Custer entirely) but was delivering volley fire at attacking Sioux and Cheyenne. Reno and Benteen survived but the losses were heavy.

[@mrrhombus716]

Love that big blue sea.

[@khal-d7n]

The most important thing about cavalry is not to hurt the horse while swinging your Sabre, an cavalryman is weak without his mount

[@weldonwin]

Intresting fact, the very first and last offensive actions by the British army in WW1, were cavalry charges and they were carried out by the same unit

[@leclue22]

Great video, thanks. I've just been reading the first of the "Flashman" books.

[@lindybeige]

+leclue22 Stick with them. I think Flashman's Lady might have been my favourite.

[@PeteR90468]

Excellent!

[@Manterest]

I have been on Malta. It was very beige.

[@AwesomeJenks]

You always save the best till last with those little Lindy-Thoughts.

[@frankmg4250]

The 'tent pegging' or the motion Pegging , is for extact the sperar poin or sword out of the enemies's bodie when pass by

[@anjin2541]

oh wow, i went here last summer!

[@josephrainer]

Off of all the pegging videos I've seen today, this one is the more educational. Nice vid!

[@MegaFarinato]

menudo muchacho éste Gabriel!

[@Gitfidlpickr]

Bravisio! Well done.

[@NoQuestions4sked]

This is awesome.

[@dennisadams-n4r]

was tent pegging ever put in practice by the 17th lancers thanks

[@dennisadams1993]

my dad was in the royal horse in ww2 he would have been proud of that proformance

[@scorinth]

Horses are pretty smart animals. I wonder how much of the shouted orders they learn during the drills. As opposed to the more usual commands through the reins and saddle, I mean.

[@monumentstosuffering2995]

Happy Horses.

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

The last British lancer charge was at Omdurman in the Sudan was it not?

[@TheTheValer]

You mentioned that they have further ambitions, any idea what they are?

[@H.J.Fleischmann]

+Valeren To re-enact the Crimean war maybe or they could do a parade with nice uniforms and dragoons. These are just some guesses from me.

[@TheTheValer]

Gordon Fields That would be interesting. I'm just curious where they might want to take it, and I think that if people have some idea what they're going to do with the money they might be more likely to donate.

[@H.J.Fleischmann]

Valeren I would absolutely love to see this or even better, join this.

[@lindybeige]

+Valeren I don't know. Putting on a display like this every day can't be cheap, and there aren't always many tourists showing up. There were not many there the day I went.

[@H.J.Fleischmann]

+Lindybeige That is a shame, hopefully they get all the funding they need. Have they talked to the city council about getting funding as some sort of tourist gimmick?

[@Flirri]

Very nice trivia on the rescued ponies to boot. :)

[@vectorbrony3473]

Very interesting. Also have you seen the new drama called the Last Kingdom on the BBC? It's quite interesting.

[@joezzzify]

+Vector Brony There will probably be a rant about it soon.

[@alisilcox6036]

+joezzzify please god let it be about the lead's costume and the Wessex shields

[@joezzzify]

Ali Silcox Of course it will be. Rectangular fucking shields, good god, they are hideous.

[@WisdomThumbs]

A twenty five year old horse? I helped take care of a twenty eight year old horse in Oklahoma, and it was amazing how fast that old boy could still run. Still had great teeth, too. The only thing he couldn't do so well anymore was stop on a dime. And in fact, he's nearly thirty now...

[@alexteoli3378]

You're in Malta again.. where Im from :')

[@Fawnarix]

I find the idea of cavalry from the 19th century onward to be very interesting. Cavalry's effectiveness was starting to wane during this time and were used less and less. One example was the Charge of the Light Brigade. But after World War One, the once mighty cavalry was supplanted by war machines.

[@2adamast]

It was cavalry the whole day long that day, the french and heavy cavalry preceded the light cavalry (making them over eager) and the russian cavalry had there problem facing the thin red line.

[@johnsmith-qv2nv]

+Lupyrius Mobility good sir, mobility.

[@dajolaw]

+Lupyrius During the US invasion of Afghanistan, I remember photo of Special Forces advisers travelling with Northern Alliance soldiers. The Green Berets had on modern camo uniforms, body armor, assault rifles, helmets, etc..... ....and were riding horses. It was a rather striking clash of modernity and antiquity.

[@RGA1944]

+Lupyrius Contrary to common belief, the Charge of the Light Brigade was a clear, though Pyrrhic, victory. The Light Brigade successfully charged the Russian guns, drove away Russian cavalry and retreated as an intact fighting unit. Sure, casualties were high but in term of numbers, the Russians also lost as many men. Cavalry was far from useless in European battlefield and they were a valuable asset in colonial warfare.

[@2adamast]

RGA1944 They missed the assigned target by a mile but ok nevertheless as afterwards _the commanding officer left the field and went on board his yacht in Balaclava harbour, where he ate a champagne dinner_ Just business as usual.

[@xPumaFangx]

That was cool

[@colinp2238]

Lloyd maybe you should briefly explain the difference between rifles and carbines for the uninitiated. Not all will be small arms savvy. Next time in Malta I must look out for this.

[@Daniel-mq7wi]

Now I want to go to Malta...

[@williammackay-murphy1905]

I really want to try tent pegging and other equestrian skill at arm's stuff, but I cant find anything in the Ottawa area, kinda sucks.

[@pieterherfst5188]

Acording to the International Equestrian Federation tent pegging comes from india. And it was used to against elephants. Because the area just behind the toenail is very sensative. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent_pegging

[@dimesonhiseyes9134]

25 years is really old for a horse that is still working.

[@MrTuohitorvi]

Actually felling a tent might be an extremely smart idea if there was a hot stove or anykind of fireplace inside, so the tentfabric might catch fire from it. :)

[@incognitusmaximus9092]

but what if the other horses are also perfect spheres ?

[@patricksnyder8596]

interesting lanyards on those lances

[@tb3867]

It is said to have originated in the region of Punjab, Pakistan

[@fnbfnbf]

Are they using 1908 pattern swords?

[@ScienceDiscoverer]

What you thinking about youtube red?

[@theknightofbadassness301]

Could you do this with a jousting lance?

[@MuradBeybalaev]

Horses are so damn cute in their complacency.

[@hebl47]

As a physicist, I approve of your example. However I would add a frictionless surface just to make things simpler.

[@Ninjamanhammer]

Here after the new Scholagladiatoria video.

[@chrismclennan7917]

I have recently come across my wife's Great Grandfathers medals from the 2nd Boar war. He was in the 10th Hussars and wish to display these medals with a model figure. I am struggling to get uniform colors for his battle dress. I am watching your video on the Victorian Calvary drill and have found it hard to get a match of color any help will be gratefully accepted. Thanks, Chris Mclennan.

[@juliusiv4410]

being a Mounted Calvary i thought it's charge, jab jab, slash slash, but now i know