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Tails from a German Horse-Blessing Ceremony

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Tricia A. Mitchell

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During the last weekend of October, the village of Unterammergau, Germany honors St. Leonhard, the patron saint of agricultural animals. The event begins with a horse procession through this community of 1,500 people. It culminates in an open-air church service, during which more than one hundred horses are blessed.

Unterammergau is the neighboring village of Oberammergau. Together with O-gau, the village’s name is an essential ingredient in a well-known German tongue twister about the two villages.

The day before the horse procession (known locally as Leonhardiritt or Leonhardifahrt), owners bathe and meticulously groom their animals. The next day, they wake up as early as 4 am to braid the horses’ tails and manes. They then adorn them with colorful ribbons, snippets of trailing ivy, and cut flowers such as roses and mums.

We attended this festive event on a beautiful autumn afternoon a few weekends ago. Here are more of my images from Unterammergau’s horse-blessing parade.

Where in the World?

Photography & text © Tricia A. Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.

Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar

About the author

Hi! My name is Tricia Mitchell. I delight in telling stories about my slow travels through more than 65 countries. Some of my highlights have included sharing meals with locals in Armenia, Cambodia, and Tunisia; sipping sparkling wine with French cousins in Alsace; milking goats in a sleepy Bulgarian village; and training with a Japanese mine-clearance team in Laos. My husband, Shawn, and I are based in France’s Loire Valley.

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22 responses to “Tails from a German Horse-Blessing Ceremony”

  1. I'm not lost, I'm just exploring Avatar
    I’m not lost, I’m just exploring

    Beautiful pictures with wonderful compositions!

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      Thank you, though I must give credit to the horse owners who meticulously coiffed their tails and manes. :)

      Reply
  2. rigmover Avatar
    rigmover

    Some very cool endings.

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      Glad you enjoyed them, Mark. It’s not every day that I snap so many horse derrières. :)

      Reply
  3. belocchio Avatar
    belocchio

    These decorated horse tails are fabulous!! Love them!! Hmmm I wonder if Summer, the thoroughbred who lives next door (and is often in the care of Lar) would like these adornment on her tail. She has very strong ideas about what she wears. For example, when her horse blanket was sent off to the cleaners. It was hanging on the fence all pristine and looking wonderful. Using her teeth she took if off the fence, and threw it on the ground, then stamped on. NOW it was perfect. XX V.

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      Virginia, what a funny anecdote about Summer! Judging by her spunkiness, I’m guessing she’d probably prefer a more natural look to these frilly ‘dos. :) It must be fun having a horse as a neighbor. Have you ever gone horseback riding with her?

      Reply
      1. belocchio Avatar
        belocchio

        Maybe a million years ago I would have, but now I watch while her girl puts her through her dressarge maneuvers.
        When she trots she looks as if she is floating on air. Beautiful. V.

      2. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
        Tricia A. Mitchell

        “Floating on air” – such a lovely way to describe Summer’s graceful ways. I’ve only been horseback riding twice – once as a child at summer camp, with a beautiful chestnut-colored horse named Morocco. The second time was through the desert sands surrounding Egypt’s pyramids. I was dreadfully un-graceful I’m sure, but the experience of approaching the pyramids on horseback was quite memorable.

  4. Gerard Avatar
    Gerard

    I never heard of anything like that. That’s cool! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      A pleasure, Gerard. I lived in another German state for many years, and had never seen such a practice before coming to Bavaria either. Europe’s fantastic given that there are so many different cultural events being practiced in a relatively-small geographic space. :) Je te souhaite un bon week-end!

      Reply
  5. valeriedavies Avatar
    valeriedavies

    What a delicious post… LOVE the horse tails… do they feel that this shows how much they are loved and cherished ????

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      Valerie, you can imagine how shutter-happy I was at this event then! Not only were the horses dressed up, but the humans too (in Lederhosen and traditional German dresses). More pics to follow tomorrow. :)

      St. Leonhard processions are held in other parts of Germany (and even Austria) as well. This one that we recently attended was being held for the 50th time. It’s a way of blessing the animals which have long played an important role for rural populations.

      Reply
  6. corneliaweberphotography Avatar
    corneliaweberphotography

    Tricia, beautiful horse butts, they really decorate them artistically, your colors are amazing. Thank you for sharing, can’t wait for more pics. I have been myself at Leonhardifahrt in Bad Toelz. A charming little town, about 40 km from Oberammergau, you must go there especially in Christmas time, you will just love it.

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      Cornelia, my mom’s always spoken highly about Bad Tölz, alas, we are leaving Germany the first week of December so won’t be here for the Christmas market season. Perhaps next year?

      I’d love to see another Leonhardifahrt in different community, though Unterammergau offered a wonderful introduction to the event. We were a bit unclear about the history of the Leonhardifahrt, though, and I’m wondering if you can fill in a few details from this Ammergauer Alps link: http://www.ammergauer-alpen.de/unterammergau/Entdecken-Sie-Unterammergau/Kultur-Brauchtum/Leonhardiritt Under the ‘Geschichtlicher Hintergrund’ heading, it is written that the horses were dying before 1955. We weren’t exactly clear why though.

      Reply
      1. corneliaweberphotography Avatar
        corneliaweberphotography

        Tricia, I read this link, it doesn’t really explain why the horses were dying under such tortures and in big masses. It just says that some farmers didn’t participate in giving away their horses and still would keep them in their stables. Who knows why that fact of history is kind of hidden?? What I didn’t know is that Saint Leonhardi was originally the patron for prisoners, so his legs were in chains as any other prisoners, but would accidentally misrecognized as four legged chain of herds, but Saint Leonhardi didn’t give up and so hi became the holy patron for horses and animals. An amazing story though. So where does your journey take you next?? Servus as Bavarians say.

      2. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
        Tricia A. Mitchell

        Interesting tidbits, Cornelia – thanks for taking the time to share them here. How fun it would be to have you as our guide around here some summer. (Regarding Bavarian phrases, it’s been quite fun learning the differences after having lived in Baden-Württemberg so long. ‘Servus’ and ‘Grüß dich’ come to mind. Oh, and the winds are blowing us back to Croatia in a few days. I’m sad to leave here during the holiday season, but am keeping my fingers crossed that the Adriatic will keep us just a bit warmer. Will you be in California for the holidays?

  7. gallivance.net Avatar
    gallivance.net

    Tricia, these horse tails are wonderful! Never has the view from the rear been more fun. :) Since we grew up in Kentucky around some pretty fine horseflesh, we’re used to beautifully braided tails and manes, but never have I seen such adornment. Ant the way you presented it is gorgeous. ~Terri

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      Terri, I did feel a bit funny zooming in on all these equine derrières. :) I haven’t been around horses much, except for during my summer camp days, so it’s a rather foreign culture to me. We seemed to think that some of the manes had hair extensions because the colors were different (black and blonde mane hair). Did you ever hear of such a thing in Kentucky?

      Reply
      1. gallivance.net Avatar
        gallivance.net

        How interesting Tricia. I have seen the hair extensions in parade horses, but not the thoroughbreds. When we lived in England we encountered another charming horse adornment – decorative markings brushed into the horse’s coat called “quarter marks.” It’s beautiful! ~Terri Here’s a link to some fascinating ones: http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-exclusives/horse-quarter-mark-gallery/horse-quarter-mark-gallery-01.aspx

      2. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
        Tricia A. Mitchell

        Terri, how interesting! When I first clicked on the quarter mark link, I didn’t notice the beautiful designs because they are so subtle. Having been most recently immersed with all of my images of the German working horses, I had overlooked how much more bulky and muscular they are than the show horses. Thanks for extending my learning with this little tidbit. :)

  8. the eternal traveller Avatar
    the eternal traveller

    How unusual, but so pretty.

    Reply
    1. Tricia A. Mitchell Avatar
      Tricia A. Mitchell

      Carol, I was also surprised by how beautifully the horses were decorated. Seeing Unterammergau’s procession makes me curious how the dress and traditions vary in the other Bavarian villages where this same celebration is held.

      Reply