Is there an equine connection of horses to today’s complete solar eclipse? You bet! We’ll share some information here on the horses and today’s event. You can find more about the horses on Wikipedia. And more on today’s event from NASA.
According to the notations in Wikipedia, “Eclipse was a bright chestnut with a narrow blaze running down his face. He had a white stocking on his right hind leg. Eclipse was a big horse for his time, just over 16 hands, and was an inch higher at the rump than at the withers. He was strong, sound and fast. He was sometimes criticized for having a large, unattractive head. His difficult temperament was well documented, and might have led to him being gelded.Instead he was turned over to a rough-rider, who worked him hard all day, and at night as well on poaching expeditions if the stories are to be believed. This treatment, rather than souring his disposition, settled Eclipse enough to allow him to be raced, although his jockeys never attempted to hold him.”
Eclipse, the great British Thoroughbred racehorse, was foaled on April 1, 1764, the day of a complete solar eclipse. (1 April 1764 – 26 February 1789) He was an 18th-Century racehorse who was undefeated in 18 races, including 11 King’s Plates. After retiring from racing, he was a successful sire and today appears in the pedigree of most modern Thoroughbreds.
After that, many owners named their horses Eclipse-type names to try and take advantage of the incredible racing and stud record of the original British Eclipse. American Eclipse, which was foaled in 1814, was an undefeated American Thoroughbred racehorse.
