Camels? Really???
December 22, 2012 5:50 PM   Subscribe

Camel Dressage Just what it says on the tin. (sytp)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies (23 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
You know what would spice this event up a bit?

Camel Jumping

Youtuber
posted by zippy at 5:56 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Speaking of camels, here's an utterly charming and wonderful movie that I can't recommend highly enough: The Weeping Camel.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:12 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Must... resist... urge... to... make... Ann... Romney... joke...
posted by oneswellfoop at 6:19 PM on December 22, 2012 [3 favorites]


Age of Empires has taught me that horses don't play well with camels so this cannot be true.
posted by arcticseal at 6:22 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


The camel is a Bactrian, ridden by somebody in Arab garb. Good for giggles right there, since Mongol, Kirghiz, Kazakh, Uiger, or even Chinese or Turkish garb would have been more authentic.
The coat was in excellent condition. I would have subtracted points for the saggy humps. Saggy humps are a sign of over-work.
That said,this is a marvelously obedient camel, and they put on a good show.
Camels and horses can get along. Every people that keeps camels keeps horses as well, and they do fine together. It's a matter of familiarity. Horses can break camel legs if they kick the camel. You shouldn't pasture them together for that reason.
Nice film.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 6:39 PM on December 22, 2012 [13 favorites]


The music really needed to be "Anything you can do, I can do better."
posted by carter at 6:43 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Saggy humps are a sign of over-work.

Well, that explains what happened to The Black Eyed Peas.
posted by eriko at 6:45 PM on December 22, 2012 [12 favorites]


Wow, that camel is not half-bad. Can this be an Olympic sport please?
posted by OolooKitty at 6:53 PM on December 22, 2012 [2 favorites]


I read CARMEL dressage. This is way more interesting.
posted by aloiv2 at 6:59 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


You all surely know by now that I can't let any FPP about camels pass by without taking a moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas.

St. Alia, thank you for giving me this opportunity. Thank you also for this fun link.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:22 PM on December 22, 2012


I misread this as "carnal dressage." Very pleased to be mistaken, though.
posted by zoetrope at 7:26 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


That was a pretty awesome camel. I like camels. I think its the long eyelashes.
posted by shoesietart at 7:48 PM on December 22, 2012 [3 favorites]


Watching this (and listening to the music) reminds me that Peter O'Toole said that he used to get rip-roaringly drunk before he had to ride into battle on a camel for "Laurence of Arabia" and that Omar Sharif would tie himself to his camel. Sharif ended up hanging underneath his camel in the surf for the Aqaba scene.
posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 7:48 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


And the humps, of course.
posted by shoesietart at 7:49 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Camels look funny. But they're cool. Except they're nasty.
posted by trip and a half at 8:40 PM on December 22, 2012


I'd love to hear some details of what's going on here from someone with some knowledge of gaits. For instance, at 1:22 it seems like they both simultaneously transfer from a trot to a right leading canter. But while the horse does a true canter the camel's canter doesn't quite achieve suspension -- his right fore stays planted until the left rear falls. Is this still a canter? Is it a variation done intentionally (and if so why does the horse not match it) or it is something different about the camel's physique? And what is the transition after that sequence?
posted by Rhomboid at 9:09 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Camels move differently from horses. The rift front and right rear leg move to take a step, then the left front and left rear leg move. Paceing. Giraffes and cats also do this. Horses don't naturally pace. It's a trick they can learn, but hard for them.
The way camels are built, some stuff horses do is out of the question.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:54 PM on December 22, 2012


At a walk, the horse has a diagonal gait--left-rear and right-front legs move, then the opposite. In timing, the left rear hoof lands in the track made by the left front hoof, just after the left front hoof leaves the ground.

The camel is gaited laterally--his left legs (front and rear) move at the same time. Look closely, and you'll see that the camel moves his front and rear legs in tandem. The only horses that have a similar gait are pacers, and they are trained to do this, because some horse owners have far too much free time on their hands.

The lope (and gallop) are similar in both animals, but the lead changes in the camel are... are...well, I guess they are.
posted by mule98J at 10:56 PM on December 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


Points off for the camel for being heavy on the forehand and way above the bit.
posted by drlith at 5:58 AM on December 23, 2012 [1 favorite]


Camel Dressage Just what it says on the tin.

Where do you buy your camel dressage tins? Because my current supplier of camel dressage often has misleading consumer information on the tins that I buy.
posted by twoleftfeet at 6:38 AM on December 23, 2012


One never uses a bit on a camel, it could easily break their jaw. Even using a rope like a bit can break their jaw.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 2:18 PM on December 23, 2012


The only horses that have a similar gait are pacers, and they are trained to do this, because some horse owners have far too much free time on their hands.

Not true! The majority of Standardbreds are trotters, but many are natural pacers. Both the trotters and the pacers will wear hopples to keep them from breaking into a canter/gallop.

My Fox Trotter paced naturally and found the trot difficult at first. Working him consistently in the fox trot helped his true trot develop. Now he occasionally paces when he's fooling around in the pasture, but not under saddle.

Why anyone would encourage a saddle horse to pace is beyond me. It's uncomfortable.

Almost like riding a camel.
posted by BlueHorse at 1:23 AM on December 24, 2012 [2 favorites]


Arabs used to value pacers more highly. Possibly because they domestic armored and rode camels before horses.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:07 PM on December 24, 2012


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