The most important activity of the Mounted Band of the Royal Life Guards is looking after the horses. Without them the band is nothing. But what kind of horses do the band use? What are the qualities they must have to be a good music horse? Do they need ear plugs when you play loudly? These are some of the many questions that we are asked and here are some of the answers.

When the Mounted Band parades, the first thing you see is the staff-trumpeter. After the staff-trumpeter come the most popular and spectacular horses of the band, the kettle drum horses Mary and Moral. Mary is the only mare among the band horses, and she is a determined "lady" with a strong personality. Mary, who is a shire, is a gift from the British Queen Elizabeth II. With her dark brown, almost black shining fur and big footlock she is the given favorite of the audience.
Riding beside Mary is her colleague Moral. Moral is of the north Swedish breed and a real hard worker, no matter what the circumstances are.

The next proud line of horses in the Mounted Band of the Royal Life Guards consists of the fanfare trumpeters roans. Their grey and white speckled coats made them very common on the battle fields in the old days. This was necessary for the trumpeter, as he had to be seen and heard when he signalled the orders to the troops.

After the roans there are three more rows of horses, carrying the rest of the trumpeters and the tubaists. These are bay horses, with red brown fur, mane and tail. These swedish thoroughbreds (The roans are also swedish thoroughbreds.) have, like the rest of the horses, been taught to be music horses. It is a demanding task, always having to behave calmly and nicely in situations when there is often a lot of stress. Together with its rider, the horses are trained daily. The Mounted Band´s officers and the stable chief of K1 decide and select which horses that can be used as music horses. They look primarily at the horse´s psyche. A music horse must be calm and stable. Out of nearly a 100 horses only about 25 are chosen. The rest are certainly very good horses, but not suitable as music horses.

When a horse has been chosen then a long period of training begins. It must get used to many new things. Shining instruments, loud kettle drums, trumpets and the fast movements. It can take years before a horse is ready to perform with the band. But no, they do not need ear plugs.

During parade the horses ride very close to each other, and that may seem risky. But since horses are flock animals the get on better when they are close together than if you part them. Thus, when the soldiers ride "knee to knee", the horses feel safe.

As has been pointed out earlier, the horses and riders are trained every day. It is absolutely vital that a mutual trust develops between the rider and the horse, for them to perform well. Almost every soldier musican gets their "own" horse, which they ride on every parade. In this way they get to know their horse, its pecularities and sensitive spots.

The horse is always in the centre of the activities of the band. From the very beginning the soldiers are taught to see to the horses needs first. They need care and food, and the equipment needs to be clean. So even if you come home very late from a performance you always have to take care of the horse first.

All the horses are owned by "Stiftelsen för den beridna högvaktens bevarande", a foundation that wants to maintain the mounted guard. The foundation lends out its horses to the Ministry of Defence when the mounted changing of the guard at the Royal Castle takes place. But when the Mounted Band does other performances it has to rent them. That means that not all the horses are always present when a performance is given elsewhere, often are there only six of them. The foundation also decides which horses to buy and which ones must be replaced.

If you have any questions about the Mounted Bands horses, do not hesitate to ask the soldiers or the officers when they are on duty. They know a lot about the horses and will gladly try to answer your questions.