Horse Model, c. 1870s

Horse Model, circa 1870s

Say hello to Dobbin! He was created shortly after the Civil War and was used as a model in a harness shop on the East Coast. He then moved to Lansing to continue his modeling career. In 1938, he made his home at the museum and played an important role in the firefighting exhibit. His adventures did not stop there, though! Dobbin, a term used to describe a gentle old horse first coined in the 1847 work Vanity Fair, has had more life experiences than many humans.

Only a few short months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, 70-year-old Dobbin was called to serve his country. During World War II, he was assigned to the United States Army Veterinary Corps at Camp Grant, Illinois. He was used to teach cavalrymen how to put on a saddle, bridling, grooming and other care they needed to know in order to take care of their horses. Unfortunately, he did not come back to Kalamazoo from his military service unscathed. He was missing his long, beautiful tail and mane, which were taken by GIs as an unusual souvenir, and he was covered in saddle sores. All his war wounds were repaired, and he went back into his stall in the Museum’s storage annex. He was called back into service in 2014 for the Museum’s Civil War exhibit, Kalamazoo for the Union.

Object #38.902