When horses die, their souls ascend to horse heaven, where the sun is always shining, the hay is plentiful, and nobody jumps on top of you and forces you to take them places just because your back happens to be horizontal. As for their bodies, a lucky few will find their way to Walter Varcoe, an “articulated equine skeleton specialist.” Varcoe, a former New York State Department of Corrections officer, mounts horse bones for museum exhibits, private horse owners, and any other occasion that might call for a mounted horse skeleton, which are obviously too numerous to list here. Above is a piece he made for a tent at the 2010 World Equestrian Games from the bones of Louie, a former NYPD horse. If only we could all look this majestic when we’re dead.
