"Humacamo Sirene"

Hello everyone! I'm 22 years old and have recently become very interested in horse racing. Someday, when the horse you bet most of your money on loses, I want to tear up the ticket, throw it on the ground, and look up at the sky in rage.

Well, with that secret ambition in mind, I would like to introduce this rug to you today.

It's so cute. It has an expression that's hard to describe. There are a few points that I'm curious about, so let's take a look at them one by one.

1. Horse or cow problem

The first thing I'm wondering is, is this a horse or a cow? Since I started talking about horse racing, I naturally thought I should proceed with the discussion assuming it's a horse, but I thought it would be rude to continue without completely dispelling the suspicion that had arisen in my mind: "Could it be a cow...?" So I'll stop and think for a moment. The mane, long tail, long face. The elements are horse-like, but for some reason it exudes a "cow-like" quality. Perhaps it's the stocky build that gives it that feeling. I just can't imagine it galloping briskly across the grasslands, but it must be a horse, probably a horse. I'd like to name this horse Umakamo Sirene. Its nickname is Sirene. It is a famous horse that rivals Tabetesgunel and Onushi Shinanimono.

2. Efforts to hide

The next thing that caught my attention about Sirene was the way her feet touched the ground. I was at the mammal exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum of Nature and Science, examining the way each animal walked one by one, before the exhibition closed midway through, but this touchdown was a little strange. Normally, when a horse walks, it moves in the order of right hind leg, right front leg, left hind leg, and left front leg, but Sirene's is a little different. Her feet touch the ground disjointedly, so it doesn't seem like she's walking. When you think about it that way, it might be more natural to think that this was captured in a moment when she was galloping at a fairly high speed. In fact, despite her incredible speed, her form and posture don't give the slightest hint of it, and it's somehow incredibly cool.

3. In strong winds

Have you noticed? Sirene is running with a relaxed look on her face, but look around. The flowers are being blown around by the wind.

This is the flower in normal windless conditions.

And here are the flowers being blown around in the wind.

The wind speed was about 8m/s from the right. I was impressed when I saw a Pomeranian being buffeted by a strong wind, and I felt that it was such a brave creature. I sense the same bravery in this flower. It was a new discovery for me, as I never knew bravery could be expressed in this way.

Looking at it from a distance again, we can see that Sirene is running into a headwind. The wind speed is a bit unfavorable for running against a headwind, but even here, she is so dignified that you don't even get the feeling that she is being buffeted by the wind. That's impressive.

That's all for now. Please take good care of our horse, Umakamo Sirene. In addition to Sirene, there are other unique horses waiting at Layout, so please come and see them.

(Text: Kawamura)