Wooden Horse
Encyclopedia
A wooden horse is a torture device, of which there exist two variations.
The first is a sharply angled device with the sharp point of the angle pointing upward, mounted on a saw-horse like support. The victim is made to straddle the triangular "horse" and place her full body weight on her vulva
, which rested on the point of the angle. Weights or additional restraints were often added to keep the victim from falling off. A punishment similar to this was used during the American colonial period and later. Called Riding the rail
the victim was often carried through town in this predicament, often in conjunction with the punishment of tarring and feathering
. The crotch can be injured and the victim could be left unable to walk without pain.
A less immediately painful variation, often dubbed the wooden pony, is a single plank of wood supported (either again with wooden legs or suspended from the ceiling) horizontal from the floor on its side, with the thin edge up. Usually this edge is filed to a blunt point or rounded off. The victim is made to straddle the plank, which is adjusted (raised or lowered) in order to make the victim stand on her tiptoes or rest her body weight on her genitals on the plank. This less intense variation was probably developed for and more commonly used in BDSM
play.
An unrelated device used during the Roman Empire
to interrogate slaves was sometimes referred to as a "wooden horse." Its design was similar to the medieval torture rack in that it consisted of a raised platform (in this case approx. 6 feet from the ground) with pulleys at either end. The victim's arms and legs were tied to ropes which ran through the pulley systems and were attached to cranks at each end of the device. As tension was placed on both ropes, the shoulder (and possibly hip) joints were dislocated. The victim was then violently shoved off of the platform, creating more injuries to joints and muscles, before being beaten to death with rods.
Device was used during the U.S. Civil War by Union guards against their Confederate Prisoners. “There were some of our poor boys, for little infraction of the prison rules, riding what they called Morgan's mule every day. That was one mule that did the worst standing stock still. He was built after the pattern of those used by carpenters. He was about fifteen feet high; the legs were nailed to the scantling so one of the sharp edges was turned up, which made it very painful and uncomfortable to the poor fellow especially when he had to be ridden bareback, sometimes with heavy weights fastened to his feet and sometimes with a large beef bone in each hand. This performance was carried on under the eyes of a guard with a loaded gun, and was kept up for several days; each ride lasting two hours each day unless the fellow fainted and fell off from pain and exhaustion. Very few were able to walk after this hellish Yankee torture but had to be supported to their barracks.”
The History Channel documentary Eighty Acres of Hell describes a torture device, “the mule,” on which Confederate prisoners were forced to ride
until they passed out; many were crippled for life.
The first is a sharply angled device with the sharp point of the angle pointing upward, mounted on a saw-horse like support. The victim is made to straddle the triangular "horse" and place her full body weight on her vulva
Vulva
The vulva consists of the external genital organs of the female mammal. This article deals with the vulva of the human being, although the structures are similar for other mammals....
, which rested on the point of the angle. Weights or additional restraints were often added to keep the victim from falling off. A punishment similar to this was used during the American colonial period and later. Called Riding the rail
Riding the rail
Riding the rail was a punishment in Colonial America in which a man was made to straddle a fence rail held on the shoulders of at least two men, with other men on either side to keep him upright...
the victim was often carried through town in this predicament, often in conjunction with the punishment of tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering
Tarring and feathering is a physical punishment, used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge. It was used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier, mostly as a type of mob vengeance .-Description:In a typical tar-and-feathers attack, the...
. The crotch can be injured and the victim could be left unable to walk without pain.
A less immediately painful variation, often dubbed the wooden pony, is a single plank of wood supported (either again with wooden legs or suspended from the ceiling) horizontal from the floor on its side, with the thin edge up. Usually this edge is filed to a blunt point or rounded off. The victim is made to straddle the plank, which is adjusted (raised or lowered) in order to make the victim stand on her tiptoes or rest her body weight on her genitals on the plank. This less intense variation was probably developed for and more commonly used in BDSM
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
play.
An unrelated device used during the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
to interrogate slaves was sometimes referred to as a "wooden horse." Its design was similar to the medieval torture rack in that it consisted of a raised platform (in this case approx. 6 feet from the ground) with pulleys at either end. The victim's arms and legs were tied to ropes which ran through the pulley systems and were attached to cranks at each end of the device. As tension was placed on both ropes, the shoulder (and possibly hip) joints were dislocated. The victim was then violently shoved off of the platform, creating more injuries to joints and muscles, before being beaten to death with rods.
Device was used during the U.S. Civil War by Union guards against their Confederate Prisoners. “There were some of our poor boys, for little infraction of the prison rules, riding what they called Morgan's mule every day. That was one mule that did the worst standing stock still. He was built after the pattern of those used by carpenters. He was about fifteen feet high; the legs were nailed to the scantling so one of the sharp edges was turned up, which made it very painful and uncomfortable to the poor fellow especially when he had to be ridden bareback, sometimes with heavy weights fastened to his feet and sometimes with a large beef bone in each hand. This performance was carried on under the eyes of a guard with a loaded gun, and was kept up for several days; each ride lasting two hours each day unless the fellow fainted and fell off from pain and exhaustion. Very few were able to walk after this hellish Yankee torture but had to be supported to their barracks.”
The History Channel documentary Eighty Acres of Hell describes a torture device, “the mule,” on which Confederate prisoners were forced to ride
until they passed out; many were crippled for life.