A swivel cannon For comment

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Philip

I wonder about the reaction of the typical camel to any one of those guns being discharged above its head. I've read somewhere that it takes a bit of training to accustom a cavalry horse to the sound of gunfire; do camels have a notably different disposition as a rule?

Yes they are trained to not notice the bangs and anyway they cannot run off as the firing is done when they are crouched and tethered. The guns are relatively quick to dismount completely but still the animals need to be tied so they cannot run off..They are funny creatures and even when trained can be spooked by a leaf blowing across their track and will bolt for the oddest excuse. They are trained to the camel stick. About ten camel sticks are used in a typical training program of a few weeks to bash the animal around the head until the stick breaks!! This is cruel but its how its done. consequently the beast is almost completely stick responsive except for a few additional guttural sounds from the handler. Conversely the stick is rather like a car key and the camel will not obey the rider unless he has one.

ACTUALLY THE STICKS SHOWN HERE ARE NOT THE MORE FLEXIBLE BAMBOO TYPE USED FOR CAMELS...BUT MORE THE DRESS ITEM..