You’ve probably heard it. That one story about Catherine the Great and a horse. It’s the kind of thing people whisper in history class or bring up at bars once they’ve had a few too many.
Basically, the legend says the Russian Empress died while attempting a sexual act with a stallion. Supposedly, a harness snapped, the horse fell, and that was the end of the most powerful woman in the world.
It’s a wild, gross, and incredibly persistent story.
It is also 100% fake.
Honestly, the Catherine the Great horse myth is one of the longest-running "fake news" campaigns in human history. It wasn't just a random rumor; it was a targeted hit job designed to dismantle her legacy. If you want to understand why people are still talking about this in 2026, you have to look at how a German princess managed to piss off every man in Europe so badly they had to invent a fairy tale about bestiality to feel better.
How the Empress Actually Died
Let’s clear the air. Catherine II didn't die in a stable. She didn't die under a horse.
She died in her bed.
On the morning of November 16, 1796, Catherine got up early as she always did. She drank her strong coffee and went to her study to work. A little later, she went to her private washroom. When she didn’t come out, her attendants got worried. They found her on the floor, barely conscious, having suffered a massive stroke.
They moved her to her bed. She stayed in a coma for hours. By the next evening, November 17, she was dead at the age of 67.
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That’s it. No pulleys. No stallions. No dramatic harness failures. Just a 67-year-old woman with high blood pressure having a stroke. Dr. John Rogerson, her Scottish physician, was right there. He diagnosed the "apoplexy" immediately.
But "Old Woman Dies of Natural Causes" doesn't sell newspapers. And it certainly doesn't help the French and British elite who were terrified of her power.
Why the Catherine the Great Horse Rumor Stuck
So, where did the stallion come from?
The short answer: French propaganda.
Russia was becoming a superpower. Catherine was winning wars, grabbing land (hello, Poland), and corresponding with the smartest philosophers of the Enlightenment like Voltaire and Diderot. She was brilliant, she was female, and she was "uncontrolled."
At the time, the French Revolution was tearing Europe apart. Catherine hated the Revolution. She saw it as a threat to monarchy. In return, the French hated her. They started printing "libelles"—scandalous pamphlets meant to trash her reputation.
They focused on her sex life because that was the easiest way to hurt a woman in the 18th century. Catherine did have lovers. A lot of them. Twelve, to be exact. She was a serial monogamist who rewarded her "favorites" with titles and palaces.
In a world where kings kept dozens of mistresses and no one batted an eye, Catherine’s behavior was seen as "insatiable."
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The horse part likely came from a few places:
- She was a "Horse Girl": Catherine loved riding. When she first arrived in Russia, she shocked the court by riding "astride" (like a man) instead of sidesaddle.
- The Military Connection: Her lovers were often officers in the cavalry. She was surrounded by men in uniforms and their horses.
- The Satire: French and British cartoonists loved to draw her "striding" over Europe. One famous British cartoon called "An Imperial Stride" showed her with one foot in Russia and one in Constantinople, with tiny kings looking up her skirt.
The myth took her real passion—horsemanship—and her real sex life, and mashed them into something so taboo that it could never be forgotten.
The "Weird Horse Girl" of St. Petersburg
If we strip away the gross lies, what we actually find is an Empress who was obsessed with equestrian culture. Catherine wasn't just a casual rider; she was a legitimate expert.
One summer, she hired Zimmerman, the best horseman in Russia, to give her lessons. She’d wake up at 6:00 AM, throw on men’s breeches, and spend hours in a private garden arena she built for herself. Zimmerman eventually gave her silver spurs to recognize her skill.
She also helped save Russian horse breeding.
Her lover, Count Orlov, founded the Khrenovsky stud farm using land she gave him. Together, they developed the Orlov Trotter, a breed that became world-famous for its stamina and speed. Orlov's foundation sire, Smetanka, was an Arabian stallion purchased for 60,000 rubles—an insane amount of money back then.
Catherine owned hundreds of horses. She viewed them as symbols of state power, not objects of desire.
The Misogyny of History
Why does this story still pop up today?
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Think about other powerful women in history. Marie Antoinette? They said she wanted the poor to eat cake (she didn't). Cleopatra? They said she was a seductress who died for love (she was actually a brilliant politician and linguist).
When a woman holds "too much" power, history often tries to reduce her to her body.
If people think of Catherine the Great and immediately think of a horse, they aren't thinking about her law reforms, her expansion of the Russian Empire, or her massive collection of art that eventually became the Hermitage Museum. The rumor is a "mute" button for her actual achievements.
Actionable Takeaways for the History Buff
The next time someone brings up the Catherine the Great horse story, you don't have to just roll your eyes. You can actually set the record straight with these facts:
- Check the medical record: She died of a stroke (apoplexy) in her bed, confirmed by her physician, Dr. John Rogerson.
- Follow the money: The rumor was largely fueled by French revolutionaries and British satirists who were politically opposed to Russian expansion.
- Recognize the "Horse Girl" reality: She was an avid rider who helped develop the Orlov Trotter breed. Her interest in horses was athletic and industrial, not sexual.
- Identify the pattern: Realize that "sex scandal" is the oldest trick in the book for discrediting female leaders.
The real Catherine was much more interesting than the myth. She was a woman who overthrew her own husband (Peter III), survived smallpox by being the first person in Russia to get a "vaccination" (variolation), and turned a backwater kingdom into a global empire.
That's a legacy that doesn't need any help from a stallion.
If you're looking to dive deeper into her real life, grab a copy of Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie. It’s widely considered the gold standard for separating the woman from the gossip. Focus on the actual letters she wrote to her favorites like Grigory Potemkin; they reveal a woman who was deeply lonely, highly intelligent, and occasionally very funny—qualities a horse story could never capture.