1975 $50 - Two horses have butt "tattoos"!

News: Welcome to the Canadian Paper Money Forum.

I have been a paper money collector for over 25 years, I grew up with the Multicolour series and have seen more 1975 $50 bills than I can remember.  But until yesterday, I never realized the following:
On the back of the 1975 $50, two of the horses each have a white maple leaf on their left buttock!  See attached scan if you don't believe me...

Has everyone else always known about these oddly-placed maple leafs, because I was blown away when I spotted them!  I wonder if the BofC put these markings on the horses so that police and bank personnel would have a secret method of spotting a counterfeit - it would certainly make the counterfeiter feel like a horse's ass if he got caught!

So, imagine that...long before Cher had butterflies tattooed onto her butt, the Mounties were putting maple leafs on their horses' butts!  

Actually, all RCMP horses have this marking during the Musical Ride.

The following quote is taken directly from a FAQ page on the RCMP Musical Ride website (link below):

Q: Why is the Maple Leaf on the horse's rump?

A: It is used for show, plus it is our unique way of displaying our Canadian symbol. The Maple Leaf is made a few minutes before every show with a stencil and a wet brush.

Link: Click here, then scroll up just a bit.

That's such an interesting fact

BUTT why would they put the Canadian Maple Leaf there? :-?

Probably for visibility, ease of creating, and least likelihood of being disturbed by anything. Plus, as they say, it is their "unique way of displaying our Canadian symbol."

I'm so glad you "assed" that question.