Goose pulling (also called gander pulling, goose riding or pulling the goose) was a blood sport practised in parts of the Netherlands , Belgium, England and North America from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The sport involved fastening a live goose with a well-greased head to a rope or pole that was stretched across a road. A man riding on horseback at a full gallop would attempt to grab the bird by the neck in order to pull the head off. Sometimes a live hare was substituted. It is still practised today, using a dead goose, in parts of Belgium and in Gr-evenbicth in the Netherlands as part of shrove tuesday and in some towns in Germany as part of the Sh-rove Monday celebrations.
