The post-horn is a brass or copper coil-shaped instrument with a cupped mouthpiece and is currently performed on Filbert Way by Paul Hing.
Despite a common misconception that its use is a nod to Leicestershire’s association with fox hunting, its debut was seven years before the fox was first used on the Club crest. It would be true to say, however, that it was sometimes played as a hunting horn – not a post-horn – for a period of time, but its establishment dates back to delivery traditions of the Victorian era.
The Post-Horn Gallop was used in the 18th and 19th centuries by coachmen on horse-drawn mail coaches to announce the arrival of mail. Often, these mail coaches would travel at speed, meaning the post-horn would act as a siren to instruct bystanders and road users to clear the way.
In 1844, German cornet player Hermann Koenig composed the Post-Horn Gallop as a solo, with orchestral accompaniment. In the 20th century, it became a popular piece for brass bands.
Although now considered to be definitively a Leicester City tradition, playing the Post-Horn Gallop was relatively common across the English football landscape in the first 20th century. The first such game on record was held at Highbury as Arsenal hosted none other than Leicester Fosse in September 1913 – 28 years before its Filbert Street debut.