Hy Bi EL O..BOS. E. 
CHAPTER I. 
EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 
THE WORSE OF SCRIPIURE—THE GREEK HORSE—THAT OF THE ROMANS—THE ARAR OF 
ANTIQUITY—EGYPTIAN, LIBYAN, NUMIDIAN, AND MOORISH HORSES—THE ORIGINAL 
BRITISH HORSE—ANCIENT METHODS OF USING THE HORSE. 
THE HORSE OF SCRIPTURE. 
THE EARLIEST RECORD of the Horse which we possess is in the Old 
Testament, where we first find him inferentially mentioned in the thirty- 
sixth chapter of Genesis, as existing in the wilderness of Idumea about 
the beginning of the sixteenth century before Christ. Many commenta- 
tors, however, render the word which is translated “mules” in our version, 
as “waters,” and thus a doubt is thrown upon the correctness of the in- 
ference which is thence drawn. Moreover, in the thirty-second chapter of 
Genesis, camels, goats, sheep, cattle and asses are all severally alluded to, 
but no horses; so that it is highly probable that in the time of Jacob, 
whose departure from Laban is there narrated, horses were unknown to 
the Israelites. It was not until after their arrival in Egypt that the horse 
is clearly alluded to, Jacob, on his deathbed, leaves us no room to doubt 
his knowledge of the horse, and of its being domesticated, for he speaks 
of the “horse and his rider” in the same sentence. We need, therefore, 
go no further for a proof of the early existence of this animal in Egypt, 
and may assume that there were large numbers of them there, for Pharaoh 
is recorded to have taken “ six hundred chosen chariots, and all the horses,” 
to pursue the Israelites to the Red Sea. It is generally supposed from 
the omission of all mention of horses while the Israelites were in Arabia, 
that this country, which has since become so celebrated for them, was at 
that time entirely without them. ‘The proof, however, is entirely of a 
negative character, though I confess that it is as strong as any of that 
nature can well be. Indeed, six hundred years later, Arabia could no¢ 
have been remarkable in any way for her horses, for Solomon, while he 
resorted to her for silver and gold, mounted his cavalry from Egypt. Yet 
the latter country could scarcely be the native land of the horse, not pos- 
sessing the extensive plains which are peculiarly suited to his existence in 
a wild state, and it is considered probable that he was introduced from the 
central regions of Africa, which are undoubtedly the native plains of the 
Quagga, the Zebra, and some other congeners of the Horse ; but where, 
euriously enough, he is not now found in a wild state. Thence he would 
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