92 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



light saddle horses, and the bearing of armored men. Neither 

 the draught nor the war horses of Europe could well have 

 been specialized until their heavy bodies were separated from 

 the ground by these metallic coverings of the hoof. 



Much has depended on the specialization of the horse 

 into different breeds, made possible by the iron shoe. By 



Syrian Horse 



reconciling the creature to uses agriculture, which depends 

 on draught animals, and the commerce of importance, which 

 can only be effected by means of wagons the rapid economic 

 development of our civilization was made possible. By 

 developing a horse capable of bearing an armored man, 

 Europe was brought into a condition in which organized 

 armies took the place of mere forays, and so the development 

 of centralized states was promoted. In the warfare between 

 the Mohammedans and the Christian states of Europe, in 



