CHAPTER XXIX. 

 ORIGIN OF THE TYPES OF HORSES. 



The history of the horse dates back to 4000 B. C. Sev- 

 eral wild species existed in Europe and Asia from very remote 

 times, but it was in Asia Minor and Egypt that the horse was 

 first domesticated and made to serve man. He was taken 

 thence to Greece, Rome, and Arabia; thence to more remote 

 parts of Europe and Asia, particularly to Spain, France, and 

 England; and thence to America and Australia. 



For a long time the horses used by the early European 

 tribes and nations were small, semi-wild animals, and no effort 

 was made to improve them by breeding. They were simply 

 native wild horses, captured, tamed, and put to use, and their 

 size and strength was not great enough to permit them to be 

 ridden. They were used principally in warfare, harnessed to 

 chariots. However, there were horses of black color and much 

 greater size and weight native to the region in Western Europe 

 now called Flanders, and these were taken south and east, just 

 as the horses of Asia Minor and Egypt were taken north and 

 west. The infusion of the blood of this large Flemish horse 

 increased the size of European horses and made them suitable 

 for riding and other purposes. Better feed and care also con- 

 tributed to this result. 



The development and progress of the horse was parallel 

 with the development of civilization and a prominent factor 

 in it. The horse was first used for military purposes; next, 

 in ceremonies, both religious and civil; third, in the agricul- 

 tural and commercial pursuits of nations; fourth, in connection 

 with the pastimes and sports of nations. 



First saddle horse. The Arabian horse was the first breed 

 of live stock developed by man. This horse is a saddle type 

 and was developed by the nomadic tribes of the desert for use 

 in warfare. The exact origin is unknown, but the great age 

 of the breed is shown by a legend which says that it is descended 

 from five mares in the stud of King Solomon. It seems to have 

 descended directly from the wild Libyan horse native to Northern 

 Africa most excellent of all known wild varieties of the horse. 

 The Arabian has for centuries possessed such equisite quality, 



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