THE HORSE 



CHAPTER I " . 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE 



THE HORSE OF SCRIPTURE — THE GREEK HORSE — THAT OF THE ROMANS — THE ARAB 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 com- 

 mentators, however, render the word which is translated " mules " in 

 our version, as " waters," and thus a doubt is thrown upon the correctness 

 of the inference 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 not 

 have been remarkable in any way for her horses, for Solomon, while 

 he resorted to her for silver and gold, mounted his cavalry from 



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