96 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



that there was no need for anyone to touch them, 

 and that was the greatest sport ! Then Thorgeir 

 and Kol made up their minds that they would 

 push their horse forward just as the horses rushed 

 together, and see if Gunnar would fall before 

 him. 



" Now the horses ran at one another again, and 

 both Thorgeir and Kol ran alongside their horse's 

 flank. Gunnar pushed his horse against them, 

 and what happened in a trice was this, that 

 Thorgeir and his brother fell flat down on their 

 backs, and their horse atop of them ! " 



Soon after this the horse battle developed into 

 a serious encounter between the partisans of the 

 respective animals, with the result that Gunnar's 

 horse had an eye gouged out by Thorgeir. In 

 the library at Reykjavik a very interesting picture 

 representing a horse battle of this kind is still to 

 be seen. 



We have now seen how, from the very earliest 

 time until the eve of the Norman Conquest, the 

 horse played a prominent part in the world's 

 history. More than any other animal it had 

 helped, either directly or indirectly, to bring about 

 great victories, to develop and strengthen the 

 courage of nations, to mould the character of men, 

 and to add in several ways to life's pleasure. 



