CHAPTER II 



BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DOMESTICATED HORSE 



WITHOUT doubt the ass, an inferior member of the 

 equine family, was domesticated long before the horse. 

 It is believed that the horse was unknown to the 

 Israelites until they sojourned in Egypt, and presum- 

 ably up to that time it had not been domesticated. It 

 is impossible to determine the place of its origin. 

 It is enough to say that the horse is first spoken of as a 

 domesticated animal during the famine in Egypt, when 

 it is stated that Joseph exchanged corn for horses 

 about 1712 B. C. In 1898 B. C., Abimelech gave 

 many and valuable presents to Abraham, such as 

 oxen, sheep, man-servants and maid -servants, she- 

 asses and he -asses, but no mention is made of horses, 

 md, as horses became the most common and valued 

 sents during the sixteenth century B. C., it is be- 

 that the horse had not yet been brought under 

 [ominion of man anterior to the beginning of 

 ighteenth century B. C. As soon as they were 

 ticated they became common in the most civil- 

 oun tries, such as Media and Persia. Assyria at 

 an my date employed large numbers of horses in 

 the cavalry division of the army. Some were also 

 harnessed to war -chariots. That branch of the service 

 which required horses was usually more effective than 

 the infantry, as compared with modern times. 



(21) 



