ESSAYS. 



THE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING OF THE 



FAMILY HORSE. 



BY 0. 8. BUTLER, OF GEORGETOWN. 



To man, whether as a civilized being or as a barbarian, (no 

 animal is more useful than the horse;' and for beauty of form, 

 or grace of movement, the horse has no superior, among the 

 domestic animals. He is man's most trusty and serviceable 

 friend, and in his domestic qualities and habits is surpassed 

 only by the dog. /it would be very interesting to trace the 

 history of the horse from his original home in Egypt (not 

 Arabia as has been supposed), down to the present time, when 

 he stands, confessed, the noblest animal of this, or any other 

 age.\ 



We say from his home in l^gypt, for, undoubtedly, Egypt 

 was the original home of the horse. The first mention in his- 

 tory that we have of the horse, is at the time when the famine 

 was raging in Egypt, and Joseph, who was ruler of Pharaoh's 

 house, took horses of the surrounding nations for bread. \ And 

 again, on the death of Jacob, the father of Joseph, his funeral 

 was attended by both chariots and horsemen. ; From this time 

 onward, the horse was found to be specially adapted for use in 

 battle). We are informed that at the time of the exodus, some 

 fifteen hundred years befoie the Christian era, the pursuing 

 army contained six hundred chosen chariots, and all the char- 

 iots of Egypt, together with all the horsemen. And we find 

 that when the Israelites returned back into Canaan, they found 

 that the horse had already been naturalized in that country, 

 for the Canaanites went out to fight against Israel, with horses 

 and chariots very many. ; From these, and other considerations, 

 and from the fact that so late as six hundred years after this 



