396 HORSES 



isthmus and finally spread over all the fertile areas of the 

 Old World. The horses that were left in America died 

 out, meanwhile. Only a few fossil remains have been 

 preserved in places like the old lake-basins of Utah and 

 Wyoming. 



According to a legend of ancient Greece, the horse was 

 created by Neptune as a result of a contest between him- 

 self and Minerva. Neptune, the god of the sea, and 





HORSE BARN. 



Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, vied with each other to 

 confer the most valuable gift upon mankind. Minerva 

 created the olive tree, which was to feed the hungry over 

 all the world. Neptune, after having studied the needs of 

 man, struck his trident upon the earth, from which there 

 sprang a prancing steed, that would serve its master in 

 peace and war. 



294. Origin of the Two Great Types. The methods of 

 warfare during the middle ages had much to do with 

 forming our present types of horses. During the age of 



