CHAPTER II 



HISTORY OF THE HORSE 



6. BEFORE entering upon the subject of the 

 horse's character and habits, it will be as well 

 to give a brief history of the horse as far back 

 as it can be traced. The native country of the 

 horse is not certainly known. 



Some writers are of the opinion that horses 

 were used in chariots 3,000 years before Christ, 

 but no reliable information can be obtained on 

 this point. 



The gravestones of the Mycenean period show 

 sculpture reliefs of pair horses and chariots, the 

 approximate date of some of these being 

 1500 B.C. According to Basil Tozer, the Libyan 

 women of Asia Minor rode horses astride as 

 early as 1800 B.C., and pairs were also driven in 

 chariots. 



7. About the year 1740 B.C. horses were 

 probably first used in Egypt. The Book of 

 Genesis states that wagons (probably drawn by 

 horses) were used at the time famine devastated 

 Canaan, but that horses were not then common 

 enough to be used as pack animals, because 

 the corn was laden on asses. Soon after this, 

 however, horses became common, and cavalry 

 formed a considerable portion of the Egyptian 

 army. The Bible tells us that, about 1650 B.C., 

 the horse was commonly used by the Egyptians ; 

 horsemen and chariots existed at this time. One 

 hundred and fifty years after this, as we learn 

 from the Book of Exodus, the horsemen were the 

 principal strength of the Egyptian army. Horse 

 races and chariot races were instituted in the 

 Olympic Games in 1450 B.C. 



8. Virgil mentions that King Erichthonius, 

 some time before the year 1400 B.C., was the first 

 to drive a four-in-hand. It is clear from the 

 accounts in the Bible that the first animals to be 

 domesticated were the ox, the sheep, the goat 

 and the ass, and that the horse was not domesti- 

 cated until later. 



In 1000 B.C. dark bay horses were used by 

 the Libyans in Asia Minor, and later many of 

 this colour were imported into Asia Minor. 

 From Homer we also gather that bronze bits 

 were used 1000 years B.C. ; previous to this bone, 

 horn and copper bits had been used. Ancient 

 reliefs show us that men rode at times without 

 saddle or bit. Homer tells us many facts of 

 interest about four-in-hand chariots and expert 

 riding in 900 B.C. in the "Iliad." Horsemanship 



had evidently become quite an art in Homer's 

 time. 



9. About 900 B.C. horse cloths were used by the 

 Assyrians to sit on, but not until 400 years later 

 did the Greeks and Macedonians use cloths for 

 this purpose. Herodotus eays that about 600 B.C. 

 the Greeks learned much from the Libyans, that 

 at this time the Libyans rode astride, and drove 

 pairs as well as four abreast. He also tells us 

 that white horses existed in those days. About 

 650 B.C. riding horses were raced ; at this time 

 cavalry were not much used in war. About 

 400 B.C. the Celts had become good riders and 

 possessed a good cavalry. The reason cavalry 

 were not used in the early days was partly due 

 to the fact that the warrior, when on horse- 

 back, was unable to carry his heavy shield. 

 Herodotus tells us that the horses of this period 

 were to a great extent small and possessed a 

 long shaggy coat ; 300 to 400 B.C. the Gauls of 

 Northern Italy were a race of good horsemen. 



10. Xenophon tells us, more than 350 years 

 before Christ, that jointed bits were used, and 

 that as early as 600 B.C. the art of bitting had 

 reached an advanced stage. Several centuries 

 before Christ horses were taught to dance to 

 music. Homer asserts that Thracian horses 

 were of the finest for riding and chariot work, 

 although riding was not resorted to much in 

 those days. The horses around this date were 

 mostly dappled or of a golden colour, and 

 Achilles' steeds (so history tells us) had very 

 heavy manes. 



11. Greek scholars will remember the inter- 

 esting story Plutarch relates of young Alexander 

 the Great, about 330 B.C., when he displayed 

 before his father, King Philip of Macedonia, his 

 extraordinary knowledge of horses and his com- 

 mon sense. He had, no doubt, studied the writings 

 of the famous horseman, Xenophon, who prob- 

 ably wrote his work on horses about 350 B.C., 

 but he was a born horseman and one of the 

 first natural horsemen that history tells us of. 

 King Philip had a young, nervous horse brought 

 before him, but on account of its apparently 

 ferocious behaviour ordered it to be sent away 

 as unmanageable. Thereupon young Alexander 

 stood out before the mass and declared that he 

 could ride the horse. He was laughed at for 

 his behaviour and severely reprimanded by the 



