THE 



Stable Manual 



AND 



Horse Doctor 



INTRODUCTION 



It has been impossible to ascertain with certainty which 

 country was the original home of the horse. The subject, 

 however, is an interesting one, and among specialists may 

 very properly become a theme of investigation and argu- 

 ment. All such matters, however, are outside the scope 

 of a volume such as the present, the object of which is of a 

 purely practical and popular nature. Though not known 

 with any degree of certainty which people first trained the 

 horse, it appears most probable that it was subjugated in 

 Central Asia from an ante-historic period, whence the 

 knowledge of his usefulness radiated to China and India. 

 Another early region, perhaps, of almost equal antiquity 

 in the traiuing of the horse, was Egypt and the adjacent 

 countries. That systematic attention was there paid to 

 the breeding of these animals, abundant historical and 

 sculptured remains testify. »;V On the other hand, in one or 

 other of the countries of Europe, the bridle, the true saddle, 

 and probably the horse-shoe were invented. 



Next to the Egyptians, the Assyrians and Medes became 

 the most celebrated horsemen of the ancient world. These 

 people are often mentioned by the Jewish writers for the 

 beauty of their horses and their skill as horsemen ; and for 



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