e EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 



extended, and their noses pointing somewhat upwards. " It may, w 8om * 

 degree," says Berenger, "he difficult to conceive how a wand or stick could 

 he sufficient to guide or control a spirited or ohstinate horse in the violence ol 

 his course, or the tumult of battle ; hut the attention, docility, and memory 

 of this animal are such, that it is hard to say to what a degree of obedience he 

 may not be reduced. There is no reason why these horses should not be 

 brought to understand the intention and obey the will of his rider with as 

 much certainty and readiness as our cart-horses in our crowded streets attend 

 to the voice of their driver, by which they are almost solely governed*.' The 

 older writers say that the horse was touched on the right of the face, to make 

 him go forward — on the left, to direct him to the right — on the muzzle, when 

 he was required to stop ; while the heel was used to urge him forward. The 

 guidance of the horse by the gentle touch of the fingers is well represented in 

 the engraving given at page 4. 



Passing the Isthmus of Suez, ancient writers say not a word of the horses 

 of Arabia. These deserts were not then inhabited by this noble animal, 

 or there was nothing about him worthy of record. 



Palestine, during the later periods of the Jewish monarchy, contained nume- 

 rous horses. Mention has been made of the forty thousand stalls for horses 

 built by Solomon ; but they were all brought from Egypt, and a very little 

 portion of the Holy Land was ever devoted to the breeding of horses after the 

 settlement of the Israelites in it. 



Syria acquired little reputation on this account, nor did Asia Minor gene- 

 rally, with the exception of the country around Colophon, between Smyrna 

 and Ephesus, whose cavalry was so numerous and well trained that they were 

 always in Tequest as mercenaries, and deemed to be invinciblet. 



We must now travel to Armenia, on the west of Media, before we meet 

 with anything to arrest our steps. A beautiful breed of horses was cultivated 

 in this district. The chariot of Xerxes was drawn by Armenian horses, being 

 the stateliest and the noblest which his extensive empire could produce J. 



Some writers, describing the horse at a later period, mention the great care 

 that was taken of the dressing and adorning of the mane. Vegetius gives a 

 long account of this. It was cut into the form of an arch or bow ; or it was 

 parted in the middle, that the hair might fall down on either side ; or, more 

 generally, it was left long and flowing on the right side — a custom which has 

 been retained to the present day$. 



Many old sculptures prove that the horsemen of almost every country 

 mounted on the right side of the animal. There are a few exceptions to this. 

 The mane hanging on that side would assist the rider in getting on the horse. 

 There were not any stirrups in those days. The modern horseman always 

 mounts on the left side, yet the mane is turned to the right ||. 



Media produced numerous horses of the samecharacteras those from Armenia. 



Cappadocia stood highest of all the eastern countries for its breed of 



horses ; not perhaps so speedy as those from some other districts, but dis- 



* Silius Italicns thus describes the manage- f In all long and tedious wars the assistance 



rocnt of the early horse :— of the Colophonian troops was courted, and the 



'* Paret in ohsequium lentse mode ramine party that obtained supplies from them were so 



virgse, [frseni." certain of success, that KoAocpaj-aTifoW, and, 



Verbera sunt prsecepta fugse, sunt verbera afterwards among the Romans, " Coloplionem 



" All needless here the bit's coercive force imponere," were used proverbially for putting 



To guide the motions of the pliant horse : a conclusion to any affair. Strabo, lib. xiv. 



Form'd by the rod alone, its aids they know, + Berenger, vol. i. p. 20. 



And Btop and turn obedient to the blow %." § Denso juha, ct dextro jactata rccumbit 



, in armo. — Virgil. 



f Berenger, vol. i. pp. 2 1 and 26. II Vegetius, lib. iv. t. 7. 



