CHAPTER XIII 

 RELATION BETWEEN HORSE AND MASTER 



History. — The first reference to the domesticated horse is in 

 the Book of Genesis, Cha20ter xii, verse 4."], and records him in use 

 by the Egyptians in Joseph's time, 1715 b.c. Modern research, 

 however, leads us to believe that the Egyptians derived their 

 horses and ideas of horsemanship from the Libyans, the people 

 of the other division of the Hamitic branch of the white race 

 inhabiting JSTorthem Africa and with whom the Egyptians were 

 frequently brought in contact. From this centre the general 

 distribution of horses throughout Arabia, Asia ilinor, Asia, and 

 Europe was accomplished with greater rapidity than has marked 

 the advance in the domestication of any other animal. Con- 

 trary to a popular belief, there were no horses in Arabia at the 

 beginning of the Christian Era. The horse has been and is yet, 

 in primitive countries, preceded as a beast of burden by the dog, 

 camel, ox, and ass. 



Recently archaeologists have unearthed evidence that the 

 horse not only existed but was subjugated to the service of man 

 in the Old Stone Ag'c, when men lived in caves, worked and 

 fought with implements and weapons of stone of most crude 

 design, and were supposed to have domesticated only the dog and 

 the reindeer. 



The first use made of the horse was in warfare. The war 

 chariot has been regarded as a creation of the Egyptians, but it 

 is believed now that the desig-n was borrowed from the Libyans. 

 Later, the war horses were ridden, and hand-to-hand combat with 

 spear or lance and shield was waged by their riders, although at 

 first the horses served only for the transportation of the com- 

 batants to the field of battle, where they dismounted and fought 

 on foot. With the adoption of armor, the size of the horse was 

 materially increased, in order that he might be ca]>able of carry- 

 ino' the gross weight of rider and armor both for man and horse. 



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