422 
THE HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 
he has written a treatise on the curative treatment of horses. Xeno¬ 
phon has also a treatise on equitation (De re Equestri), and an in¬ 
teresting description of the wild ass of the east. 
The well-known anecdote of Alexander taming Bucephalus 
enables us to deduce three conclusions: that Thessaly still main¬ 
tained its reputation for horses—that Macedon was far behind in 
the equestrian art—and that horses were of great value, as the 
price demanded for Bucephalus by Philonicus was no less than 
thirteen talents, or £2518.. 15s. sterling. 
When Darius advanced to meet Alexander, there were 400 led 
horses for the use of the king, exclusive of the cavalry, 10,000 of 
which body were slain in the battle of the Granicus. 
At the foundation of Rome, Romulus chose 300 young men of 
the noblest families to serve on horseback ; but, after the institution 
of the census by Servius Tullus, all persons who were worth 400 
sestertia (£3125), and possessed an unblemished character, had the 
honour of being admitted into the order of Equites. On being en¬ 
rolled, a horse and gold ring were given to each, and he was obliged 
to appear on horseback whenever the state had occasion for his 
services. This constitution of cavalry continued until the time of 
Marius: after that period the military affairs (with which under 
the dominion of ancient Rome every thing concerning equitation is 
inseparably connected), were remodelled. The knights preferred 
the enjoyment of ease and affluence at home to the dangers and 
fatigues of war abroad; their places in the army, therefore, were 
filled by foreign horse, and the title became a mere honorary ap¬ 
pendage, unconnected with military duty. 
A legion consisted of 3000 infantry, as at first fixed by Romulus: 
it was afterwards increased to 6000; but the common number was 
from 4000 to 5000. The Roman cavalry, in battle, were posted on 
the wings or two extremities of the enemy, and fought sometimes on 
foot and sometimes on horseback, as the occasion required. I need 
not remind the classic reader of the description of the war-horse in 
the Eneid, second only to that of Job. The line 
“ Rings to the solid hoof that wears the ground,” 
proves by analogy that the practice of metallic shoeing was not yet 
established. This was first practised during the dark ages, when 
the classic term veterinarius,” employed by the writers of the 
Augustine age, became changed to that of “ farrier,” derived from 
the metal with which the horses were shod. 
The Romans delighted in public games: they formed a part of 
what Buiwer aptly calls the graceful superstitions of Paganism; 
and when, as in the chariot races, they were divested of the sacrifice 
of animal life, must have been alike exciting and picturesque. 
