XY1 
THE HORSE. 
HISTORY. 
of their conquests. These horses are still found to prevail in Poland, Moldavia, Hungary, and other countries of the Danube; 
and they have penetrated into Prussia and the countries of the Baltic. 
The first of the European countries in which we have historical records of the domestication of the Horse is the glorious 
land of Ancient Greece. In the fifteenth century before Christ, coeval with the age of Moses, the Olympic games are computed 
to have been established at Elis; but however this he, in a subsequent age, Elis, by common consent, became the theatre to which 
the warlike youth of Greece resorted to claim the olive crown for victory in the chariot race and athletic combats. Games at 
other places were established, and continued after Greece had ceased to be a country of warriors and freemen. The races of the 
chariot were the first in order of time and pre-eminence; but about the fifteenth Olympiad, the simple horse-race was added, and 
sculptured monuments remain to show the Grecian horse as he was caparisoned for either use. The Hippodrome, in which the 
horse and chariot races took place, was of narrow extent, and from the frequent turnings, all the address and courage of the 
charioteers and horsemen was called for. The horsemen used no saddles or stirrups, which added to the difficulty of the exercise, 
and the horses, like those of all the ancients, were unshod. The Greeks derived their finest horses from Asia Minor, but the races 
of the country were then, as now, of mixed blood, partly derived from the countries south of the Caucasus, and partly from Thrace 
and the countries of the Danube. The sculptured representations of the Grecian horse which have reached us exhibit much of 
what may be called the Caucasian character, mixed, however, with the hardier aspect of the horses of the North. The modern 
inhabitants of the same countries have likewise races of horses of mixed lineage. The finest of the Turkish horses are derived 
from the Asiatic provinces; the most esteemed for the saddle are obtained from the Syrian deserts and Arabia, and the most 
robust and most active and useful from Servia, Bosnia, and the other provinces of the north. 
In Italy, the Horse had been subjugated from periods of great antiquity. Of the character of the early horses of the Italian 
nations we know nothing; but the representations of the Horse in a later age lead us to the conclusion that the Homans culti¬ 
vated a strong and muscular horse, rather than one of much lightness and elegance of figure. But during the luxury of the 
empire, horses were necessarily derived from many sources, and races of mixed lineage established. Of the native breeds, the 
Tuscan and Etrurian were the most esteemed; of foreign races, the Spanish and Sicilian were valued; and in a later age those of 
Barbary were introduced, to give greater lightness to the horses employed in the Circensian games. The games of the Circus 
were established at an early period, and included both horse and chariot races. The Circus Maximus, first built by Tarquinius 
Priscus, was an oblong of three and a half furlongs in length, with rows of seats, one above the other, all round, capable, according 
to Pliny, of containing 250,000 persons, and, according to modern measurements, 380,000. Along the centre of the space ran a 
thick low wall, at the ends of which were pyramidal columns, rising from one base, termed Metso, round which the horses and 
chariots turned. The race usually consisted of seven rounds, equal to between seven and eight miles. The horsemen were gene¬ 
rally slaves or trained performers. A number of horses started together, and the riders were divided into parties distinguished by 
the colours they bore. The spectators interested themselves in the success of these parties rather than in that of the individual 
horses, as in the modern Turf; and the contests were altogether of a ruder character than we now associate with the ideas of this 
kind of exercise. The horses employed in it must have possessed strength as well as speed. The horses of modern Italy present 
a great diversity of character. On the irruptions of the barbarians, the horses of the northern wilderness must have been intro¬ 
duced in great numbers. During the times of chivalry, and the heavy armed cavalry of the middle ages, it may be believed that 
the more powerful kinds of horses would be sought for; and there are many of these still in Italy. The horses of Naples are yet 
in high estimation for their strength and noble action. Many of them were formerly introduced into England, and contributed to 
form the mixed races of that country. But the horses of Naples, as of other parts of Italy, have lost their value, as compared 
with foreign races, and few are now carried out of the country. 
Spain is a country in which the Horse has been more mixed with African blood than in other parts of Europe. In the early 
part of the eighth century, the Moors and Arabs of Northern Africa invaded the country, and maintained a long dominion over 
it. During ages of heroic struggles they were by degrees subdued, and after the lapse of nearly 800 years, the remains of them, 
when deprived of weapons, and engaged in the pursuits of peaceful industry, were expelled by edicts of unheard of bigotry and 
cruelty. During this long period, the horses of Africa were introduced in great numbers, and affected in an important manner 
the characters of the native races. This mixture of blood was the greatest in Andalusia, Granada, and other kingdoms of the 
south, and here it is that the Spanish Jennet was formed, and is still found with its pristine characters. These elegant little 
horses were greatly valued over Europe. They are stouter than the Barbs, but have much of the same graceful and easy action. 
They are gentle, spirited, and capable of long and rapid journeys. They were used as palfreys in the middle ages, and numbers 
of them being brought to England, they were mingled with the native races. 
France has long produced a vast number of horses for war, for the chase, for the saddle, and for carriages of every kind. 
