Man and Horse

Horses in Mans World

Man and Horse:

"History was written on the back of the horse," according to an inscription at The Horse Park in Kentucky. Horse lovers do not need to be reminded how much human beings owe to equus caballus, but to the general population, civilization's debt is perhaps not immediately apparent.

A comparison of civilizations, that had horses, did not make it

The Warhorse was of great importance to the early warriors; on example was Alexander the Great's charger Bucephalus. When Bucephalus died in 326 BC, Alexander the Great buried him and named a city near the grave, Bucephala. The earliest battles were probably carried out by horse-drawn carriages, and then from approximately 500 B, the warring Greeks employed the services of mounted archers.

Tartar-war-horse

At this time, there were no saddles with stirrups, which must have warfare mounted on a horse, quite an art form. It is likely, that during the time, Roman Empire horses were used to transport soldiers to and from the scenes of battle. But once the soldiers were at the war scene, most of the fighting was conducted on foot.

Napolian's Marengo

The horse named Marengo, legend has it that it was captured during the Egyptian campaign, that Napoleon rode it on all his famous campaigns from the second Italian campaign (man and horse), through the retreat from Moscow, to the final battle at Waterloo. The horse reputedly was captured after that climatic battle and taken to Britain, where it was put on exhibition and even today its skeleton is on display in the National Army Museum.

Until the 15th century, horses in Britain were small by today's standards. Being more pony than horse in size. Henry the VIII made a conscious effort to increase the height of the British horse by decreeing that stallions kept on common land had to be over 15 hh, and also that landowners had to own at least two mares 14hh and above. Horses on the continent were larger, and started to import these to increase the size and stockiness of the British horse. It was an obvious advantage to have a larger horse to use in warfare.


Marengo was a sensation. Crowds pressed into the Waterloo Rooms on Pall Mall to see the proud horse described on the advertising handbills as "Bonaparte's White Barb Charger... favorite Horse of the late Emperor". Man and horse, this small grey Arab stallion, around 14 hands in height (he was called a Barb because he was of Turkish origin), had accompanied his master "through most of his Battles", stated the bills and carried the wounds to prove it: five scars and a bullet lodged in his tail.

Constant, Napoleon's valet, wrote that, "The Emperor mounted a horse without grace... and I believe that he would not have always been very sturdy on the horse if we had not taken so much care to give him only horses perfectly trained."

On the other hand, Ernst Otto Odeleben, more critical of Napoleon's lack of equestrian skills said: "Napoleon rode like a butcher...whilst galloping, his body rolled backwards and forwards and sideways, according to the speed of his horse."

All Sizes and Uses of the Horse

During the Middle Ages, the light draught horse was a favoured mount of the knights. As man and horse, the knights armour could weigh up to 30 stone, so horses had to be big and strong enough too take the weight. They were however, were considerably smaller than the draft horse of today.

In 1651, Oliver Cromwell began to disperse the heavier horse from the cavalry and to import Arabians to produce a lighter,

The early years of the First World War were the last time that horses played a major role in British warfare. There were approximately one million horses and mules employed by the British army, but then on they started to be replaced by mechanisation.

Today in Britain the Household Cavalry, which consists of the blues and Royals and the Life Guards can be seen on guard duty outside Buckingham Palace, and the Kings Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery frequently puts on impressive displays at shows.

Transport, the horse as a means of transport has been invaluable since the horse was first domesticated. There is a great debate as to when exactly to date man was to first ride and use the horse in harness. Evidence of ware on the teeth caused by a bit can be dated to approximately 2000-1900 BC from remains at Malyan in Iran, and from the remains at Dereivks in the Ukraine to approximately 4200-3750 BC. Although horses were controlled using bridles and bits, the development of the saddle and stirrups did not appear till much later for man and horse.

It is probable that oxen and asses were widely used as drought animals before the horse was used in harness. Very early vehicles were made entirely from wood, including the wheels, and would have a central pole to which two animals were harnessed, one on either side.

Early roads were different of those of today, and pulling vehicles would have been heavy and strenuous work. The earliest types of harness were in the form of a yoke, which was attached to an ox's horns or withers. This method of harnessing was very effective with oxen, but when a yolk such as this was placed over the horse's withers, it would have have a restricting effect on the throat; and the modern horse collar was invented during the early Medieval times.

Industry and Commerce Pack animals were animals that are used to carry transport goods on their backs, usually in special pack saddles, or pinner baskets, one on either side of the back. Pack ponies or horses are useful for transporting goods in areas where it is not possible for vehicles to go.

The horse has played a powerful part in industry over the years. Mining had also had a long relationship with the horse,with


thousands of pit ponies used, many, who spent their who life's underground. Miners also used the horse to turn the windlass of the wagon pitheads and to pull the coal wagons.

Mining had also had a long relationship with the horse, with thousands of pit ponies used , many, who spent their who life's underground. Miners also used the horse to turn the windlass of the wagon pitheads and to pull the coal wagons.

During today horses are still used in a minimal sense,they are still used today through traditions that have a lasted through

The horses have to go through intense training to prepare them for loud noises and atmosphere of crowd control, as well as having to learn to cope with heavy traffic and inner-city life.

In countries such as India, which employed a huge amount of mounted police, the police horse is used frequently for patrolling rural and inaccessible areas of the countryside.

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