A Brief History of The Horse

Before we get started on a brief account of thenamed Pegasus is also written in mythology.o Long
'History of the Horse' here are a few facts I thoughtago, horses that ventured into Kenya unfortunately
you would find interesting.o Approximately 75 milliondied because of a disease known as
horses inhabit our world today, no kidding! Can youTrypanosomiasis. Ponies that had reached the clean
even wrap yourhead around that many horses? Don' tand disease free part of Kenya and survived became
worry, I find it very hard indeed.o The height of a horsethe first horses in East Africa.
can be measured using hands. 1 hand is equivalent to 4Though horses become domesticated long ago, a lot
inches.o The horse has a sharp sense of hearing,of misconceptions appear about their history. Quoting
direction and smell. The skin is very sensitive and it willB. MacFadden from University of Florida, he presents
respond quickly with a slightest touch, neck reining,some records from his journal "Science":o Around 20
etc.o Popular breeds are Thoroughbreds, Arabians,million years ago, horses changed in size. Some got
Quarter horses, American Paints, Appaloosas,larger and others minimize to sizes of dogs. These
Clydesdale, Palominos, Rocky Mountain Horses,animals did not simply evolved bigger.o Prehistoric
Morgans, etc. there are allot more breeds, just toohorses weren't leaf eaters. They just adapted into
many to name here.o There are several markings oneating both leafy materials and grasses.o The horse's
the animal's body like a star, white face, stripe, whitefossils in North America went extinct about 55 to
muzzle, blaze, etc.10,000 million years ago. These were the first horses
Facts are not useful without the historical information.and not those that were brought by settlers in Europe
Horses, like any other creature, became useful a longto America.
time ago. During the time of Solomon and the dividedMacFadden further stated that a clear knowledge of
kingdom, Israel also made extensive use of chariotsthe records of horses' fossils is vital to illustrate their
and horses. Solomon had forty thousand stalls ofevolution.
chariot horses and twelve thousand chariot soldiers.(1Horses have been visible throughout the history and
kings 4:26). A horse and chariot could easily travelhave been used in various purposes. One vital purpose
thirty milesin a day; and up to forty-five miles a dayof these animals is a means of transportation. They
when necessary. Amazing!have also been used in agriculture and wars.
Horse drawings existed about 3000 BC. Drawings ofNowadays, the gracefulness, agility, speed and
chariots being pulled by horses can be seen in cavesstrength of horses are employed for pleasure and
during the Bronze Age.competitions. Similar to other animals, horses have an
A tomb in Egypt presented horse riding in 1600 BC; thisextremely rich history worthy of study and enjoyment.
is the earliest of records that can be traced in Egypt.A Brief Guide to Different Breeds
It was during 1400 BC when a first written textI have listed just a very few breeds here to give you
regarding horses is produced. The text states trainingan idea. There are hundreds ofdifferent breeds in the
of horses for chariots. Xenophon wrote the Art ofworld today and I am sure many more to come.
Horsemanship about 360 BC and therein discussedARABIAN - One of the oldest and arguably the most
horseback riding, psychology and care for the horse.beautiful breed in the world, Arabian horses are
Information on the book is still relevant and being utilizedprimarily bred by the Bedouins, a roaming Arab tribe,
today.and mainly used for competitive and recreational riding.
During the Ice Age, horses roamed around everyExpect to pay expensively if you wish to acquire an
continent excluding Antarctica. They vanishedArabian horse. This particular breed led to the
mysteriously during this era; a theory stated that thedevelopment of Thoroughbreds.
disappearance was due to migration of these animalsQUARTER HORSE - The United States is the proud
towards west through land bridges in Siberia.and original breeder of quarter horses, and they can
After Charlemagne around the 4th century, horsesbe used for riding, racing, and work purposes. Most of
with stirrups and saddles were very visible. This is anthe photos you'll see around you featuring cowboys
Asiatic invention; it was believed that Asians were theare mounted on quarter horses.
first who had tamed and ridden horses. It paved theANDALUSIAN - Also referred to as the Spanish
way of the mounted knights' development. Aroundhorse, the Andalusian breed originates from the Iberian
1519 AD these animals reappeared in NorthernPeninsula and has a considerable influence over almost
America and were brought by Spanish conquerors toall other horse breeds except for the .
MexicoBELGIAN HEAVY DRAFT HORSE - This breed is
Even with these historical reviews, there are otherone of the most popular choices for working horses.
historical facts being presented by other countries. It isMUSTANG OR BRONCO - A Mustang is a
known that Persians, Chinese and Assyrians werefree-roaming feral horse of the North American west.
skillful horse riders way back in 3000 BC.o BrahmansIt first descended from horses brought to the Mustang"
of India claimed themselves as the first horse riders.is also popular for high-performance products and
Chinese were believed to be the true horsemen; waysports mascots.
back to 4000 BC, they started harnessing their horses.Note: In 1971, the United States Congress recognized
As early as 1000 BC, Chinese were also involved inMustangs as "living symbols of the historic and pioneer
selective conformation and breeding of horses.ospirit of the West, which continue to contribute to the
Hittites of Mediterranean were using horses for wardiversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the
around 1,600 BC.o Assyrians were the first racelives of the American people." Today, Mustang herds
among eastern Mediterraneans to have used horsesvary in the degree to which they can be traced to
with a load; this resembles the saddle of today.ooriginal Iberian horses. Some contain a greater genetic
Egyptians used chariot horses to expand their empire;mixture of ranch stock and more recent breed
this is way back to 1650 BC. The kinds of horses usedreleases, others are relatively unchanged from the
in Egypt are much different from the Arabian horses.ooriginal Iberian stock, most strongly represented in the
Greek mythology presented horses as sea creaturesmost isolated populations.
ruled by their god Posiedon. Posiedon's winged horse