All About Horses

Through the centuries, horses have become our workmates, friends and partners.

When stone age people painted horses on the walls of caves, they may have been conjuring up spirits to help them with the hunt. Since then, they've been used in religeous rituals and even worshipped.

The first tribes to master the art of taming and riding the horse gained speed and power beyond their wildest dreams. Its no wonder that in peoples imagination, horses took on magical powers and became part of legend and folklore across the world.

Ancient civilisations prized and respected them above all other animals. They became symbols of status, rank, nobility and wealth and the mounts of warriors and Kings, such as Alexander the Great...

So, naturally, the gods had horses too and ancient myths are full of supernatural horses and horse-like creatures. Often they were unruly and hard to control. Sometimes taking on strange and terrifying forms.

 

 

The mobility horses gave to people in war, helped to shape history and played a crucial role in warfare for centuries, until powerful machinery took them out of the firing line in world war 1.

For thousands of years before the days of cars, lorries, buses and trains, transport mean't horses.

Whether leading a packhorse, riding, or driving a carriage, anyone or anything going places went by horsepower. The word "horsepower" is a modern day reminder of the heavy horse's contribution to our world.

We do not know for certain where wild horses were first caught, tamed and bred by MAN, but much of the available information points to the steppe region north of the Caucasus mountains. These vast, treeless plains, which are over four thousand kilometres wide and stretch from the Black Sea to Mongolia, were undoubtedly the homeland of the largest herds of horses in the world in the early days of mankind.

Somewhere in these steppes some nomads "invented' riding, and opened up vast new horizons for themselves. They must have been filled with inordinate pride when they learn't to controll these fast, powerful animals which had such incredible stamina, and to go hunting on their backs across the plains.

They would never dream, however, that their discovery could change the course of history. Even as they harnessed horses in front of their war chariots, and galloped forth to instill fear into the early peoples of the region between the Euphrates and Tigris, they could not know that for thousands of years the horse and pony would play a decisive role in all great campaigns of conquest.

Quite apart from the martial aspect, the horse revolutionalised the nomadic life of the steppes. It gave the herdsmen and hunters a much greater mobility, which enabled them to extend their influence and gain a certain degree of prosperity.

As riding spread to the tribes of herdsmen in the remotest origins of the steppes, it created a new form of society which had survived all the advanced civilisations. It lasted for at least 3,000 years and vestiges of it still remain.

The earliest equestrian peoples were the ancestors of the powerful Scythians, Huns and Tarters who spread fear and terror under Attila, and who then, under Genghis Khan, conquered the greatest empire of all time.

Their descendants can still be seen crossing the steppes with their great herds of horses. Many still live almost as they did thousands of years ago, subsisting on horsemeat and kumiss. The riders spend the whole day in the saddle and sleep in yurts, round tents constructed out of wooden poles and felt.

The Nez Perce Indians of America, are recognized as having developed the Appaloosa...now one of the most popular horse breeds in America...

Modern Day Horses

In many countries, donkeys, mules and horses still carry out their traditional roles of providing transport and a livelihood for their owners, as they have done for centuries.

Although in the developed nations of the world, we may not depend on our equine friends like our ancestors did, they are still very much a part of our lives.

Today we have the chance to simply enjoy them and have fun riding and developing their talents by training them for all kinds of equestrian sports, such as:..racing...show jumping...dressage... and horse treks...

These activities have created a massive industry in horse products such as:.. equestrian tack...feed...and grooming gear, etc...

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