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 folklaw 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 Kings and warriors. 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.

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 horses 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 them and developing their talents by training them for all kinds of sports.