THE HORSE— HELPER OF MAN

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 19, 15 October 1937, Page 33 (Supplement)

THE HORSE— HELPER OF MAN

Dates Back to Israelites

fJYEE horse has filled the Tole of friend i and helper of man for cnany centuries. Most authorities are agreed that tho dfaught horse has evolved from ihe Lower Eocene Period. NeVertheless the firsfc actual proof of the existence of the horse appears to date back to the time of the Israelites. Not until the arrival of the Israelites in Egypt, is the frst allusion made to the horse. However, Jacob on his death bed leaves no doubt as to the domestication of the horse, for he speaks of "the horse and its rider." Proof of the early existence of the horse in IJgypt in apparently large numbers is also provided by the fact that Pharoah is recorded to have taken ' ' six hundred chosen chanots and all the horses" to porsne the Israelites to the Ked Sea. Even in those days little information wag provided that would give an indication of the precise form of the horses

then in use, for apparently the first roention of the horse of the Scriptures is expressed in the glowing language of Job, who, however, refers mainly to the spirit of the species, and excludes anything that would enable a definite opinion to be formed of its general con- ( iormation. The Greek Horse The horse of the Greeks provides far more information on this subject, for Aenophon in his writings, as well as the marble friezes of the Parthenon which are preserved in the Nationai Muaeum, supply dotail which enables cn© to very acurately visualiso tho * horse of the day. Xenophon, in givrog advice on the purchase of a horse, gtresses many, if not all, of the requisite quuJities that oue would scek la the present-day aninial. Far less is known of the Konini! horse than of that of the Greeks. It is clear, however, that Caesar depe:ided for his cavalry upoh* Galli'e ' " lio'rses which were able to ride down the Roman horses of his rivnl, Poinpey, without the siightest difticulty. So, also

Urassus was unable to make lnay in Asia against the Parthian horse, and from his day until British horses were transported to Oriental soil the superlority of the Asiatic horses remained mdispuletf. Much doubt exista concerning the forbears of the Arab. Despite the glamour that suriounds it , and its association with the desert tribes, its aristocratic appearance, high spirit and unceasing energy, its original conformation appeaTs to be somewhat obscure. It is a eurious fact that on a majority of Arabian horses of high caste, somewhere or other, often on the neck or quarters, there is a little indentation in the flesh known as "the niark of the Prophet's thumb," which is often present in our own thoroughbreds. This refers to the ancient legend that Mahomet put his seal upon live favnjrito mares by impriting his thumb vpon them and their families are freqnently said to form the solect "upper cJasses" of the desert under the title of E1 Khamsa.

The Unchanged Arabs * ' The Arab of the present day is said by his countrymen to »be the samo in form, in carriage and in enduranee as those which existed in Arabia before the time of Christ. Seientifie knowledge goes to disprove the popularly accepted idea that the horse was originally found wild in Arabia. The nature of the original stcck which formed the foundation of the modern European horso is extremely doubtful. Sir Walter 'Gilbey claims it for the Shire horse, whilst Lord A. Cecil is of the opinion that it is associated with Clydesdale. Both may be right, as certain points could well be developed from the original stock to make them now so difleront. When the Komans invaded Britain ,they found the peoplo in, the posscssion of horses, using them for their chariots as well as for riding. According to Hir Walter Gilbey, of ihe descendants of the old Englisb Great Horse or "War" Horse, the Shire is the oldest form of horse m Englaud. One thousand years ago this horse was , written of as "the Great Horse," and

' nearly one thousand years before that evidence is available which goes to prove that the same stamp of horse existed in Britain. This type of horse, so m«ch usid in agriculture, traces back to the direct descendants of the horse which Julins Caesar found in England, and which attracted his attcntion for its efficieucy as a war horse in the service of tho ancient Britons. The Great Horse was essentially a war horse until tlio middle ages in England, up to which time general haulago was performed by oxee. The English Draugbt During the Wars of tho Koses liorse broeding was seriously checked, but as many as a hundred stallions were imported in tho reign of King John from the Netherlands, and according to Sir Walter Gilboy it is from this blendiug nearly 700 years ago of these animals with the English breed that aoine strains at least of our heavy draught " horses must be said to date iheir origin. In the latter part of the 18th ecntury, the agriculturists of Worfolk and Buffolk paid special attentioh to Ihe cart horse which, though regardcd us a plain horse, was said to be level and symmetrical. He was a low set, loug

backed horse, with shouldcrs too. far forwaTd, and a deep barrelled horse. The improved Suffolk is lighter and quicker than the old breed with a low, powerful shouldfcr, and very drooping crqjip. The legs are very clean and wiry. It was also abqut this time that the farmers of Lincolnshire produced what was known as the »lray horse, magnificently shapcd horses, which enjoyed great populrity. They wero tho produce of a cros3 betvveoh the Old English black and tho rteaiish liorse. Whilst the ScolchmaA is given tho credit for the developinent oi' tho Clydesdale, which, it is claimed, comes from the valley of the Clyde in Lanarkshire, Ihe Shire is an English production, though tlie exact origin of the Clydesdale, or, indced, of any other breed of caTt horses is difilcult to delermine. It is nevertheless fair to conclude the the heavy chargers of tho knights of old (more especjally as most of them were stallions), were the foundation of them all, but clean, hard-wearing bones have ahvays been the watchwords of tho Clydesdale breoders. I