Men and Horses - Essay Example

Man and Horses “Human relationships or interactions with horses have varied throughout history depending on human needs, but it is horses ability to carry a human individual that has had perhaps the greatest impact on their relationship with man.” says Robinson. (Robinson, Abstract) It is reliably learnt that the horse was domesticated for human use around 6000 years ago. As man shaped and bred horses for his needs, so horses too have shaped human history. The horse has been a faithful, spirited much loved animal, and history is replete with anecdotes about the bond between man and his horse. Today very few horses are found in the wild, and ancient remains are witness to man’s reliance on his horse in hunting, travel, farming, war and as a beast of burden. Horses were used in warfare before firearms were discovered and were the fastest means of transport long before the industrial revolution. The word horsepower is witness to the way man measured the power of his horse. Today horses are mostly used for sport and leisure although many in the developing countries still depend on the trusty horse for farming and travelling and for the movement of goods. During the twentieth century many anthropologists have put forth theories about when and why the horse was first domesticated. Most archeologists agree that horses must have been domesticated for riding, as well as for their meat during the Neolithic, Eneolithic or Early Bronze Age. They also agree that this domestication took place probably simultaneously in various places in Europe. Two kinds of evidence exist to show that horse husbandry existed in early times. Direct evidence of horses buried with harnesses, bridles chariots and wagons point to early domestication. Indirect evidence is inferred from bones and osteometrical analysis and a host of other methods. However, all of this indirect evidence can have varied explanations and hence none of it can be taken as a completely reliable explanation for the origins of horse husbandry. Horses may even have been used before the time mentioned when they were ridden bareback. Therefore it is difficult to pinpoint when exactly man tamed the wild horse for his own use. “A tame animal differs from a wild one in that it is dependent on man and will stay close to him of its own free will” opines J. Clutton-Brock. (Clutton-Brock, page 16) There is also a difference between a tamed animal and a domesticated one. The tame animal is born in the wild whereas the domesticated one has learned to breed in captivity. Domestication refers to the process by which humans capture a wild species and get them adapted to living around humans and breeding in captivity. Humans have done this for their own use as a source of food or labor. Anthropologists put the earliest evidence of horse domestication at around the end of the 3rd century B.C. or by some to as late as the 2nd century B.C. According to Levine “there is apparently no reliable textual or artistic evidence for horse riding earlier than the end of the 2nd millennium BC.” (Levine) There is universal agreement by anthropologists that Dereivka, a Ukrainian settlement site has provided the earliest evidence of horse husbandry in human history. After this period however, extensive use of the horse has been recorded through history. Levine suggests that horse taming was a result of hunting horses for food. She suggests that foals orphaned due to the killing of their mothers may have been adopted as pets and this could have been the beginning of taming and using these animals for domestic use. Dr Vera Warmuth, from the University of Cambridges Department of Zoology, says “Our research clearly shows that the original founder population of domestic horses was established in the western Eurasian Steppe, an area where the earliest archaeological evidence for domesticated horses has been found.” (Warmuth, University of Cambridge) The horse’s origin in the grasslands of the Eurasian Steppe, north of the Black and Caspian Seas, was the introduction to a revolutionary way of life that included faster travel. The Equus caballus or the horse as we know it today became common in Central Asia and most of Europe. The Przewalski’s horse from central Asia, the tarpan from Eastern Europe and the Ukrainian steppes, and the forest horse of northern Europe—are generally acknowledged as being the ancestral stock of the domestic horse. The horse through its evolutionary process increased in size as well as the length of its limbs showing greater spring mechanism in the foot and development of teeth suited to grazing. The domestic horse has diversified into three broad types based on its physical size and build. The heavy limbed and tallest are the draft horses that are up to 20 hands high, ponies that are under 14 hands high, and the riding or saddle horses that fall between these two categories. In spite of long years of domestication, a horse’s mind and body are geared towards life in the wild. A horse feels safest in wide open spaces where he can run away at the merest hint of danger; and with other horses around him where he leans on the others to help him lookout for danger. Horses will leap away from objects or sounds they perceive to be dangerous. Horses have an instinctive need to graze and spend most of their time eating. These are social animals that are happiest when they are part of a herd. They are apt to make a few close friendships with those in the herd and enjoy spending time grooming and playing with one another. In addition to developing close bonds with one another, grooming is also known to reduce stress levels in horses. Horses use different sounds for communication that include, snorting, neighing, nickering, blowing, squealing and whinnying. Each of these sounds conveys different meanings both to other horses as well as to the intelligent horse trainer or owner. A horse indicates its dominance in a group by using body language to communicate leadership or hierarchy within the herd like putting its ears back, swishing its tail, kicking out and lunging at a horse that is either in the way or trying to intrude. Horses enjoy rolling on the ground. It improves their coat quality and this is especially so when in springtime horses shed their coats to make way for new hair. If there was one animal that transformed human history it was the horse. Once trained, the horse was poised for prominence because of its unique anatomy and physiology. The body of the horse is such that it can comfortably seat a man and its long limbs allow for speedy movement, thus making it convenient for man to ride as well as use its strength for traction. The horse has a digestive system that does not need regurgitation and hence it can eat and immediately be ready to move. As man slowly realized the strengths of the animal and the various uses that he could put the horse to; it began to play a greater role in the way man travelled, farmed and herded and later used it for sport and leisure. Once man was able to harness its speed and power, it allowed humans living as small tribes to conquer new territories and form empires, and speeded up the spread of language and culture over distances that man could never have otherwise covered. Gloria Austin, President of Equine Heritage Institute puts the remarkable impact of the horse on humans when she remarks, “We have had 6,000 years of history with the horse and only 100 with the automobile.” (Austin) Now that we are aware of the transformation that the automobile brought about in human history, it is easier to imagine how the horse helped our ancestors revolutionize travel at a time when the wheel was yet to be invented. The horse could trot at twice the speed at which a man walked and that speed increased almost five times when he galloped. Travel was only a part of the use to which man put a horse. Horses were used for, herding, warfare, transportation, agriculture, trade and commerce, and communication. Herding was an important use to which man put horses. One man on a horse could herd large numbers of sheep on vast plains. This increased the efficiency of the shepherd’s life. As farming became common, the horse was used to move grain and fodder from farms to the markets. The combination of a wheeled vehicle and a horse was a big leap for mankind. A horse can carry four times the weight that a man can, and a wheeled vehicle like a cart or wagon can transport twice the weight of the horse itself. Therefore if a horse weighs about 1000 pounds, with a wheeled vehicle it can transport 2000 pounds of goods. Nomadic tribes used horses to move themselves and their animals from place to place and gypsies too used horse drawn wagons in their caravans. Horses were used in warfare and once the wheel had been invented, warriors used horse drawn chariots to ride into war. One major advantage of using horses for warfare was mobility. They moved faster than men and could also pull chariots faster. Another factor was intimidation. The cavalry was easily better positioned to win a war against foot soldiers. Every great civilization from the Greeks to the Romans, and the Egyptians revered the horse for its qualities of speed and power. The horse in most societies represented wealth, and status. All over the world from Europe to the societies of the Middle East, China and India, kings, emperors and pharaohs took to the chariot as a master weapon against their enemies. The aristocracy soon followed in the footsteps of their kings and the chariot became in every society a symbol of power and prestige. It therefore followed that kings, nobles and generals had above all to be excellent horsemen. In fact history has innumerable references to the inseparable bond between great warriors and their steeds. Thus horse breeding came into being and the wild horse that was first domesticated was bred for its speed and power, and powerful kings and nobles set up stables to provide the best horses for war. During the medieval ages horses were used both to plough as well as for riding. At this time inventions like the stirrup, the horseshoe and the horse collar proved indispensable for using the horse in different roles. The stirrup provided a comfortable and secure seat for the rider, the horse collar increased the efficiency of the horse in pulling loads and the horseshoe allowed the horse to cover great distances more easily. Thus the importance of the horse remained unrivalled in agriculture, warfare and transportation till the invention of the steam engine and then later the automobile. The relationship between man and horse has been unique, being both partner and friend. It has played various roles in different societies from plowing fields and bringing in the harvest to hauling goods and conveying passengers. It has followed game and tracked cattle, as well as carried warriors into battle and adventurers to unfamiliar lands. It has provided leisure in the form of jousts and contests, and the exhilarating sport of riding and racing. Horses have been a significant, if not intrinsic, part of most great societies. Horses were also used in peacetime for sport and leisure. The Greeks were very fond of horse racing and chariot racing and this sport was incorporated into the first Olympics. However the prize of the wreath of olive leaves did not go to either horse or jockey/charioteer but to the owner. It was Greek mythology that created the Centaur, the most evident symbol of the cohesion of horse and rider. Horse racing remains a well-loved sport to this day. The British love of horses is a well recorded fact. In ancient Britain good luck is associated with hanging a horseshoe over the door. Although this custom dates back to the middle ages, even today lucky horseshoes are a common sight at weddings. The influence of the horse is expressed in the English language in such terms as chivalry and cavalier, which indicate honor and respect. Many English words and phrases derive their origins from horses. Words like horseplay used to denote rowdy behavior or phrases like to eat like a horse or work like a horse are common in the English language. In fact James Watt conferred the ultimate honor when he based his measurement of power on the horse. Even today the measurement of power is denoted by the term horse power. Other commonly used phrases like straight from the horse’s mouth or a dark horse are commonly used even today. The horse has influenced art and sculpture in every part of the world and in every culture and society. We therefore have a vast variety of art forms depicting the horse from Stone Age drawings to the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci, from Assyrian reliefs to medieval tapestry. The sculptures from those in the Parthenon frieze to the Chinese Tang dynasty tomb sculptures and the literature of different societies from Arabic to Roman extol the bravery, speed and fidelity of horses. It is important to understand a horse’s behavior in order to train it to obey and submit to its master. A fundamental instinct in a horse concerns its safety and comfort. Therefore when man tries to understand his horse, these must be foremost considerations. A herd animal, the horse understands that he can either dominate or submit. When training a horse the trainer/master must understand that when he makes his horse react to an action the horse will considered him the master. Once a man earns the horse’s respect, he can be sure that the horse will be obedient to his every command and respond to his most subtle cues. Horses communicate with every part of their bodies, they communicate through gestures and sounds and also are quick to learn and understand sign language from humans. Today the horse is still in use for work in many parts of the world. It is used for transportation in difficult terrain and as a pack animal in parts where other means of transport are not viable. However in most of the developed world horses are mostly used for sport and leisure. The horse is as useful to man during its life as it is in death. Long before the horse was domesticated, it was hunted for its meat and this is still consumed in parts of Iceland and Europe. It is also the base for many pet foods. Horse bones and cartilage is used for making glue and its hide is used for making articles like belts and shoes. The Cordovan leather that the Spanish Moors fabricated was made from horse hide. Horse hair is widely used for mattresses, upholstery, and the lining of suits and coats. High quality horsehair is also used to make the bows of violins and fur coats are made from the coats of foals. The old Scythians used horse manure for fuel, today it is used in mushroom cultivation. Tetanus antitoxin is obtained from the blood serum of horses that have been inoculated with tetanus toxoid. The horse has left its mark where ever it went and on every aspect of life. According to the American Museum of Natural History, horses and humans have been intrinsically connected since their domestication nearly 6,000 years ago. Every art form has paid homage to the value and versatility of the horse from the war zones to the farms and rodeo rings and race tracks. Poem, paintings, tapestries and sculptures have tried to capture the grace and fleet footedness of the animal and these are a fitting monument to the role it has played in the lives of men from ancient times to the present. The French zoologist Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, sums it up very succinctly when he observes that the horse is the “proudest conquest of Man,” (Leclerc) Works Cited Austin, Gloria. Entrepreneur and philanthropist President of Equine Heritage Institute, Inc. Qtd. in Equine Heritage Institute “Shaping Civilizations: The Role of the Horse in Human Societies” Web 23 April 2015 Clutton-Brock , Juliet page 16 Qtd. by Levine, Marsha in “Domestication and early history of the horse” Web 25 April 2015 Leclerc, Georges-Louis. Qtd. by Alois Wilhelm Podhajsky “Horse Mammal General features” Web 23 April 2015 Levine, Marsha “Domestication, Breed Diversification and Early History of the Horse.” “The Earliest direct Evidence for Horse Domestication” Web 23 April 2015 Robinson, IH. “The human-horse relationship: how much do we know?” (Abstract) Equine Vet J Suppl. 1999 Apr;(28):42-5. PMID: 11314234 Web 23 April 2015 Warmuth, Vera. Qtd in Science Daily University of Cambridge. "Mystery of the domestication of the horse solved: Competing theories reconciled." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 May 2012. Web 23 April 2015 Read More