The History Of The Horse Involves Building Entire Civilizations
There are a few little things worth knowing about the history of the horse that are nevertheless very interesting and include facts such as that at present, the world has about seventy-five million of these four-legged creatures and that it is customary to measure a horse's height in terms of hands with each hand equaling four inches. Other interesting aspects to the horse include his acute sense of hearing and direction as well as even having a sharp nose. There are quite a few breeds of the horse turn learn about, of which the more notable are Thoroughbreds, American Paints and the Arabian Quarter horse, to name just a few.
Quite A Few Changes
Another aspect worth learning about is the place of horses in history. In fact it is well known that though dogs are certainly man's best friends, it is the horse that has helped man to build entire civilizations. Thus, from his earliest days, the horse that was once found in sparse numbers and scattered in different parts of the world, to his present almost ornamental use, horses throughout history have seen quite a few changes.
The history of the horse can best be understood if we consider his use during Solomon's time when Israel used the horse extensively especially for pulling chariots. In fact, Solomon owned as many as forty thousand chariot horse stalls. And in those days the horse with a chariot was able to travel for about thirty miles, and if required, even up to forty-five miles.
Another way of looking at the history of the horse is by studying paintings of it that date back to about three thousand B.C. This shows that even during the Bronze Age, horses had become useful to man. In fact, the earliest painting that has relevance, as far as studying the history of the horse goes, is from the sixteenth century B.C. where Egyptians had painted man riding a horse.
The Ice Age saw the history of the horse take another turn because these four-legged creatures suddenly vanished and they then reappeared in the fourth century when Charlemagne used them. However, it seems that there was to be yet another turn in the history of the horse as it came to be known that the Asian populations of the world became the first to tame them and ride them. According to the known history of the horse, it was peoples such as the Chinese, Persians and the Assyrians that were the most skillful when it came to horse riding and this they were doing as early as three thousand B.C.
Doubtlessly, many populations of the world have made use of the horse in different ways. So the history of the horse is filled with differing accounts about how it came to be used so much by humans. However, there is one aspect to the history of the horse that is not disputed and that is his use as a means of transportation and to a lesser extent in agriculture and of course, in wars.
This graceful, agile and speedy four legged friend of man has given his all to his masters and so the history of the horse is rich and worthy of further study.
