So it is not surprising to find that the horse has been a favored subject for artists in every field throughout history. Even in prehistoric times, hunters scratched pictures of horses on the walls of caves. These drawings, some of which date back to about 18,000 BC, vividly depict in simple lines the animation and action of the animals. The cave artists also succeeded in showing the distinguishing characteristics of the wild horse such as the short body, thick neck with heavy head and upright mane, and short but graceful legs. The Assyrians, whose land lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, were very interested in horses.
Relief sculptures carved in stone depict the deeds of their warriors.
Sophisticated and detailed carvings in the stone ruins of the ancient city of Calah in Iraq show Assyrian war chariots. Egyptians decorated their tombs with spindle-legged stylized horses. Those shown on tombs were often many times larger than life size. A small wooden statuette of a horse and rider, carved about 1500 BC, was found inside a tomb. The sculptured horse is much more graceful than those shown in the drawings by artists of this period.