The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1892-06-30
sol ONION AS A HoRSEMAfe-



n Wa ons 81 the EarIisss breeders =
the Noble Animal
BY . great many people Arabia Il
supposed to be the home Of the horse
From ancient Roman, Grecian and jew
ish history we readily learn, says
writer in the Western Sportsman, that
the horse was not known in Arabia
long after he was q common factor IN
the life Of southern Europe. The horse
was scarcely known to the Hebrews
prior 60 the days of Solomon, that
worthy and illustrious sovereign having
been brought into closer contact with
the horse by his marriage to q daugh-
ter OF Pharoah, the reigning king OF
Egypt, whose gorgeous wedding outfit
was supplemented by . large number OF
elegant horses, adapted alike to the serv-
Ice Of war and the chase.
The appearance Of those beautiful am
imals, as they sped swiftly along the
streets of Jerusalem, excited the envy
Of few jealous princes, but added to
Solomon's popularity with the masses
After his marriage with the Egyptian
princess, Solomon began buying horses
from his father-in-law, and 50 rapidly
did he multiply them by purchase and
breeding that those kept for his own
use required, as it Is written: -Four
thousand stables and forty thousand
stalls Hence, when honored by
visit from the beautiful Queen OF Sheba,
bringing with her "camels bearing
spices and very much gold and precious
stones it was doubtless In contempla-
Stion of his magnificent stud Of horses
and chariots, kept for the amusement OF
his wives, as well as for displayoof power
and magnifcence, that her majesty ex-
claimed in the fullness of admiration:
"Howbeit believed not the words un-
til came and mine eyes had seen it;
and, behold, the half was not told me-
We find the best of cavalry in ancient
times. The Greeks ran against Sc
rious problem in the Persian light horse
when they first trod the soil of Asia
Minor. They were nothing like so
good horsemen as the Asiatics until
Alexander's companion showed them
what drill could do, and the Roman was
still less apt Philip, of Macedon, first
utilized the excellent material of the
Thessalian plains and organized a cav
airy which, from its maneuvers and
fighting, must have consisted of adj
mirab1e horsemen. The ancients rode
without saddles or stirrups on blanket
or pad, or bareback, and in spite of this
fact, or perhaps by reason of it, rode ex-
tremely well. 1t is wonderful what
feats of military craftsmanship the bare
back rider could perform in the age Of
what we might call gymnastic eques-
trianism.
Nothing but the knowledge Of our
old-time Ind ian enables us to credit the
historical accounts of his agility and
skill. When centuries later saddles
came into use, there grew up two schools
of riding-that of the mailed warrior,
whose iron armor well chimed in with
his tongues on. the alls-seated in his
packed saddle, and that of the Oriental
whose nose and knees all but touched.
Why the eastern rider clings to his ex-
treinely short feathers is hard to say,
unless it be to place him the higher
above his horse, and therefore to make
him the more imposing when he stands
up in his stirrups to brandish scimitar
or matchbox. Yet he is wonderful
rider, this same Oriental, as, indeed, is
every man who from youth up is the
companion of the horse.