, 1900-02-14
THE HORSE IN HISTORY


together the ankle of the horse. 1t is
this strength which enables the animal
to support his own great weight for
many hours without fatigue.
There is excellent reason to believe
that the cavalry horses of both the
Greeks and Romans, and perhaps the
working horses, had some protection
for the hoofs, but its exact nature has
always been a matter of controversy.
Pegasus, the poetical' charge. which
is now being overworked by several
thousand of our fellow-citizens, male
and female, was, according to classic
mythology, the winged horse on which
Bellerophon rode against the China
era.
Scientifically considered according to
Prof. Owen, the horse belongs to the
family solidungula, order OF perisso-
dactyla, of the group %ungulata and Of
the mammalian sub-class gy~rencephala,
but is seldom recognized under this
learned disguise.
Ohc VI NhV hioSt pVNuiial puuquStS
ever celebrated was the Great United
Observation-Disclosures Horse, Mule
and Donkey banquet" where the flesh
Of the three kinds Of animals vas serv-
ed in many styles. This famous feed
was on April 3, 1875.
The standard Of the Saxons was a
white horse. 1t is worthy of note that
the hair of the Saxon woman was not
red, but yellow, therefore the joke
about the r%ed-headed girl and the white
horse, though ancient, is of later date
than the eighth century.
The horse of Alexander the Great
was named "Bucephalos." 1t was told
of him that he always knelt to AXE
his master. He was 80 years old at
the time of his death, and Alexander
built a city for his mausoleum, which
he called Bucephala.
From the time Of William the Con-
queror to the period when artillery
came into use horses were protected by
chain armor. The weight of this prov
ing a serious objection, knights some
times substituted an armor of dried OK
hide instead of the metal protection.
In 1858 and 1859 Rarey, the American
horse-tamer, performed feats Of tam
ing in London which excited the admi-
ration Of all Europe. Besides tanning
the widest and most vicious horses, he
succeeded in tanning a zebra, a feat
which was deemed impossible.
Charles l. established races at Hyde
Park, in London. The Puritans sup
pressed them during the Common
wealth, and they were revived by
Charles H., who, instead of the golden
bells formerly given, presented the vic
tors with silver cups, valued at 100
guineas each.
Horse racing was practiced as early
as the days when Troy was besieged by
the Greeks. In the plain before the city
the besiegers celebrated holidays by
sports and horse races, and Homer says
the walls of Troy were covered with
sporting Trojans watching the result.
The most famous cavalry of antiqui-
ty were the P%arthians. Their invasion
Of Judea, 40 B. c., resulted in such ter
rible devastation Of the country that
100 years later the terrors of the Par
THAN invasion gave the Apostle John
the idea for one of his most vivid pic
lures.
During the Middle Ages, so heavily
burdened were the horses Of the knights
with their m and that of their
riders, that only the largest and strong
est animals could be employed. Ffois-
sart says that between 600 and 700
pounds weight was carried by a
a knights charger.
Darius was made king of the Per-
SLAMS by the act Of his horse. The no.
bles having disagreed as to who should
be king. it was concluded that all
should assemble at a certain spot and
the rider Of the horse which first
Weighed should be monarched, and the
horse of Darius gave him the victory.
The horse has a greater variety of
gaits than any other quadruped. Be
sides the walk, trot, gallop and amble,
pace or rack, some horses gallop with
the fore legs and trot with the hind,
others move each leg separately In sue
c~ession and others execute many ar
%tifcial movements, the result Of educa-
tion.
Themare which conveyed Mohammed
from earth to the seventh heaven was
named Borak. She was a milk-white,
had the wings of an eagle, and a human
face, with horses cheeks. Every pace
she took was equal. She was one of
the ten animals admitted to the Mo-
hammedan paradise.
During the Middle Ages, great crimi-
mails, such as parricides and persons
who conspired against the king, was
torn to pieces by horses. one or two
powerful steeds being fastened to each
limb and driven in different directions.
Ravaillac, the assassin Of Henry w.,
and Demiens, who ~conspired against
Louis XIV, were put to death in this
manner. 2
Flying Childers, who died in 174l, at
the & of rs years, and Eclipse, who
died In 1873, at the 8 Of Is years,
were two of the most remarkable hors.
es on the English turf. The latter wa
l novor loofon. ha -sS ~nnn~rA>h1> Ans