In his book HiddenTreasures in the Book of Job Hugh Ross highlights a number of animals which
have been pivotal in the history of
civilization. Parts of the world lacking these , e.g. Australia prior to
colonization, continued in the pre-civilization mode until influenced by colonial expansion
.
Along with the horse humans have employed donkeys, cows, oxen, sheep, goats , llamas,
yaks, camels, elephants, ostriches, birds of prey and dogs ,
all variously used in transport,
communication, ploughing, grinding grain, pumping water, forestry, supplying milk, cheese and
meat, hunting, rescue, scavenging, policing, ceremonial events, cavalry, sport, entertainment and provision
of companionship.
It is not surprising that horses, which were first tamed around 2000 BC, have proved particularly valuable since they
are well suited to breeding and training
for purpose, providentially having genetic characteristics which lend them to
this, as do dogs. In contemporary
society this is particularly noticeable in the case of race horses. Horses
are just the right height for riding – not too low, so that a tall rider’s feet don’t trail on the ground as
with a donkey, and not too high to risk
serious injury to the rider in the event of a fall. They are also quite hardy and adaptable to the
weather, being able to perspire when hot
and wear a blanket when it is
cold.
In retrospect, a horse can be considered as a predecessor of today's automobiles and communication lines.
In retrospect, a horse can be considered as a predecessor of today's automobiles and communication lines.
They are valued as loyal and courageous by their
owners, especially in battle. They
demand minimal maintenance: just 1 hour of feeding in the morning and 1 hour in
the evening. Their ability to smell
water has been invaluable on journeys where this is scarce e.g. Bedouins in the
desert used them to locate the next watering hole.
Over time they have been used for:
- transport over short and long distances, taking rider or luggage or food over all kinds of terrain, ranging from grassy plains to rocky mountain passes and allowing trading between distant nations
- carrying of messengers and couriers in relays via posting stations, allowing information to reach command centres or edicts to be rapidly disseminated by a central authority, a great enabler of nation states and empires
- organised agriculture: pulling ploughs, powering water pumps and mills, hauling logs
- search and rescue in all weathers, taking the rider to the distressed and injured and able to transport both the rescuer and the rescued back to safety
- healing of the mentally stressed and distressed by allowing themselves to be stroked, petted and hand fed
- circuses , pageants and military parades, for entertainment or inspiration of crowds
- fighting, riot and crowd control, being trained or blinkered to remain calm even in noisy or potentially disturbing situations, when explosions, flashes or gunfire might be expected to upset them
Horses have also had a major role in our military history up to World War I,
risking their lives and staying loyal to their owners in battle in a way which is not matched by
any other animal.
One particular military use of the horse has been in
conjunction with the stirrup, which appeared in Europe around 500 AD. This was
fundamental in the rise of feudalism since it led to mounted knights with much
superior power over foot soldiers. A
knight with a stirrup to hold him steady could easily overcome resistance from
an opponent on foot who prior to this invention could have toppled him off the
horse. The stirrup gave a strategic advantage to those seeking to establish,
maintain or expand a fiefdom. The feudal
lord would also have amassed sufficient wealth to train and equip knights and
build a castle, giving him impregnable power until the invention of gunpowder,
which enabled the king or other national leader to demolish the lord’s castle
in one afternoon of heavy bombardment and firearms made the feudal knight in
armour obsolete, with or without the use of a stirrup.
Today the military and farming role of the horse has been
usurped by engine-driven machinery. Now perhaps their main use is as a
major source of entertainment: show
jumping, racing for the gambling industry, breeding competitions,
ceremonial activities and circuses. Yet
they still come to the for in crowd control and fighting in mountainous country.
In researching this blog I was surprised to discover that
the modern two-toed horse (Equus caballus) originated some 6000 years ago, about the time organized agriculture was taking over from pastoral/ hunter gather ways of life and on the N.American continent. There
had been dog-sized predecessors for millions of years. It was
first domesticated around 4000 years ago
somewhere in the Black Sea area. At that time, before the sea level had risen to
current levels due to the melting ice of
the last Ice Age, there was a land bridge between the N.American and Asian continents,
where the Bering Straits are at present. The American horses migrated across
this to Asia and Europe; others, according to recent research, were hunted to extinction by native Americans. Today’s wild horses in
America came from Europe over the last few hundred years, since the first Spanish explorers around 1500.
Almost certainly the technology of today which allows blogs like this to be distributed worldwide would not have arisen without the advances in civilization arising from the use of horses.
John Sears
Author, 2077: Knights of Peace
