Monthly Archives: July 2018
The role of horses in human life
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of horses in the development of human society over the past 5,000 years
In human life, it played a more important role than any other domesticated animal. Shortly after the domestication revealed the true nature of the horse – it has become indispensable in the field, in transport, in war. Previously, horses had to work not only on land but also under the ground. It was usually a pony.
In England alone, there were nearly 16,000 of these trouble-free workers. About 3000 hours a year dragged a small horse heavily loaded trolley, carrying up to 3000 tons per year and overcoming almost 5000 km. For this work, they preferred to use small Shetland island ponies, because they could carry cargo 20 times more than their own weight. Continue reading
More about riding in harness
It is unlikely we will be mistaken if we assume that the carts already existed for 2000 years BC Already ancient Persians drove the fours in a four-wheeled covered wagon. In the same carriage was transported the body of Alexander the Great from Alexandria to Babylon in 323 BC.
The Greeks already had carts in the so-called Heroic era. This is evident from many verses of Hellas (eg. song 5 St. 720 or song 24 St. 322-326).
The harness consisted apparently of a yoke, chest strap, girth, bridle and reins. Both the harness and the carts were very luxuriously decorated. So the battle chariot in which Darius III participated in the battle of Issus (333 BC) was decorated with gold and silver works of the best masters of the time. Continue reading
