calm to withstand
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
The horse is man-made
Horses man virtually created
All contained on the stud farms horses are the product of centuries of breeding, selection. Their biological features include a relatively small digestive system: single-chamber stomach, with a small capacity; voluminous large intestine. Horses have very sensitive and mobile lips and excellent sense of smell, which allows them not to swallow spoiled food and impurities to it.
Horses are able to catch smells that are not available to man. A well developed tool, and especially molar teeth, large salivary glands and a strong chewing muscles help the horse to grind and are well prepared to assimilate the solid feed grains. Continue reading
Cavalry in the middle ages
Knightly cavalry
Up to the Second World War, the power of the armies was determined not only by men, but also by horses. Until 1945, most of the German artillery was transported on a horse-drawn carriage, and large cavalry units remained in the Soviet army.
However, if in the 20th century horses in war retained exclusively transport functions, in previous eras their role was not limited to transportation. Continue reading
