Guest Author - Susan Hopf
Throughout history horses have been there – helping humans toil, win wars and celebrate victories. Today we take a moment to thank the noble equine without which we may never have ventured far enough to change the world.
It is generally believed that horses were first domesticated in the Bronze Age. Some say horses pulled carts before being mounted but this is a debate for another article. Through etchings on cave walls that date back three thousand years we see mounted warriors and hunters chasing prey on the backs of horses. Easier hunting led to more robust humans and mounted soldiers had a huge advantage in battle.
With such evidence of horse/human interaction the people of that Age obviously were able to travel further than they would have without the addition of four additional feet and a strong back. Horses helped spread the population throughout several parts of the world. Traversing mountainous terrain on the back of a horse with another to carry one’s possessions and food made expanding territories possible. Those on foot were left behind and those on horseback traveled on to settle elsewhere – dotting the landscape with small pockets of your own people secured more resources.
In the early Americas the battle for the “West” was fought on the back of a horse. I doubt that the colonists would have dared cross the vast plains on foot, despite the lure of acres and acres of farm land. And if they would have been brave enough to travel who would have moved the stones and felled trees, plowed the fields, brought provisions, mail, mail-order brides, and eventually the material to create the railroads which brought, to a screeching halt, the need for so many horses. But still the horse served – or more precisely was served – as dinner.
Even today some still farm and travel by horse power. The Amish culture, among others, shuns technology and still uses horses to plow fields, transport possessions, wood, grains as well as taking a trip to the grocery, church and neighbors.
Yes the great and noble horse helped launch the widespread movement of us humans. Now in this fairly new millennia the tables have turned. Humans labor day in and day out to provide safe and healthy environments for their equine partners. No longer do horses pull or carry our burdens – just our appreciative souls for the privilege of sharing a few hours a day with the noble Equus Callabus
