Horses were first domesticated over 6,000 years ago, but it took quite a while for someone to get brave enough to take a piece of metal and use a nail to attach it to an animal's hoof. First they tied on woven grass or leather, and then it was metal, but still tied on. The Romans used the hipposand[...]
There was a time when people didn't know how horses moved. They knew they had four legs, and they moved all of those legs somehow, but those legs moved much too fast at the trot and gallop for people to full understand what they were seeing. People had different theories. Some believed that t[...]
The Romans were not a horse based culture (notice how their armies were primarily infantry), but they use horses for a variety of purposes including transportation, farming, and warfare (yes, even after I just said that other thing). They were great scouts, when ridden by a person. On their own, th[...]
In 400 BC, in Corneto, modern day Italy, a tomb was being filled. The walls were decorated with frescoes of banquet scenes, dancers, and musicians. It contained a number of funerary objects, including vases, jewelry, and bronze objects. For over two millennia, it lay in silence. When it was finally[...]
Everyone knows what a horse shoe is. They have been decorations, good luck charms, the subject of legends and stories, and of course, protection for horse hooves. For the most part, we've just kind of taken for granted that horse shoes exist. But for such a basic looking piece of metal, it actually[...]
The famous Xenophon, horseman of the ancient world. He is widely considered an expert in horses. His book, The Art of Horsemanship or On Horsemanship has been referenced in many modern guides to horses. The United States Dressage Federation lists it as a suggested reading. This man[...]