The Majesty of the Horse: An Illustrated History. Tamsin Pickeral

      In modern times, the horse has become largely, but by no means universally, part of the leisure industry. Throughout history, however, it was primarily as a means of transportation and a tool for warfare that the horse reigned supreme. Its role as a warhorse ultimately led to the development of numerous different types and breeds—from the fine, wiry, and agile Arabian horses of the Moorish armies to the larger, heavier weight-carrying steeds of the armored knight, and the fast, tough horses of the Mongol warriors. The various battles for land domination meant that horses of different breeds were spread across the world, particularly during the Roman Empire (c. 27 B.C.E.–c. 476 C.E.) and the sixteenth century, when Spanish conquistadores descended on South America, taking their Spanish horses with them. Today, the majority of South and North American horse breeds trace their roots back to the influence of the Spanish horse. Of great interest in this respect is the American Indian nation, which had never seen horses before it was assailed by white warriors on horseback. In fewer than one hundred years, American Indians adopted the horse into their culture and became expert equestrians.

      In warfare, the development and use of the saddle and stirrup had a profound impact on the effectiveness of cavalry soldiers. Some of the earliest saddles date to the Scythians, and were felt or cloth pads. The Romans are thought to have developed the first solid tree saddle, which had the great advantage of dispersing weight across the horse’s back. This allowed the horse to be used harder and for longer periods without becoming unduly sore. The first stirrup took the form of a toe loop and is thought to date back to around 500 B.C.E. and to India. After this came the single stirrup, which aided mounting, and the first pair of stirrups originated in China in around 322. The Mongols rapidly adopted the paired stirrups because these gave a great advantage during battle. They rode with their stirrups short, which allowed them to stand in the saddle and shoot arrows, as well as giving them great downward thrust with a sword for use against the enemy. The use of stirrups probably spread to Europe through invaders from Central Asia from around the eighth century.

      Horse breeding took on entirely new significance under the impetus of the Prophet Mohammed (570–632), the founder of the Islamic religion. To spread the word and power of Islam, he needed horsemen on swift desert horses ready to mobilize into action. The horse was treated as a reverential being, called the “supreme blessing” in Islam, and was looked after and bred accordingly. By the eighth century, the Islamic Empire had spread to incorporate North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), India, and Indonesia, eventually reaching the Great Wall of China. The conquests were almost universally won from the back of the desert-type Arabian horses.

      In Europe, there was a renewal of Christian faith and a concerted effort by the Germans and French to develop new methods of warfare to halt the spread of Islam. This focused on their cavalry, which was reorganized by Charles Martel (c. 688–741), first minister to the Frankish king. In contrast to the Moors’ light cavalry, made up of swift desert horses, Martel designed a heavy cavalry incorporating large bodies of armored knights and horses to attack in close formation and present an impenetrable “wall” of soldiers. Native French horse stock, such as the early Percheron, Boulonnais, Ardennais, and Limousin, was bred to fine Asian horses acquired during the Crusades to produce a more agile warhorse. These horses were weightier in frame than the light cavalry of the Moors but were also agile during battle maneuvers. Martel’s defeat of the Moors at the battle of Poitiers in 732 was one of the earliest occasions when European soldiers used stirrups. His victory represented a change of fortunes that saw the beginning of the Moors’ expulsion from Europe. It also marked the beginning of the Age of Chivalry, a time inextricably bound to the ideals of moral order and to the mounted knight.

      The principles of heavy cavalry were continued by Martel’s grandson, Charlemagne (c. 742–814), who founded the Holy Roman Empire in 800, and expelled the Moors from northern Spain. There was a continued demand for warhorses and a need to increase their size and weight-carrying abilities in line with the increasing weight of armor. The European warhorses of the Middle Ages tended to be described by type, rather than by specific breed. The most expensive and sought after was the destrier, the medieval charger. These horses were kept as stallions and were noted for their power, size, and speed. They were only ridden during battle. The knight would ride his palfrey to the battle, leading the destrier, then change horses at the last minute. Palfreys were also expensive and were a lighter weight riding horse. Palfreys were bred and trained to pace, a trot where the legs move in lateral rather than diagonal pairs. This results in a much smoother ride, which was appreciated by the knight in his unwieldy and heavy armor. Coursers were also used in battle and for hunting, and were lighter than the destrier and faster than the palfrey. Rounceys were a more general-purpose horse suitable for riding or for warfare. They were cheaper than destriers, palfreys, and coursers, and were used by soldiers of more restricted means.

      Two hundred years after Charlemagne’s endeavors, the knights of Christendom renewed their activities with the start of the Crusades in 1095. These military campaigns were waged to restore Christianity across Europe and the Holy Land, but it seems political and geographic power played an increasingly significant role. One of the great heroes of the Crusades was Rodrigo Díaz, better known as El Cid (c. 1040–99). El Cid was a valiant warrior whose victories against the Moors saw him heralded as the savior of his country. Almost as famous is El Cid’s horse, Babieca, who came from the Spanish horse breeding area of Jerez de la Frontera and was in all probability one of the ancestors of the Andalusian, also referred to as the Iberian Warhorse. Spanish- and Portuguese-bred horses were among the most highly prized of warhorses. They had been bred to an improved size, and combined a weight-carrying capacity with tremendous agility and athleticism, which, when complemented by their trainable temperament, placed them at the top of their league.

      As the knights of Christendom sped across Europe on their mighty warhorses to meet in battle the Moors on their desert-bred Arabians, an entirely different scenario was playing out across central Asia. Here, the indomitable Mongol Hordes, riding their far from elegant Mongol horses, were rapidly claiming territory to left and right. Led by Genghis Khan (1162–1227), these warriors—on their tough, fast, and thrifty Mongolian horses—cut a swath through central Asia, taking what they wanted and destroying everything else. Genghis Khan mobilized one of the largest and most effective cavalry of all time, completely reliant on an endless supply of Mongolian horses. Eventually, his bloody empire stretched from the Mediterranean to the Pacific—won and ruled on horseback. The Mongolian horse, which is unprepossessing to look at, but incredibly tough and quick, was dispersed widely through this area and has had an influence on many of the desert-bred breeds.

      By the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the requirement for extensive heavy cavalry in Europe had decreased, but the skills, horsemanship, and bravery associated with the knights of chivalry persisted.

      The Riding School, or High School, became an essential component of every nobleman’s education. Alongside the Riding School, there was also the popular sport of jousting, which had similarly and more obviously developed from the battlefield. Jousting activities began in around the eleventh century, first as a means for practicing battle skills, but by the fifteenth century it had turned into a sport full of pageantry.

      The earliest Riding School was opened in Naples in 1532 by Federico Grisone. He sought to train horse and rider to perform athletically in perfect harmony and balance, deploying classical nimble movements that had been developed and utilized in battle (side stepping, twirling, backing up, rearing, and controlled