Book II of my fiction trilogy about horses and history is being published soon. So why did I write about horses?
The main reason is they teach us about the world, and they’re lots of fun. Here are some reasons I think horses are an interesting subject:
Horses have always been with us
Since Stone Age man first put paint to rock, horses have fascinated and assisted mankind in some capacity: for food, weight-bearing, load-pulling, travel, status, inspiration, therapy, sports, recreation, gambling, war … it’s amazing how many roles the horse has taken.
The horse and our partnership is filled with paradoxes
So much of life isn’t what it seems and horses are no exception. For example:
– A timid prey animal, the horse was history’s most feared engine of war.
– A humble servant, the horse ennobles mankind.
– A century after engines made the horse “obsolete,” there are more horses than ever before.
– Horses can gallop miles with a human on its back and pull tons of weight, but can perish of a missed feeding.
(And they let people ride them!)
Horses haven’t much changed since the Olden Days
Horses have been tamed, but they retain their basic character and instincts. Prehistoric man could have raised a prehistoric colt, put a saddle on him and trained him to gallop and jump. What is the difference between then and now?
It took thousands of years to learn to ride horses (and we seem to have forgotten several times). I wonder why it took so long to figure out … unless we had to change…