The Horse: No Animal Has Done More....
Author: Elizabeth Miller

No animal has done more for the advancement of humankind than the horse. That said, it's hard to imagine ever using the horse as a source of food. But of course, that's how the man-horse relationship began.

The history books contain many references to the horse as prey some 50,000 years ago, when Cro-Magnon man had to hunt for his food. Seems that no one knows for sure just when or how the horse first became a helper to man. But many have reasoned that when early Cro-Magnon man needed to move his encampments from place to place, he started using the more docile horses as pack animals. So that would mark the beginnings of horse domestication.

Historians also believe that as man progressed from hunter to farmer, he continued using horses for food but also as helpers for herding. This would have brought about the need to jump on the horse's back and follow along behind the herd. And that would mark the beginnings of the horse as a means of transportation for humans.

Recent archeological excavations in the Ukraine unearthed horses' teeth and evidence of the first "bridle." These findings have brought the experts to conclude that the beginnings of horseback riding began with the nomadic tribes of what is now Eastern Europe, in about 4000 BC. However, riding wouldn't really catch on until long after the invention of the wheel and the preferred use of horses as draft animals.

It is believed that the horse's domestication as a draft animal began sometime between 3000 and 2000 BC. Faster than the oxen and equids that had first been used to pull wheeled vehicles, the horse soon took over and this spawned the ever-improving development of yokes, breast straps, collars, bits and bridles.

Inevitably the horse was to become a major tool of warfare. Around 1350 BC the Hittite king Suppililiuma decided to go to war against the Mitannians, bought large numbers of horses, and engaged the services of a Mitannian horsemaster named Kikkuli. After defecting from the Mitanni, Kikkuli turned the king's horses into war machines that were ridden into battle until the king's militia had totally destroyed the Mitanni.

Now the bonding of man and horse had truly begun. Still, horseback riding was not for the elite, much less the general populace. For hundreds of years, horses were bred to be warhorses. But when Xenophon wrote "The Art of Horsemanship" in around 400 BC, the time was approaching when people would ride horses for more than herding, hunting and fighting.

Although America's wild horses had been tamed by the Indians, it is said that the Spanish explorers brought the first domesticated horses to North America in 1519 AD.

By the early 1700s, Rhode Island had become America's principal horse breeding state. Horses became the primary means of transportation, soon carrying riders on their backs and pulling people and materials in wheeled vehicles across the vastness of the New World.

By the 1800s the horse was a necessity of urban and rural life. The horse helped us build cities, farm the land, fight wars and settle a continent. No animal has done more for humankind.

About the author: Copyright MBPCO 2006 and Beyond. Elizabeth Miller is an author/publisher. For more about horses just click horses.
 

		Description	Price
1.		Trail Bridle Leather Halter/Bridle Combo Item No. TB	$55.00 $69.95
2.		Draft Horse Reins by Weaver Leather 8' x 1/2" Item No. DH-R3	$34.95
3.		5" Sweetwater Curb Bit with Copper Mouth Item No. BIT-1	$30.00
4.		Poly Lead Rope | Solid Brass Snap | Leads Item No. LR	$9.95 $12.50
5.		English Fleece Girth | 46" to 52" Sizes Item No. DH-EFG	$23.95 $33.50
6.		English Wool Girth 52" and 54" Item No. ENGIRTH	$12.95
7.		Used Saddles Item No. USED	$0.00
8.		Black Steel 5" Curb Bit Item No. BIT-3	$12.95
9.		English Stirrup Leathers in Premium Leather or Biothane Item No. ENGSL	$32.95
10.		Nylon Adjustable Breakaway Halter for Draft Yearling or Average Horse Item No. DH-BNH-Y	$24.00 $38.50
11.		Nylon Pastel Halter | Average Horse Size | Yearling Draft Horse Item No. DH-ENPH-Y	$22.95 $28.50
12.		Stainless Steel 5" Haflinger Snaffle Team Bit Item No. DHBIT-11	$14.75
13.		Draft Horse Nylon Pastel Non-Adjustable Halter for Yearling Draft or Average Horse Item No. DH-NPH-Y	$21.00
14.		Draft Horse Nylon Pastel Non-Adjustable Halter for 2 YR. Draft or Large Horse Item No. DH-NPH-2YR	$21.00
15.		Nylon Pastel Halter for 2 Yr. old Draft or Large Horse Item No. DH-ENPH-2YR	$22.95 $28.50
16.		Nylon Show Halter Basketweave Overlay | Large Horse | 2 yr. old Draft Item No. NSH-3	$35.75 $41.95
17.		Silver Headstall and Reins for Horse or Haflinger Item No. SH-SHS	$52.95
18.		Silver Breastcollar for Standard Size Horse or Small Draft Item No. SH-SBC	$54.95
19.		Fancy Nylon Show Halters | Large Horse | 2 year Old Draft Horse Item No. NSH-2	$38.95
20.		Nylon Show Halter with Swarovski Crystals | Large Horse | 2 yr. old Draft Item No. NSH-1	$59.50 $69.95
21.		Reins by Weaver Leather 8' x 5/8" Item No. DH-R2	$38.00
22.		Western Saddle 16" Brown Synthetic Item No. SAD-SYN	$150.00 $175.00
23.		27 Strand Girth 36" Item No. StrandGirth	$19.95
24.		4" Black Steel Curb Bit Item No. BIT-2	$19.95
25.		5 1/2" Medium Port Curb Bit with Copper Mouth Item No. DHBIT-42	$30.00
26.		Argentine 5 1/2", 6", 7" Copper Mouth Snaffle Bit Item No. DH-BIT60	$29.95
27.		Assortment of Leather Covered Stirrups Item No. STIRRUPS	$25.00
28.		Billy Cook Breastcollars | Leather Handtooled Item No. BCBREAST	$49.95 $68.00
29.		Black Hooded Stirrups Item No. STIR5	$25.00
30.		Butterfly Mullen Mouth 2-slot Draft Size Bit | 5", 5 1/2" Mouth Item No. DHBIT-6	$22.00 $28.50
31.		Butterfly Mullen Mouth 3-Slot Draft Horse Bit | 5", 5 1/2" mouth Item No. DHBIT-7	$28.50
32.		Buxton Bit | 4 1/2", 5" Mouth Item No. DHBIT-3	$25.95 $31.95
33.		Cinch 36" Aire Grip Item No. AireGrip	$22.95
34.		Cordura and Leather Combination Light Weight Black Saddle Item No. SAD-COMBO	$160.00 $175.00
35.		Cowboy Mounted Shooting Saddle #1 Item No. CMSS1	$1,699.00 $1,850.00
36.		Curb Chain with Nylon Straps Assorted Colors Item No. N-CURBCHAIN	$3.00 $4.25
37.		Curb Strap Assorted Nylon Colors Item No. N-CURBSTRAP	$2.00 $2.75
38.		Custom Made by Timber Ridge Saddlery Youth 15" Item No. SAD-TR	$385.00 $410.00
39.		D-Ring Snaffle Hunter Dee Korsteel 5 1/2" Item No. DHBIT-51B	$0.00 $29.95
40.		Dinnerware Dish Set |Horse, Bear or Deer Themed Dishes Item No. DISH	$28.95 $32.95
41.		Draft Horse Harness | Small Draft | Haflinger Item No. DH-SD	$325.00
42.		Draft Horse Neoprene Western Cinch Item No. DH-NC	$26.95
43.		Draft Horse Super Cinch Girth 38" up to 54" Item No. DH-SC	$32.95
44.		Draft Size D-Ring 5 3/4", 6 1/2" Snaffle Bit Item No. DHBIT-51	$24.95
45.		EggButt Slow Twist Snaffle 5 3/4" Item No. DHBIT-28	$26.95
46.		Eggbutt Snaffle Bit | Stainless Steel 5", 5 1/2", 6", 6 1/2", 7" egg butt Item No. DHBIT-43	$31.80
47.		Full Cheek Eggbutt Snaffle Bit | 5", 5 1/2", 5 3/4", 6" Mouth Draft or Mule Item No. DHBIT-29	$29.00
48.		Hame Strap for Horse Harness Item No. HARNHAME	$4.50 $5.49
49.		Harness Pad White Fleece Item No. HPAD	$13.00
50.		Hip Drops Leather and Brass or Chome Studs Item No. HARNHIPDROPS	$34.00 $42.99
51.		Holdback Leather Straps for Horse Harness Item No. HARNHOLDBACK	$20.00 $25.99
52.		Horse Saddle Draft, Wide Quarter Horse or Haflinger Brown and Black Item No. SAD-20	$395.00
53.		Kimberwick Korsteel Uxeter 5 1/2" Bit Item No. DHBIT-44B	$39.95
54.		King Draft Saddle 15 - 15 1/2" Seat Item No. SAD-KING	$725.00 $775.00
55.		Leather Center Ring Harness Hearts with Brass Studs Item No. HARNLHEARTS	$15.95 $19.95
56.		Leather Keeper Loop Item No. KEEPER	$0.55
57.		Leather Split 7' Reins Item No. DH-R7	$29.95
58.		Leather Split 8' Reins Item No. DH-R8	$32.95
59.		Liverpool Bit with Snaffle Mouthpiece | 5 1/2", 6", 6 1/2" mouth Item No. DHBIT-1	$34.65 $38.50
60.		Nylon Breastcollars Item No. N-BREASTCOLLARS	$17.99 $23.95
61.		Nylon Flank Billets Item No. N-FBILLETS	$8.00 $11.00
62.		Nylon Girths with Inlaid Designs Item No. N-GIRTHS	$18.00 $22.95
63.		Nylon Headstall, Reins and Noseband Tiedown Set Item No. N-RIDINGSET	$24.95 $32.50
64.		Nylon Horse Halter Adjustable Nose Large Horse or 2 year old Draft Item No. DH-ONH	$25.95
65.		Nylon Noseband and Tiedown Strap Sets Item No. N-NOSESETS	$11.95 $14.95
66.		Nylon Off Billet and Tie Strap Set Item No. N-OBILLETSET	$10.00
67.		Nylon Off Billets Item No. N-BILLETS	$4.50 $6.50
68.		Nylon Pony Harness Item No. NPH	$149.95
69.		Nylon Purple Breastcollar Horse Size Item No. N-PBREAST	$19.95
70.		Nylon Standing Martingale Item No. N-STMARTINGALE	$10.50
71.		Nylon Tiedown Straps with Inlaid Designs or Plain Item No. N-TIEDOWN	$8.00
72.		Plastic Center Hearts Item No. HARNHEARTS	$4.50 $6.50
73.		Seat Saver - Fleece and Cordura Item No. SS	$14.95 $19.95
74.		Sidereins with elastic and heavy duty snaps Item No. SIDEREINS	$10.99 $19.95
75.		Small Draft, Large Horse, Haflinger and Large Draft Size Western Silver Conchos, Hearts Headstall w/ Matching Reins Assorted Colors Item No. DH-WHSH	$52.95
76.		Snaffle Bit with 2 1/4" Rings, 5 1/4" Mouth Item No. DHBIT-19	$6.50
77.		Stainless Steel 6" Snaffle Bit Item No. DHBIT-12	$17.85
78.		Stainless Steel Snaffle Bits | 5 1/2", 6" Mouth Item No. DHBIT-24	$14.85
79.		Stainless Steel Straight Team Bit | 5 1/2", 6" Mouth Item No. DHBIT-10	$14.00
80.		Stainless Steel Sweet Iron 5 1/4" Mouth Bit Item No. DHBIT-15	$45.95
81.		Stainless Steel Sweet Iron Snaffle Bit 5" Item No. DHBIT-20	$39.75
82.		Steer Jerker Distressed Leather Wide Breast Collar Strap Item No. BC-HS	$42.95
83.		Straight Mouth Team Bit | 5 1/2", 6" Mouth Item No. DHBIT-13	$4.75
84.		Team Reins Black Leather Harness Necessity Item No. HARNTEAMREINS	$90.00 $119.00

All prices in US Dollars