Some might suggest that a doorstopper about “the influence of the horse on human history” couldn’t possibly be interesting.
Neigh, say I. Neigh.
In fact, Timothy C. Winegard’s “The Horse” is fascinating, offering a fresh perspective on how crucial horses were in human development. And it almost didn’t happen.
Abrupt climate changes eons ago, at the end of the Ice Age, drove horses to the edge of extinction. The remnants of an animal once found through much of the world were then largely confined to an area that runs roughly from eastern Europe to Central Asia — where they were hunted for food.
(One of many interesting factoids I learned is that horse meat “contains 50% more protein and 30% more iron than the leanest of beef,” as well as vitamins and minerals and essential fatty acids.)
Still, Equus caballus might have gone the way of its brethren had it not been domesticated like cattle. Small corrals designed for milking mares have been uncovered. (Horse milk is far richer in vitamins than cow’s milk.) When someone — perhaps on a dare — decided to jump on the back of one of the more docile horses, it started “a revolution” that changed the world.
Riding horses helped farmers herd more sheep and goats and hunters cover more ground. When horses replaced oxen, their quicker gait allowed more land to be plowed, increased yields and changed subsistence farmers to commodity exporters.
Inevitably, horses became instruments of war, first pulling archers ensconced in chariots and then as mounts. The earliest known true cavalry formation belonged to the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta II (ruled 890-884 BCE).
In relatively short order, cavalry units made the difference in battle. Those nations that had horses won wars; those that didn’t, tried to get them. In many ways, these conflicts created the world we have today. Alexander extended the boundaries of his empire — and Greek culture — through Persia, India and beyond because of the success of his cavalry. Moorish invaders brought math and science to Europe.
Horses were the deciding element in the Battle of Hastings, where William, the Duke of Normandy — who had cavalry units — soundly defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, creating the modern British state.
“The Horse” is extensively researched. Winegard, an associate professor of history at Colorado Mesa University, seems to quote something from everything he’s ever read, including “Horses, Oxen and Technological Innovation: The Use of Draught Animals in English Farming from 1066 to 1500.” Sometimes, I wondered if the citations were there to make a point or show off.
So, yes, my eyes glazed over in some places. Fortunately, they were often followed by the kind of trivia that can make me look brilliant at my next cocktail party.
For example, I discovered horseback riding led to the origin and widespread adoption of pants, since traditional robes, skirts, togas and kilts proved less than ideal.
Also, a maneuver known as the Parthian shot, where riders fleeing an enemy sit backward on their saddles and fire arrows at pursuers, is the origin of the phrase parting shot.
Winegard’s “The Horse” is interesting, charming and entertaining. But I know: I can lead you to a bookstore, but I can’t make you read.
Curt Schleier is a critic in New Jersey.
The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity
By: Timothy C. Winegard.
Publisher: Dutton, 544 pages $35.
