A Short Introduction to the History of Racing

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It remains a mystery as to when and how the first horse was tamed and ridden. As to the first training program for fitness we have only the available records. Trying to assess when the first horses were ridden or used as pack animals has also been a matter of wide contention; as bit wear and damage or wear on the spinal processes only proves domestication. Archeologists are still finding remains of equus that may, throw more light on this intriguing relationship.

At least there is a clue as to the location of domestication of the horse. The vast grasslands of the Steppes of Kazakhstan from the Southern Urals in the west to the Altai Mountains in the east would have been ideal foraging land for wild horse herds. (The Times, 31 May 1990 p. 33).

These herds provided easy food for the hunter and it may well have been in this environment that domestication was a natural progression. In Mongolia the wild horse (Equus Ferus Przewalski) was hunting nearly to extinction.

A reasonable date for this domestication is now thought to be from 9-6000 BC. (This is based on the microscopic study of horses teeth found in the Ukraine by David Anthony of Hartwick College, New York). Archeological sites are abundant and such finds as traces of bone cheek pieces in the tombs of the Afanasjevo culture in the southern Urals provide sound evidence of early domestication. (An Early History of Horsemanship, A. Azzaroli, p. 13. Afanasjevo culture approximately 2500 & 1700 BC).

Around 2000 BC., with the development of suburban populations, land water and raw materials became valuable commodities. In order to control these commodities there was a constant displacement of people by more dominant tribes like the Iranians, Aryans and the Hittites, all Indo-Europeans. The invention of the wheel and the harnessing of the horsepower increased the distances people could travel and therefore the boundaries they were able to conquer and maintain.

We should remind ourselves that the horse has been our servant, in war, in transport, in agriculture and in sport for thousands of years. Man sadly cannot seem to live in peace, a constant desire, or a search for conflict continues to rise and dominate the landscape. Into this conflict mankind dragged the horse, to pull his chariots, carry his cavalry and pull his guns. The conflict continues, but there is one discipline where the horse can assist us to dispel our aggressive tendencies and that is sport, and the best of these sports is racing. The Olympics too are a hugely important part of the peace-keeping effort. Racing provides the thrill, the chase, the competition, the prowess of horse and rider as they are tested. But at least the only weapons used are the whips and they are now soft floppy things that can’t hurt a horse.

In Turkmenistan they still race their horses on a sand-based track and the winner removes his saddle and gallops back sitting on the back of his galloping horse with only with his carpet to protect him, which would be his prize. I can’t see our jockey’s doing that.

I believe we have a lot to thank the horse for, to be grateful we finally did ride it and not drive it into extinction as we did the mammoth.