Surprising Facts About Horses and Horsemanship

1. Before modern times, breeds were not used

In the past, horses were bred for specific traits by humans, but not for the breeds that we know today. They were instead siloed into categories, depending on the horsemanship service they provided. There were horses used for war, which were fast and agile; horses for travel, which had a smooth ride and endurance; and horses used for work, which were large and strong.

2. Historically, war horses were small

Watching movies, it has become a popular misconception that the best horses in history for war were massive beasts, tall, stout, and intimidating. Instead, agility was the favored trait in a war horse. While they did need to be strong, in order to handle riders in armor, horses for war were rarely used for travel and almost never used as a beast of burden. They only needed to be fast and perform well in combat.

3. Horse whispering is a real training technique

Although it is considered a new field by some, natural horsemanship (or horse whispering) is real. It relies on developing trust with the animal in order to train them. It has gained popularity in the past twenty years, but aspects of the modern method have been around for centuries as a humane way to train. It still requires skill on the part of the trainer, but can be a great way to avoid stress in the animal.

4. There are three categories of modern horse breeds

The 300 plus breeds of horse today are grouped into three different categories. Cold bloods are work horses, strong and able to perform heavy labor. Hot bloods are those horses with endurance a speed, used for racing. Warm bloods are horses bred between the two groups that are great for riding and horsemanship skills.

5. The only true wild horse is the Asian Wild Horse

Also called Przewalski’s wild horse, after the Russian geographer who wrote about them, the Asian Wild Horse is the only breed of horse that has never been domesticated. The Brumbies of Australia and Mustangs of America are simply domesticated breeds that are feral. An endangered species, Asian Wild Horses are native to the steppes of central Asia.

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