Reference
- carriageFour-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle, mainly for private passenger use. It was the final refinement of the horse-drawn passenger conveyance, having developed from the wagon, chariot, and coach. Light carriages with enhanced suspension for added comfort had been developed by the 17th century. A variety of carriages were common in the 19th century, including the brougham and the buggy. Carriage manufacturers provided the very similar early designs for automobile bodies.
- cartTwo-wheeled vehicle drawn by a draft animal, used throughout recorded history for transporting freight and people. The simplest of vehicles, its frame consists merely of crossed wooden stakes or a box with shafts as an extension of the frame. Carts are known to have been used by the Greeks and Assyrians by 1800 bc, though earlier use (c. 3500 bc) can be assumed.
- chariotOpen two- or four-wheeled vehicle of ancient origin. The chariot probably originated in Mesopotamia about 3000 bc; early monuments show heavy vehicles with solid wheels. Chariots were probably first used in royal funeral processions. Two-wheeled horse-drawn versions evolved for speed in battle c. 2000 bc, appearing first in Greece and later in Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. Chariot racing was popular in Greece at the Olympic Games; in Rome it was the main event in the circus games, where two to four horses drew each lightweight chariot in a competition of four or six vehicles; and in Byzantium such races became the dominant events of civic life.
- coachFour-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with an enclosed body and an elevated seat in front for the driver. The coach originated in the 15th century in Hungary (where kocsi originally meant “wagon from the town of Kocs”). It was introduced in England in the mid-16th century. Coaches were used as public conveyances with inside seats for passengers (as in the stagecoach) and for mail delivery. They were used mainly in European cities into the 18th century, when the private carriage became more common.
- equestrianismShowjumping is horse-jumping over a course of fences. The winner is usually the competitor with fewest ‘faults’ (penalty marks given for knocking down or refusing fences), but in timed competitions it is the competitor completing the course most quickly, additional seconds being added for mistakes.
Dressage tests the horse's obedience skills and the rider's control. Tests consist of a series of movements at walk, trot, and canter, with each movement marked by judges who look for suppleness, balance, and a special harmony between rider and horse. The term is derived from the French ‘dresser’, which means training.
Three-Day Eventing tests the all-round abilities of a horse and rider in dressage, cross-country, and showjumping. - wagonFour-wheeled vehicle designed to be drawn by draft animals. Wagons have been used from the 1st century bc; early examples used spoked wheels with metal rims, pivoted front axles, and linchpins to secure the wheels. Ninth-century improvements in suspension made the wagon preferable to the two-wheeled cart, especially for carrying freight and agricultural produce.
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Perspectives
The Carriage Trade
Co-Winner of the 2005 Hagley Business History Book Prize given by the Busines History Conference. In 1926, the Carriage Builders' National Association met for the last time, signaling the automobile's final triumph over the horse-drawn carriage. Only a decade earlier, carriages and wagons were still a common sight on every Main Street in America. In the previous century, carriage-building had been one of the largest and most dynamic industries in the country. In this sweeping study of a forgotten trade, Thomas A. Kinney extends our understanding of nineteenth-century American industrialization far beyond the steel mill and railroad. The legendary Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company in 1880 produced a hundred wagons a day--one every six minutes. Across the country, smaller factories fashioned vast quantities of buggies, farm wagons, and luxury carriages. Today, if we think of carriage and wagon at all, we assume it merely foreshadowed the automobile industry. Yet., the carriage industry epitomized a batch-work approach to production that flourished for decades. Contradicting the model of industrial development in which hand tools, small firms, and individual craftsmanship simply gave way to mechanized factories, the carriage industry successfully employed small-scale business and manufacturing practices throughout its history. The Carriage Trade traces the rise and fall of this heterogeneous industry, from the pre-industrial shop system to the coming of the automobile, using as case studies Studebaker, the New York-based luxury carriage-maker Brewsters, and dozens of smallerfirms from around the country. Kinney also explores the experiences of the carriage and wagon worker over the life of the industry. Deeply researched and strikingly original, this study contributes a vivid chapter to the story of America's industrial revolution.
The Saga of the Pony Express
The government in the mid-1800s needed better communication with its far-flung citizens in the West. Three visionaries dreamt up a seemingly impossible solution: the Pony Express. An elite cadre of riders would carry the U.S. mail across 2,000 miles of inhospitable wilderness in 10 days.
Camel
A distinct symbol of the desert and the Middle East, the camel was once unkindly described as "half snake, half folding bedstead." But in the eyes of many the camel is a creature of great beauty. This is most evident in the Arab world, where the camel has played a central role in the historical development of Arabic society--where an elaborate vocabulary and extensive literature have been devoted to it. In Camel, Robert Irwin explores why the camel has fascinated so many cultures, including those cultivated in locales where camels are not indigenous. Here, he traces the history of the camel from its origins millions of years ago to the present day, discussing such matters of contemporary concern as the plight of camel herders in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, the alarming increase in the population of feral camels in Australia, and the endangered status of the wild Bactrian in Mongolia and China. Throughout history, the camel has been appreciated worldwide for its practicality, resilience, and legendary abilities of survival. As a result it has been featured in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Poussin, Tiepolo, Flaubert, Kipling, and Rose Macaulay, among others. From East to West, Irwin's Camel is the first survey of its kind to examine the animal's role in society and history throughout the world. Not just for camel aficionados, this highly illustrated book, containing over 100 informative and unusual images, is sure to entertain and inform anyone interested in this fascinating and exotic animal.
METHODICAL DRESSAGE of the RIDING HORSE and DRESSAGE of the OUTDOOR HORSE
The Master François Baucher brought numerous modifications to his first method of dressage. His best student, Faverot de Kerbrech gives us the definitive description and explanation of Baucher's second manner in his work: Methodical Dressage of the Riding Horse from the Last Teaching of Baucher, recalled by one of his students (1891). Published twenty years after the death of Baucher, this work is the result of a quest to bring French equitation out of its academic approach; enriched by the experience of Baucher's most illustrious student. It is considered the Bible of Baucherism.In Dressage of the Outdoor Horse, General de Lagarenne gives us the last teaching of Faverot de Kerbrech. This work consists of a simplified progression of the second manner of Baucher with regard to the preparation of a horse for outdoor riding.
Mr. Darley's Arabian
The audacious and inspired history of horse racing told through the bloodline of twenty-five exceptional Arabian steeds. In 1704 a bankrupt English merchant sent home the colt he had bought from Bedouin tribesmen near the ruins of Palmyra. Thomas Darley hoped this horse might be the ticket to a new life back in Yorkshire. But he turned out to be far more than that, and although Mr. Darley's Arabian never ran a race, 95% of all thoroughbreds in the world today are descended from him. In this book, for the first time, award-winning racing writer Christopher McGrath traces this extraordinary bloodline through twenty-five generations to our greatest modern racehorse, Frankel. The story of racing is about man's relationship with horses, and Mr. Darley's Arabian also celebrates the men and women who owned, trained and traded the stallions that extended the dynasty. The great Eclipse, for instance, was bred by the Duke who foiled Bonnie Prince Charlie's invasion (with militia gathered from Wakefield races) and went on to lead the Jockey Club. But he only became a success once bought and raced by a card-sharp and brothel-keeper - the racecourse has always brought high and low life together. McGrath expertly guides us through three centuries of scandals, adventures and fortunes won and lost: our sporting life offers a fascinating view into our history. With a canvas that extends from the diamond mines of South Africa to the trenches of the Great War, and a cast ranging from Smithfield meat salesmen to the inspiration for Mr Toad, and from legendary jockeys to not one, but two disreputable Princes of Wales (and a very unamused Queen Victoria), Mr. Darley's Arabian shows us the many faces of the sport of kings.
Online Resources
- Present Day Usage and Future Opportunities for Draft Horses and MulesThe truth of the matter is that the heavy horse and mule business is full of people who, while very fond of their animals, are neither hopelessly sentimental about them, nor do they have an incurable itch to show off with them in public. According to EQUUS, European markets were taking 90% of the US horsemeat abroad for human consumption at that time. Horsemeat offers nearly as much protein per pound as beef and pork, with far less fat and at a somewhat lower cost. The breeding of Belgian and Percheron horses in their native countries is, and has been for some time, geared to the butcher's block as much as to the harness and collar. In the 1930s, the Pioneer Seed Company in Iowa used a lot of draft horses in their operation. They were developing many different inbred lines involving small plots. It was a highly specialized farming operation that the horses lent themselves to very well.
- Caravans, camel wrestling and cowrie shells: towards a social zooarchaeology of camel hybridization in anatolia and adjacent eegionsHybrid camels, intentional crosses between dromedaries and bactrian camels, are prized for their robustness and endurance. They were the prime vehicles of short and long distance caravan trade in a large area between Greece and Mongolia until the whole-scale introduction of motorized transport. This paper proposes a model for the zooarchaeological study of camel hybridization as a culture-historical phenomenon based on ethnographic and ethnohistoric observations of camel wrestling. Camel wrestling spectacles involve large audiences who gather in large arenas to watch first generation male hybrid camels wrestle during the mating season. While Anatolia was chosen as a case region for testing the model, it can be applied to all regions where hybrids are expected to occur in the archaeological record.
Streaming Media
- Stagecoach and the Pony ExpressStagecoach travel was uncomfortable. The 2,000-mile journey was monotonous and strenuous. Riders had to sleep sitting up. Lack of sleep caused some people to become demented.