זה יותר על הסוס מאשר רכיבה...
"A dog may be man's best friend", one horse breeder once said," but history was written by the horse". With a graceful rolling gait closely resembling the movement of the human body and a perfectly balanced structure, horses accompanied man throughout history. Horses not only enabled faster travel and communication, but also proved decisive allies in military campaigns, with mounted troops often overwhelming foot-bound infantry. Historians disagree, about whether the first tamed horses were used primarily for food, riding, or to pull carts, probably all three. They do agree, however, that by about 3,000 years ago, the horse had become a fixture in many ancient civilizations. The horse's general form is characteristic of an animal of speed. The long leg bones rotate on pulley-like joints that restrict movement to the fore and aft, the limbs are levered to muscle masses in such a way as to provide the most efficient use of energy, and the compact body is supported permanently on the tips of the toes, allowing fuller extension of the limbs in running. Horses are capable of expressions of confidence, obedience, affection, and fidelity. The visual memory of the horse prompts it to shy repeatedly from an object or place where it had earlier experienced fear. The animal's auditory memory, which enabled ancient army horses or hunters to follow the sounds of the bugles, is used in training. When teaching the instructor always uses the same words and the same tone of voice for a given desired reaction. Intelligent horses soon attach certain movements desired by their trainers to particular sounds and even try to anticipate their rider's wishes.
