Variations

Horse Shape

There are countless functions, associations, and connotations we ascribe to a notion of a horse. When very young, we can think of a rocking horse, little ponies, as well as a knight on a horse flying in the sky, or even a Cinderella with her ‘substitute‘ horses, when her Fairy Godmother transformed a pumpkin and various animals into a carriage with horses, a coachman and a footman. With a saddle or not, Western cowboys would jump on, then ride a specifically trained horses they had a strong bond with, circus people perform their acts, and riders or hunters would go for the ride on recreational horses. Horse-drawn chaises, carts, coaches, stagecoaches, and other carriages served as a means of traveling and for postal deliveries.

From a variety of horse populations, recreational horses may provide means to attain enjoyment, mental repose, pass some time in healthy way, feel close to nature, make some intellectually involving social bonding, and gain a status in particular social group. Many horse breeds have been developed for use as sport horses. A preparation stage for a horse race may provide opportunities of building individual ways of communication, control, and bonding with a horse.

Horse breeds developed for use as sport horses may serve betting on favorite horses at horse races, playing polo, skijoring (snow sport of skis pulled by a horse), ancient Roman chariots’ races, modern harness racing (mostly with two-wheeled carts), equestrian sports at the summer Olympics, Horses were even taught to bite people to make them dangerous in battles and in police actions against participants of street manifestation and rallies, and during wars. Over the centuries, there has been severe suffering of horses used in coalmines, and for transporting coal, lumber, or potatoes. Horses served nomadic groups both on the prairies of the western states of the USA, and eastern steppes of Eurasia. There is a long history of using horses in warfare, in old, historical battles (such as these involving winged hussars in the Kingdom of Poland and other cavalry formations). There is a set of traditions related to horses in China. The Tatars (sometimes spelled Tartars) were tendering their meat for dinner by setting it under the saddle while riding their horses (Tartar beef). One may think about British tradition of riding a horse before breakfast (like the Queen of England did with the President Ronald Reagan), or a kulig (an old Polish tradition of a party involving a cavalcade of horse-pulled sleighs).

Horses differ in terms of their size, colors, origin, and common uses; it is said there are more than 350 horse breeds of riding horses, show horses, sport horses, work horses, ponies; arabian, anglo-arabian, appaloosa, percheron, mustang horse, and Przewalski’s wild horse may come in mind first.

After mastering a perfect performance of a unified team of a horse and a rider, a horse can also be taught to dance, both at the horse shows and in a circus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgiGHmQlKC8). Gaits of the horses comprise the walking gaits, running or trotting gaits, and leaping gaits (Roberts, 1995). Various ways a horse can move may be natural – occurring without any training such as a walk (about 4 miles per hour), trot (about 8 miles per hour), canter (average speed 10-17 mph), and gallop (about 25-30 miles per hour). The ambling gaits involve smooth footfall patterns that may be requested by a rider after special training (Harris, 1993). An English photographer, Eadweard James Muybridge (1830-1904) pioneered photographic studies of animal motion, capturing motion in stop-action photographs (over 100,000 images of animals and humans in motion) and creating a zoopraxiscope – the first movie projector.
A great number of people busy themselves with horses, as breeders and owners, and a number of jobs in equestrian industry may include a veterinarian and veterinarian technician, instructor/coach, trainer, groom, jockey, saddler, harness maker, saddle fitter, and equine chiropractor (http://horses.about.com/od/horsesportsexplained/a/horsecareerlist.htm). Other jobs with horses listed include a carriage maker/repair, equine massage therapist, mounted police, equine physiotherapist, equine nutritionist, stable manager, barn hand, pony ride operator, pony rider, pony party organizer, trail guide, guest ranch operator/employee, insurance broker/sales, show judge, show manager, show support staff (stewards), lab technician, website designer, writer, hay dealer, photographer, artist, exercise rider, carriage tour driver, trucker/horse transport, dealer, farm inspector, therapeutic riding instructor/support staff, seamstress/designer, toy designer/manufacturer, software designer/programmer, jump/course designer, breed inspector, artificial insemination specialist, catch rider, and equine dentist.

A horse is often associated with a notion of a sheer beauty: according to the French writer Honore de Balzac, “It is a true saying that there is no more beautiful sight than a frigate in full sail, a galloping horse, or a woman dancing” (Balzac, “Father Goriot”); and also, “A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!” (William Shakespeare, King Richard, III, V, 4). A horse may also enhance one’s self-confidence and make somebody magnificent and impressive in appearance; for this reason there are so many portraits with a horse and monuments with an individual on a horseback.

One may say horse is the most three-dimensional creature because of its movement. There is also a lot of horseplay: horse idiom, sayings, quips, such as ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,’ “Horse has a large head, let it worry about it”. ‘From the horse’s mouth,’ ‘Hold your horses!’ or ‘Cart before a horse.’ A hoof is often nailed at the house doorstep to secure a good luck. There are also horse-related games, e.g., hoof toss game. Horsehair growing on the manes and tails serves for making paint-brushes and calligraphy brushes, upholstery, fishing, fabric called haircloth, wigs, hats, bows of string instruments, and craft objects such as bracelets, necklaces, and barrettes. It is believed horse don’t like to be alone in a stable at night, they enjoy a company of a cat or a rooster.

There is also fantastic world of the unicorn, often presented at the Flamand tapestry, and in rich iconography, in ancient (for example, with Greek Myths related Pegasus, or a Trojan horse), medieval and romantic tales, paintings, and literature.

The performance awarded in 2011 with Golden Nica at Ars Electronica, “May the Horse Live in me” was a hybrid bio-art project as part of therapeutic research and an extreme body art where blood plasma of a horse was crossed with a human organism, then the artist dressed herself black wearing horse hoofs and posing together with a horse.