Harness on Horses.
Man has, however, been carrying on unconsciously throughout a great stretch of time an experiment upon the hair on the coat of a horse by the use of harness. This is an old story and its rudiments are mentioned by Professor Scott Elliott.[58] He states that the men of Cromagnon are believed by a high authority as to their rock-paintings to have depicted some marks which represent rude harness of some kind, though he himself expresses doubt on the matter. He also quotes the same authority for the figures made by the Madelenians as having found signs which can be interpreted as halters or even bridles. Be this as it may, we need not carry our search for the use of harness to this hoary antiquity, but know well from history that for many thousands of years man has been employing harness on his friend and servant, thus making the essential conditions for an experiment of which he and his servant were alike unconscious, that is to say, he influenced a growing living structure, the horse’s hair, by the artificial force of pressure, applied to the coat at various points. These varied from age to age as to fashion and material, and the present full development of harness of a draught horse was probably slow in coming.