RACER AND HUNTER
The horse has long been used in many ways by man; in cart, wagon, and plough; on the race-track and in the hunting field; in war and in peace. It has been man's great aid and helper, and through all the ages until less than a century ago it was the fastest means of travel or of sending news. Up to about 1830 all land travel was on horseback or by coach, or else on foot. Then the locomotive came and brought a great change. It was later still when men began to send news by lightning express over the telegraph wire. In early days in our country the mails, which now go so fast, were carried by old men on horseback, who spent the time in knitting stockings as they jogged along slowly over the rough roads.
A Roman Chariot Race
The horse has long been used not only in travel but also in sport, as a hunter and racer. When we read the story of ancient days and of the old Greeks and Romans we find many tales of chariot races. These old nations had great oval buildings, with thousands of seats, and a long oval race-track around which the horses had to run several times to finish the race.
These were not horseback races, like those of to-day, but races with chariots like those used in war. Each chariot was drawn by four swift horses and driven by a man who stood upright with reins and whip in hand and drove his horses at full speed round the track. The great and rich people took part in these races and many thousands of lookers on cheered them wildly as they sped onward like flying eagles. If any of you should like to read a good story of an ancient chariot race you can find one of the best in General Lew Wallace's novel of "Ben Hur."
In the Middle Ages riding was done on horseback, and when carriages and coaches were brought into use people despised those who rode in them, calling them weak and lazy. So in those days the racing was on horseback, as it still is in most cases. Many of these races went on in the open country, through rough fields and over streams. They were called "clock races," for the prizes were little wooden clocks, or clock towers. These were afterwards made in silver, and from them came the name of "steeplechase," by which such races are now called.
Regular race-courses began in England in the reign of James I., after 1600, and in later years many Arabian horses were brought to that country and racing became a common sport. One of the most celebrated of those early racers was Eclipse, a horse never beaten and never needing whip or spur. Since then there have been many famous racers, and racing has become very popular in all parts of Europe. A bad feature of it is the habit of betting on the speed of horses, by which many men have lost all their money.
Thoroughbred Racing Horse. A Trained Horse of This Breed is the swiftest of all Animals