There has seldom been so forgotten a love story as that between man and the horse. Emerging from a long evolution stretching back nearly 50 million years, the horse predates the human. For approximately 5,000 years, the horse has been the backbone of many civilizations. A comparison could be made between the Americas and Eurasia to see the direct impact of the equine presence on technological development. The horse was not only a boon by its prominence in labor and military presence, it also allowed for an exponentially faster communication than was possible with only human feet. The horse was the backbone of an empire’s logistics; it allowed for the not only conquest but maintenance of conquered land as well. The horse, intimately tied to our psyche and civilization, has symbolically and literally brought death and salvation. More specifically, it would appear as though the horse has been adopted as an archetype into the collective unconscious of the human race. But what is the meaning of the horse, as a symbol? As an image greater than the reality it represents? I have come to believe that the horse is most commonly perceived as an embodiment of an ironically very human abstraction: freedom. The pastorals of empires long gone must have looked on the horse herd with admiration. In the wild, horses follow a hierarchy that, while they are genetically predisposed to adhere to, can fluctuate and always accommodate for another member of the herd. The animal offered an unreachable ideal with which even kings could envy - a governing order without risk of an authoritarianism. The symbol is again fueled by irony. As the freedom of the horse gives way to the dictates of man, so does man’s freedom rise. A person on horseback had the capability to bring chaos, to work, to escape. As “beasts of the foot”, a horse is defined by its ability to move. It is animal defined by locomotion, by change. Horses kept confined for too long will quickly find their mental degrading at a seemingly unnatural rate. It is the proclivity of the horse to falter in captivity that perhaps make them so relatable an animal. It is interesting to note, over the course of the 19th and 20th century, the decline of the horse’s relationship with mankind occurred at the same time as the advent of Fascism and Communism worldwide. As the horse was sacrificed to the altar of industrialism, so were the liberties of people worldwide. Though few may be able to experience this embodiment firsthand today, the archetypal images of horses used in all forms of media are portrayed with a nigh-monolithic purpose: to evoke a sense of old-world freedom, and make people nostalgic for a time when fate might have been more in their hand. Whether these feelings are based on an empirical reality, the association is there regardless and used to that effect.
Photo shown: "The History of the Criollo", by Aldio Chiappe
Good to see you back. I had wondered if you were done here. Hope all has been well with you.
Horses are interesting animals. Very independent. I grew up around them and they have a high level of intelligence, as well as a sense of humor that can sometimes border on being ornery.
Very thought provoking essay. I'm reading The Tao of Equus right now so this really got my attention. I had never considered the link between freedom and horses. My girlfriend is a "horse woman" and actually has a 7 yr. old dark chestnut arabian/thoroughbred named Spirit Drum she wants me to bond with and ride and love. Your essay helped me understand horses and our connection to them on a deeper level. Thanks.
Oh, and had some wild horses stop over for a little grass this morning in our yard. There are about 20 of them that roam around our area (the Virginia Range by Reno Nevada).
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