Chariots

[Hal Neumann]

JoatSimeon at aol.com wrote:

[ moderator snip ]

Horses were always strong enough to carry a person on their back_for a
while_. Zebras, wild horses, and ponies no larger than the
neolithic/Bronze Age chariot pony could all do this.

The question actually relates to how long they could be ridden and how
much gear the rider could carry.
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Both the Tarpan (Equus ferus ferus Boddaert) and Przewalskis horse
Equus ferus przewalski Poliakof) fall within the size range of
"modern" ponies such as the Celtic, Devonshire, Exmoor, Iceland, and
Shetland--all of which can carry a rider and saddle for some time and
some distance.  [A pony is commonly defined as a horse which stands
less than 14 hands at the withers/shoulder--a hand equals 10.16 cm.]

For those who doubt the endurance of ponies carrying a rider and gear,
consider the North American mustang, which average 14 hands(140.2 cm.)
at the withers, with a range from 13 to 14.2 (132.08 to 144.27 cm).
Mustangs proved quite capable of bearing Native American warriors,
impedimenta and all, over long distances.  These ponies likewise
served to bear "cowboys," complete with Texas-style saddles and
personal gear, for long periods of time.

Some say that the horse when first domesticated would not have had the
muscular and skeletal strength to bear a rider on their backs.  Even
if this were the case, evidence exists (as late as the third
millennium) of horsemen riding seated over the hind quarters of their
mounts the so-called "donkey seat" (Moorey 1970).

The horse remains uncovered at Dereivka on the Dnieper (a late
Neolithic site) fall within the range of 132-144 cm.  Telegin 1986,
Levine 1990, Anthony 1991, Anthony and Brown 1991)  These ponies fall
well within the parameter of what could be considered a "riding pony."

It is my understanding that Anthony (1991) and Anthony and Brown
(1991) believe that horses were "kept" (if not "domesticated") at
Dereivka for hundreds of years.

As a child, my family raised horse on the high plains of eastern
Montana (both gentled and free-ranging stock), I fail to see how it
would be possible to raise horses without being mounted.  Unlike
livestock such as cattle and goats, it would be impossible, I believe,
to herd horses on foot.  It just seems a given that if you raise
horses in any number beyond the occasional pet/oddity, then you must
ride horses.

--Hal W Neumann