THE LIBR ARY ANCCENCYCLOPEDIA
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LEGENDARY HORSES Text: Isabel Bermejo
The history of humanity is full of legends and stories about horses that identified an era and became part of the collective memory of many horse lovers. Some well-known examples include “Bucephalus” owned by Alexander the Great; “Strategos” owned by Hannibal; “Genitor” owned by Julius Caesar; “Incitatus” owned by Caligula and El Cid’s warhorse “Babieca” among others. Bucephalus had a white star on his forehead in the shape of an ox head; this was the inspiration from which he took his name. He was difficult to tame, but Alexander the Great transformed him into his best collaborator and together they led the way in numerous battles from the Greek Empire to Egypt and the Indian frontier. The horse died following a battle with Hindu King Pores; the conqueror ordered the horse to be buried with military honors. The city of Bucephalia or Alexandria Buce ph a lou s wa s founded over his tomb. Hannibal, The Carthag i n ia n, who admired Alexander the Great from his youth, ordered his horse Strategos to be brought from Tesalia— bir thplace of Bucephalus. Together with his horse and his enormous army, including his
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elephants for war, he crossed the Alps to defeat the Romans in their own empire. When Caesar was an ado-lescent, the scryers— Roman Empire fortune-tellers—predicted that the owner of the horse, Genitor, would dominate the world. Julius Caesar fed the animal, took care of him and did not allow anyone else to ride him. With Genitor, Julius Caesar earned fame when “Crossing the Rubicon,” a river along the border between Gisalpine Gaul and Italy. According to Roman law, no provincial governor could cross ahead of his troops lest he be declared a public enemy. This episode led to a bloody civil war, which is considered by many historians as the start of the fall of the Roman Empire. At the beginning of the first century AD, Incitatus reached the emperor Caligula from Hispania, for the races. Caligula loved the animal and looked after him with great care. The day before each competition, the emperor slept at his side and decreed “general silence” under the pain of death. Incitatus only lost one race in his life, after which Caligula the execution of its rider telling the executioner: “do it slowly so that he feels his death.” Legend has it that, at the time of Caligula, the Roman Empire imported ten thousand horses per year from Hispania. Ten centuries later, certain versions of the story by Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, brave El Cid, state that he made his wife promise that, once dead, he would ride once again into battle on the back of his faithful friend Babieca. His troops tied his body to the saddle of his horse and he galloped to lead the offensive. His enemies, who had heard of his death, thought that he had returned to life to fight against them and ran away in terror.
Blaze: long, wide white stripe down the frontal-nasal bone of the head of the horse. May also be called a stripe. Fajado, meaning with a girdle: term applied to horses whose loins and belly differ in color from the rest of their bodies. In Spanish, also known as cinchado False ribs: the ribs of the horse that are not attached to the sternum. Throat: point of union of the neck with he head, corresponding to the pharynx and larynx. Rump swirl: whorl found close to the insertion of the tail. Flexor: tendon located next to the upper part of the cannon bone and in parallel. Yearling: young horse aged one year. Forlon: an 18th Century Berlin Carriage, designed for celebrations. Willing horse: a horse that is eager, that is to say, it demonstrates a predisposition to perform a task. Manure: excrement of horses, also known as muck or droppings. Facial swirl: whorl in the centre of the forehead of a horse. Paymaster: equine employee who is responsible for receiving and making payments. *After the initial word in Spanish, there may or may not be a translation, but the meaning is provided
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