The Age Of The Horse In The 19th Century

"In Europe and Asia, 'the age of the horse' lasted from the classical times of Greece and Rome until the beginning of the 19th century."(1) This quote shows that horses have been used by mankind for centuries, and still are. Without horses, mankind may not be as developed as today. Not only did they help us win wars and work on farms, but they were a key factor in exploration and the industrial revolution. Horses have been around for some 50 million years!(2) The first type of horse was a small 4 toed Hyracotherium that over time became 3 toed then the 1 toed horse(3) we love today.

Image of horses evolution (22)

For hundreds of years, horses have been used to work on farms. Horses were used to pull ploughs, mill grain, draw water from wells and harvest and transport crops. Heavy horses, or drafts, such as Shire horses and Clydesdales, are commonly used on farms. The first horse drawn plough was invented in China around A.D. 500. This shows that horses have been helping man develop for OVER a thousand years. Without horses farming may not be as
Horsepower is the measurement of how strong a horse is and how much it can carry or pull, one unit of horsepower is 746 watts. Eyewitness horse says “Without the horse, the industrial revolution at the end of the 18th century could never of taken place.” (7) This shows that horses massively impacted us and many things may not have been possible without them. Horses helped the growth of countries involved in the industrial revolution and made it possible for modern society to develop. Horsepower was used in many different forms such as working in factories, grinding grains and more. Some ponies were even used in mines!(24) to carry coal around. Horses were also used to pull fire engines, busses, work as part of the police force and to pull boats along canals, which is still done