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The Exploration of The Horse as A Commodity

Jed Cogan

 

Commodities are regularly thought of as tangible goods that can be purchased and sold in exchange for other goods or services. Common examples of commodities are raw materials, such as gold and silver, or primary agricultural products, such as coffee and sugar. Illustrations of commodities less often include living organisms. Despite recent debates surrounding the ethicality of the commodity status of animals, one would be shortsighted to ignore the historical implications of these types of commodities. Initially, wild animals were unilaterally hunted, and they served the sole purpose of human sustenance. Later, their use was largely altered by the human practice of domestication. In the taming and breeding of several species, not only was mankind able to secure a more reliable food source, but domestication also paved the way for other worthwhile uses of these commodities. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than with the horse (Equus ferus caballus). Throughout history, the introduction of the horse catalyzed societal transformation. What began as an important source of food, the horse, upon domestication, had a profound material and cultural impact on mankind.

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Although the evolution of the benefits derived from horses mirrored that of other animals, from singular in nature to multifaceted, it is evident that mankind was particularly intrigued by these mammals. Scientists postulate that the modern horse first appeared some 1.5 million years ago in the forests of North America (Lobell, and Powell, 28). However, it was not until migrating from North America to the grasslands of the Old World about 900,000 years ago that horses would first come into contact with mankind (Lobell and Powell, 28). Archaeological evidence found at Paleolithic sites in Eurasia was indicative of butchering and suggests that these animals were initially solely targeted for food purposes (Lobell and Powell, 28). Yet, from early on, it becomes apparent that these mammals had a profound impact on the human psyche. Given the abundance of their depiction in Paleolithic cave art, it appears horses garnered cultural significance and symbolism that other animals did not (Lobell and Powell, 28).


After 5000 B.C.E., attempts were made in Central Asia to tame wild horses (Briggs). Humans likely recognized a major advantage that horses in the region had over other animals: the ability to “break through ice and snow with their hooves to reach winter grass to feed themselves” (Lobell and Powell, 29).​

Horse 1.jpg

Depiction of horses in Paleolithic cave art.

Although their domestication was predicated on the comparatively economic nature of their feed, horses soon presented other worthwhile benefits. Wear patterns found on the teeth of horses from 3500 B.C.E. Kazakhstan is indicative of early attempts to utilize the horse as a mode of transport (Briggs). It would be the utilization of the horse as a means of transport that would establish the horse as an extremely desirable commodity in the eyes of mankind.

 

Following domestication, it was the adoption of the horse as a weapon of war that catalyzed the commodity's widespread diffusion and its profound cultural impact. It is widely believed that the first chariot was invented in 2000 B.C.E. in the region where horses were first domesticated. The introduction of the wheel from Mesopotamia provided the opportunity for mankind to utilize the horse -- then too small and weak to support the weight of a human -- as a means of improving hunting. Furthermore, evidence suggests widespread use of chariots in conflict among steppe peoples. Over the following centuries, horse and chariot spread, either by direct migration of communities from the steppes -- as was the case with Syria -- or through invasion -- as was the case in Egypt (Anthony and Vinogradov).​

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Egyptian carriage.

Beyond revolutionizing warfare and transport, the horse acquired an array of cultural significance. In Egypt, Pharaohs such as Tutankhamun were regularly buried with their horses, indicative of the animal’s association with power and royalty (Lobell and Powell, 30). In Nordic mythology, “the eight legged horse Sleipnir” would come to play a crucial role in transporting Odin, the Norse god of war, poetry, knowledge, and wisdom through the Nine Worlds (Lobell and Powell, 30). And, in the Greco-Roman world, racehorses in particular became a means by which both private individuals and the public state displayed power, encouraged civic camaraderie, and celebrated important events (Lobell and Powell, 30). Somewhat paradoxically, the breeding of horses – the very practice that afforded their widespread use – also made chariots obsolete. By 500 B.C.E., stronger horses were able to carry riders into battle and allowed for the introduction of cavalry (Lobell and Powell).


In examining man’s re-introduction of horses to the Americas – their place of origin – one further ​

understands the impact of this commodity. Horses were brought to the New World in 1492 by the Spanish, who had obtained them during the Moorish invasions (Denhardt, 5). A great deal of Spain’s success can be attributed to the horse. So much so, that several conquistadors claimed that “the great conquest would have been impossible had it not been for these animals” (Denhardt, 5). Foreign to the New World, horses provided Spaniards with a plethora of advantages over the native populations, not the least of which was the fear they struck in the eyes of the enemy. The introduction of the horse would have had a far greater immediate impact on the continent had it not been for Spain’s enactment of a “legal prohibition against their use by the natives” (Denhardt, 11). Indians were well aware of the possibilities afforded by the horse, and the Indians of South America soon became veteran horse thieves (Denhardt, 12). Horses and horsemanship permeated and revolutionized all aspects of the life of Indians throughout the Americas. On the plains of the Midwestern United States, horses aided in the hunting of bison and altered the nature of conflict (Denhardt, 4). Throughout, horsemanship became a skill widely associated with masculinity, “an art to be learned as soon as a child could walk” (Denhardt, 12). Thus, it is not surprising that horses came to be widely worshipped, “their name … synonymous with God” (Denhardt, 12).

 

Although recent debates have questioned the ethical implications of the commodity status of animals, one must acknowledge the profound impact that the horse had on the history of mankind. Through domestication, mankind’s utilization of horses evolved from a food source to a mode of transport that acquired immense importance on the battlefield. The cultural significance and symbolic meanings that followed suit are indicative of the significant material and psychological impact that this commodity had on mankind.

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