IV., April,
1891.--_Veterinary Archives._]
Kind, gentle steed, nobly standing,
Four shoes will I put on your feet,
Firm and good, that you'll be fleet,
That is Donar's hammer saying.
To the woods and homeward go,
Always on the straight road thro',
Far from what is bad, still fleeing,
That is Donar's hammer saying.
Should wounds and pain become distressing,
Blood to blood shall flow,
Bone to bone shall grow,
That is Donar's hammer saying.
Carry the rider, true little steed,
Onward to all good luck bringing;
Carry him thence and back with speed,
That is Donar's hammer saying.
--_Old Meresburger Song_.
The horse appeared comparatively late in the group of domestic
animals. In searching the monuments of the ancients, which have
furnished the foundation for our present culture, that is, of the
littoral inhabitants of the Mediterranean, and of the people of
Mesopotamia, we find in Egypt the first traces of the horse. But even
here it appears late, on the monuments of the first ruling patricians
of human origin.[2] Especially during the period of Memphis (I-X
Dynasty), then under the rules of Thebes (XI-XVI Dynasty), there is no
trace of the horse.
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