Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

mordom t1_jbe7zyv wrote

Reply to comment by StekenDeluxe in Humans Started Riding Horses 5,000 Years Ago, New Evidence Suggests by Magister_Xehanort

I wonder if this had something to do with the anatomy of the horses back then. Apparently horses in antiquity were much smaller than their current size, which would definitely make it harder and slightly more ridiculous riding one (the image of a fat man on a donkey comes to mind). Also, I am guessing the back of a horse and its neck had to undergo some structural changes to be able to support giving long term rides without suffering any lasting damages. You can already see how quickly their neck stance changes when they go feral.

13

Runonlaulaja t1_jbeny30 wrote

People were also a lot smaller back then...

7

j4nkyst4nky t1_jbezdz8 wrote

Not by much. The average was lower, but people were still getting to more or less modern heights. A six foot tall man would have been considered tall, but not like a freak of nature or anything.

4

AmadeusV1 t1_jbffork wrote

Read in a book the other day that around the 10th century, the average western European warhorse was approximately 14 hands, about the size of a large pony today. A quick Google search reads that they may have been as short as 13 hands on average around Roman times.

3

kerill333 t1_jbffce2 wrote

The back and neck haven't changed. Being ridden damages horses, as their back is in effect a suspension bridge, but there are ways to prevent or delay this. Wild horses' 'neck stance' is not necessarily that different to ridden horses'.

2