The_Reluctant_Rider

The Reluctant Rider The Reluctant Rider Why the Chinese developed horseback riding late But grew to become master horsemen Look back at man's struggle for freedom. Trace our present day's strength to its source, And you'll find that man's pathway to glory Is strewn with the bones of a horse. anonymous Wherever man has left his footprints in the long ascent from barbarism to civilization, we will find the hoofprint of a horse beside it. -John Trotwood Moore- Ancient civilizations of the world have all made important progressions related to their use of the horse. The ancient Chinese appear to have been significantly more advanced in a wide range of areas than their contemporaries in other nearby countries. Why, then, did the development of horseback riding occur so much later than in some less sophisticated societies' There are several answers for this question, relating to China’s politics, culture, and geography. The Chinese sedentary lifestyle did not demand horseback riding the way the Mongolians’ did. They acquired and domesticated horses much later and did not develop the same reverence for horses that the northern people had. The Chinese avoided contact with the Mongolians, from whom they would eventually learn horsemanship skills much more effective than their horses, chinese, horse, riding, china, horseback, much, people, made, been, bc, animals, mongolians, chariot, wwwimhorg, long, keeping, important, horsemen, good, culture, animal, ancient, years, very, time, horsemanship, even, dynasty, contact, considered, chariots, began, before, became