HORSE

There is a fine description of a war-horse in the book of Job-a book which some think to be the oldest in the world. It is in the thirty- ninth chapter Job 39. "Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him; the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting." In Jud 5 you will find this verse. "Then were the horse-hoofs broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones." And it seems likely from this, that it was not the custom to shoe horses in those days, so that their hoofs were more easily broken. They had horses in Egypt in very ancient times, as you will find if you read the first part of the book of Exodus. You will see there how the children of Israel escaped from Egypt, after they had been kept in hard bondage a great many years; and how when they had gone only a short distance, the wicked king Pharaoh went after them to try to get them back. There was a great company of the Israelites, men, women and children; they had nothing to ride on, and had their flocks and herds with them, so that they could not go very fast. They took the course which God directed, and it brought them to the Red Sea, where there were neither boats nor bridges for them to go over. Just then they heard that Pharaoh and his army were coming after them. Some came in chariots of war, and of these there were six hundred drawn by horses; and a great many more came on horseback. Now what could these people do? If they went on, they would be drowned; and if they went back, or stayed where they were, they would fall into the hands of the Egyptians. God told them not to be afraid, for he would take care of them; so he divided the waters of the sea, and made a dry road for them to go through, while the water stood up like a wall on each side of them. Then the Egyptians followed on, and God let the waters flow down upon them, so that they were all drowned. Think what a sight it must have been, when the chariots, and horses, and men, were all surrounded by that great, mighty water, and then sunk down one after another, so that they could be seen no more. The children of Israel sang a psalm of praise after God had saved them in this wonderful manner, and these words are a part of it: "Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea." In one of the last chapters in the Old Testament you will find these words, "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD." This speaks of a time which has not yet come, but for which christians are looking, when this world will not be wicked as it now is; but when every thing, even the bells of the horses, shall be holy unto the Lord.

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Horse. Horse
Always referred to in the Bible in connection with warlike operations, except Isa. 28:28. The war-horse is described Job 39:19-25. For a long period after their settlement in Canaan the Israelites made no use of horses, according to the prohibition, Deut. 17:16. David was the first to form a force of cavalry (2 Sam. 8:4). But Solomon, from his connection with Egypt, greatly multiplied their number (1 Kings 4:26; 10:26, 29). After this, horses were freely used in Israel (1 Kings 22:4; 2 Kings 3:7; 9:21, 33; 11:16). The furniture of the horse consisted simply of a bridle (Isa. 30:28) and a curb (Ps. 32:9).

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HORSE. → Description of
* Great strength Job 39:19-25
* Swifter than eagles Jer 4:13
* Snorting and neighing of Isa 5:28; Jer 8:16
* A vain thing for safety Ps 33:17; Pr 21:31

→ Used by the Egyptians in war Ex 14:9; 15:19 → Used by the Israelites 1Ki 22:4 → Used for cavalry 2Ki 18:23; Jer 47:3; 51:21 → Egypt famous for Isa 31:1 → Forbidden to the kings of Israel De 17:16 → Hamstrung by
* Joshua Jos 11:6,9
* David 2Sa 8:4

→ Israel reproved for keeping Isa 2:7; 31:1; Eze 17:15; Ho 14:3 → Exported
* From Egypt 1Ki 10:28,29; 2Ch 9:25,28
* From Babylon Ezr 2:66; Ne 7:68

→ Bits for Jas 3:3 → Bells for Zec 14:20 → Harness for Jer 46:4 → Color of Zec 1:8 → Commerce in Re 18:13 → See EXPORTED, above → Dedicated to religious uses 2Ki 23:11 → SYMBOLICAL Zec 1:8; Re 6:2-8; 9:17; 19:11-21

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horse. Horse, n. a quadruped for draft or carriage, a machine of various kinds for support, a rope upon a yard for seamen to stand on, cavalry

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Horse (hôrs), n. [[AS. hors; akin to OS. hros, D. & OHG. ros, G. ross, Icel. hross; and perh. to L. currere to run, E. course, current Cf. Walrus.]] 1. 1. (Zoöl.) A hoofed quadruped of the genus Equus; especially, the domestic horse (E. caballus), which was domesticated in Egypt and Asia at a very early period. It has six broad molars, on each side of each jaw, with six incisors, and two canine teeth, both above and below. The mares usually have the canine teeth rudimentary or wanting. The horse differs from the true asses, in having a long, flowing mane, and the tail bushy to the base. Unlike the asses it has callosities, or chestnuts, on all its legs. The horse excels in strength, speed, docility, courage, and nobleness of character, and is used for drawing, carrying, bearing a rider, and like purposes.
☞ Many varieties, differing in form, size, color, gait, speed, etc., are known, but all are believed to have been derived from the same original species. It is supposed to have been a native of the plains of Central Asia, but the wild species from which it was derived is not certainly known. The feral horses of America are domestic horses that have run wild; and it is probably true that most of those of Asia have a similar origin. Some of the true wild Asiatic horses do, however, approach the domestic horse in several characteristics. Several species of fossil (Equus) are known from the later Tertiary formations of Europe and America. The fossil species of other genera of the family Equidæ are also often called horses, in general sense. 2. 2. The male of the genus horse, in distinction from the female or male; usually, a castrated male.
3. 3. Mounted soldiery; cavalry; — used without the plural termination; as, a regiment of horse; — distinguished from foot.
The armies were appointed, consisting of twenty-five thousand horse and foot. Bacon. 4. 4. A frame with legs, used to support something; as, a clotheshorse, a sawhorse, etc.
5. 5. A frame of timber, shaped like a horse, on which soldiers were made to ride for punishment.
6. 6. Anything, actual or figurative, on which one rides as on a horse; a hobby.
7. 7. (Mining) A mass of earthy matter, or rock of the same character as the wall rock, occurring in the course of a vein, as of coal or ore; hence, to take horse — said of a vein — is to divide into branches for a distance.
8. 8. (Naut.) (a) See Footrope, a. (b) A breastband for a leadsman. (c) An iron bar for a sheet traveler to slide upon. (d) A jackstay. W. C. Russell. Totten.
☞ Horse is much used adjectively and in composition to signify of, or having to do with, a horse or horses, like a horse, etc.; as, horse collar, horse dealer or horse�dealer, horsehoe, horse jockey; and hence, often in the sense of strong, loud, coarse, etc.; as, horselaugh, horse nettle or horse-nettle, horseplay, horse ant, etc. Black horse, Blood horse, etc. See under Black, etc. — Horse aloes, caballine aloes. — Horse ant (Zoöl.), a large ant (Formica rufa); — called also horse emmet. — Horse artillery, that portion of the artillery in which the cannoneers are mounted, and which usually serves with the cavalry; flying artillery. — Horse balm (Bot.), a strong-scented labiate plant (Collinsonia Canadensis), having large leaves and yellowish flowers. — Horse bean (Bot.), a variety of the English or Windsor bean (Faba vulgaris), grown for feeding horses. — Horse boat, a boat for conveying horses and cattle, or a boat propelled by horses. — Horse bot. (Zoöl.) See Botfly, and Bots. — Horse box, a railroad car for transporting valuable horses, as hunters. — Horse breaker or trainer, one employed in subduing or training horses for use. — Horse car. (a) A railroad car drawn by horses. See under Car. (b) A car fitted for transporting horses. — Horse cassia (Bot.), a leguminous plant (Cassia Javanica), bearing long pods, which contain a black, catharic pulp, much used in the East Indies as a horse medicine. — Horse cloth, a cloth to cover a horse. — Horse conch (Zoöl.), a large, spiral, marine shell of the genus Triton. See Triton. — Horse courser. (a) One that runs horses, or keeps horses for racing. Johnson. (b) A dealer in horses. Wiseman. — Horse crab (Zoöl.), the Limulus; — called also horsefoot, horsehoe crab, and king crab. — Horse crevallé (Zoöl.), the cavally. — Horse emmet (Zoöl.), the horse ant. — Horse finch (Zoöl.), the chaffinch. — Horse gentian (Bot.), fever root. — Horse iron (Naut.), a large calking iron. — Horse latitudes, a space in the North Atlantic famous for calms and baffling winds, being between the westerly winds of higher latitudes and the trade winds. Ham. Nav. Encyc. — Horse mackrel. (Zoöl.) (a) The common tunny (Orcynus thunnus), found on the Atlantic coast of Europe and America, and in the Mediterranean. (b) The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). (c) The scad. (d) The name is locally applied to various other fishes, as the California hake, the black candlefish, the jurel, the bluefish, etc. — Horse marine (Naut.), an awkward, lubbery person; one of a mythical body of marine cavalry. — Horse mussel (Zoöl.), a large, marine mussel (Modiola modiolus), found on the northern shores of Europe and America. — Horse nettle (Bot.), a coarse, prickly, American herb, the Solanum Carolinense. — Horse parsley. (Bot.) See Alexanders. — Horse purslain (Bot.), a coarse fleshy weed of tropical America (Trianthema monogymnum). — Horse race, a race by horses; a match of horses in running or trotting. — Horse racing, the practice of racing with horses. — Horse railroad, a railroad on which the cars are drawn by horses; — in England, and sometimes in the United States, called a tramway. — Horse run (Civil Engin.), a device for drawing loaded wheelbarrows up an inclined plane by horse power. — Horse sense, strong common sense. — Horse soldier, a cavalryman. — Horse sponge (Zoöl.), a large, coarse, commercial sponge (Spongia equina). — Horse stinger (Zoöl.), a large dragon fly. — Horse sugar (Bot.), a shrub of the southern part of the United States (Symplocos tinctoria), whose leaves are sweet, and good for fodder. — Horse tick (Zoöl.), a winged, dipterous insect (Hippobosca equina), which troubles horses by biting them, and sucking their blood; — called also horsefly, horse louse, and forest fly. — Horse vetch (Bot.), a plant of the genus Hippocrepis (H. comosa), cultivated for the beauty of its flowers; — called also horsehoe vetch, from the peculiar shape of its pods. — Iron horse, a locomotive. — Salt horse, the sailor's name for salt beef. — To look a gift horse in the mouth, to examine the mouth of a horse which has been received as a gift, in order to ascertain his age; — hence, to accept favors in a critical and thankless spirit. Lowell. — To take horse. (a) To set out on horseback. Macaulay. (b) To be covered, as a mare. (c) See definition 7 (above).