Polish horse - first post in 2012

Salve,
we made it into the new year of 2012 (2011 was a rough year by far), so here I am blogging anew. And my first post is obviously on the most favorite subject of mine: Polish horses in historical sources. I must admit upon finishing all the novels by John Maddox Roberts 'SPQR' I will be inclined to write more about ancient Roman and later Italian horses, sometime during this year.

Ad rem, in December I wrote about Polish embassy to England, and included two images from a Swedish carousel of 1672, and now I am attaching a better version of that hussar horses. In my version this splendid mount is shown dyed with Brazilwood dye (most likely) or our native Polish kermes dye, a custom that we had gotten from the Turks and the steppe in general.

Now the historical text - this is the very description from a printed work by John L. Cadwalader (1735) titled ''The sportsman's dictionary: or, The country gentleman's companion, in all ...” vol. II (repeated by Thomas Wallis in 1767, ''Farrier and horseman's dictionary '').

The Polish Horses. These are much like the Danish horses, and are generally about the size of the Spanish Genet [jennet], are of a middle stature, but their limbs are much better knit together, and are of a much stronger make, than the Spanish ones. This horse is in many respects, like our natural English horse, except that their heads are somewhat slenderer, like the Irish hobby; but their necks and crests are raised upright, and very strong; their ears are very short and small, and their backs capable of bearing any weight ; their chines are broad, and their hooves are judged to be as good as those of any horse in the world. They are very good for a journey, and will endure long ones, with more ease than any other hores.

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*original spelling