On Horsemanship

by Xenophon

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Pages: 38

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About this book

Xenophon the Athenian, born in 431 B.C. and a pupil of Socrates, wrote On Horsemanship as advice on buying a good horse and raising it, and the book ends with some words on a cavalryman's equipment. This version is H. G. Dakyns's translation, with numbered notes under the text, some quoting Greek and Latin.

The treatise first takes up how a man may avoid being cheated when buying a horse. For an unbroken foal the first point to examine is the feet, since a house is of little use if its foundations are poor, and thick horn is better than thin. In another passage the rider is told how to mount: leg well bent, knee kept off the horse's back, and the leg passed over to the off side before he settles on his seat. Elsewhere the text describes the Boeotian helmet and a corselet that lets its wearer sit down or stoop.

About the author

Xenophon

Xenophon (c. 430-354 BC) was an ancient Greek soldier, historian, and student of Socrates. His Anabasis, an account of the march of the Ten Thousand, is a classic of history and adventure.