06-21-2014, 04:52 PM
Dear Roman (or Greek) Army Talk:
The transport of ancient Roman and Greek cavalry by sea is a well covered topic. Unexplored is the transport of the horse by land. Did the Roman cavalry offer any sort of an ambulance for injured cavalry horses were they left to fend for themselves or die on the field? Were there in fact other modes of transport for a favored mount who was not injured or ill?
The late Jean Blancou, formerly of the OIE, published in Italiana Veterinaria Vol 44 2008 Historical perspectives on long distance transport of animals. In it, he alluded to the transport from Spain to Rome by van horses for the Roman circus. The footnote implied that M. Blancou's source was Pline L'Ancien: Histoire Naturelle, Livre VIII. I have a copy and there is no mention of this in VIII or the other volumes. Does anyone have any further information on this? Yours for the horses, Sharon Cregier
The transport of ancient Roman and Greek cavalry by sea is a well covered topic. Unexplored is the transport of the horse by land. Did the Roman cavalry offer any sort of an ambulance for injured cavalry horses were they left to fend for themselves or die on the field? Were there in fact other modes of transport for a favored mount who was not injured or ill?
The late Jean Blancou, formerly of the OIE, published in Italiana Veterinaria Vol 44 2008 Historical perspectives on long distance transport of animals. In it, he alluded to the transport from Spain to Rome by van horses for the Roman circus. The footnote implied that M. Blancou's source was Pline L'Ancien: Histoire Naturelle, Livre VIII. I have a copy and there is no mention of this in VIII or the other volumes. Does anyone have any further information on this? Yours for the horses, Sharon Cregier