Horses are extremely social creatures. They often pick up the emotions of other people near them, and also spread their own emotions through body language such as flicking their tails or fanning their ears to display different moods.
In ancient wars, each soldier typically had his own horse and the two would create a partnership that they would bring into the battle and use to survive, If ever a soldier was upset, he would often turn to his horse for comfort, perhaps by spending time grooming the horse, and the horse would in turn comfort him. This was a very interesting mutual relationship, in which both creatures comforted the other.
When soldiers come home, horses can be a way for them to heal as well. Horses, being extremely social creatures, can help soldiers rediscover themselves after the war by reflecting back a soldier's feelings or mood. This experience with horses can help war veterans recover and even perhaps find a friend in the humbleness of the horse.
In ancient wars, each soldier typically had his own horse and the two would create a partnership that they would bring into the battle and use to survive, If ever a soldier was upset, he would often turn to his horse for comfort, perhaps by spending time grooming the horse, and the horse would in turn comfort him. This was a very interesting mutual relationship, in which both creatures comforted the other.
When soldiers come home, horses can be a way for them to heal as well. Horses, being extremely social creatures, can help soldiers rediscover themselves after the war by reflecting back a soldier's feelings or mood. This experience with horses can help war veterans recover and even perhaps find a friend in the humbleness of the horse.
WWI was the last war where horses had a substantial impact on the outcome of battles. After this, horses were "outgunned" by advanced technology that far surpassed any animal. The book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, not only demonstrated the true horrors of battle, but included references to the use of horses in the war. There was a particular instance in on of the chapters were the horses at the front were half wounded and dying and as the veteran author writes,
"It's unendurable. It is the moaning of the world, it is the martyred creation, wild with anguish, filled with terror, and groaning. We are pale....The screaming of the beasts becomes louder. One can no longer distinguish whence in this now quiet silvery landscape is comes; ghostly, invisible, it is everywhere between heaven and earth it rolls on immeasurably."
"It's unendurable. It is the moaning of the world, it is the martyred creation, wild with anguish, filled with terror, and groaning. We are pale....The screaming of the beasts becomes louder. One can no longer distinguish whence in this now quiet silvery landscape is comes; ghostly, invisible, it is everywhere between heaven and earth it rolls on immeasurably."