Ancient history
As early as theModern researchers, Mair notes, have come up with two different ideas or the ancient Chinese references to the "Blood-sweating" horses of Ferghana The first suggests that small subcutaneous blood vessels burst as the horses sustained a long hard gallop. The second theorizes that a parasitic nematode, ''Parafilaria multipapillosa ''Parafilaria multipapillosa'' (syn. ''Filaria haemorrhagica'') is a parasitic nematode of the genus ''Parafilaria'',Ferghana.html" ;"title="or the ancient Chinese references to the “Blood-sweating” horses of Ferghana">or the ancient Chine ...'', triggered the phenomenon. ''P. multipapillosa'' is widely distributed across the Russian steppes and makes its living by burrowing into the subcutaneous tissues of horses. The resulting skin nodules bleed often, sometimes copiously, giving rise to a something veterinarians call "summer bleeding."
Sometime earlier the emperor had divined by the ''Book of Changes The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou ...'' and been told that "divine horses are due to appear" from the northwest. When theWusun The Wusun (; Eastern Han Chinese *''ʔɑ-suən'' < (140 BCE < 436 BCE): *''Ɂâ-sûn'') were an ancient semi- came with their horses, which were of an excellent breed, he named them "heavenly horses". Later, however, he obtained the blood-sweating horses from Dayuan Ferghana which were even hardier. He therefore changed the name of the Wusun horses, calling them "horses from the western extremity", and used the name "heavenly horses" for the horses of Dayuan. Emperor Wu sent an army of 40,000 men in 104 BCE 5,000 km to Ferghana, but less than half the army reached their destination. Exhausted, they were defeated. Another army of 60,000 men was sent in 103 BCE and who breached the walls of the city and cut off the water supply after a 40 day siege. Fearing imminent defeat, the inhabitants beheaded their king and presented his head to the Han general and offered the Han to take as many horses as they wanted. After installing a new puppet King, the Han left with 3,000 horses, although only 1,000 remained by the time they reached China in 101 BCE. The Ferghana also agreed to send two Heavenly horses each year to the Emperor, andlucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...seed was brought back to China providing superior pasture for raising fine horses in China, to provide cavalry which could cope with theXiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...who threatened China. The Han dynasty bronze statuetteGansu Flying Horse The ''Flying Horse of Gansu'', also known as the ''Bronze Running Horse'' (銅奔馬) or the ''Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow'' (馬踏飛燕), is a Chinese bronze sculpture from circa the 2nd century CE. Discovered in 1969 near the ...is most likely a depiction of this breed.
Medieval China
Ferghana were popular in China for roughly the next 1,000 years until the demand shifted to larger, stronger local breeds. Nomadic breeds like Ferghana horses were fast, tough and had high endurance, but they were smaller and leaner than local breeds. The Ferghana horse is considered to be equivalent to theNisean horse The Nisean horse, or Nisaean horse, is an extinct horse breed, once native to the town of Nisaia, located in the Nisaean plains at the foot of the southern region of the Zagros Mountains, Iran. History The first written reference to the Nisean ...orTurkoman horse The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, was an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Turkoman desert. Its closest modern descendant is thought to be the Akhal-Teke. It influenced many modern horse breeds, including the Thoroughbred horse. Some ho ..., which are both now extinct. TheAkhal-Teke The Akhal-Teke ( or ; from Turkmen ''Ahalteke'', ) is a Turkmen horse breed. They have a reputation for speed and endurance, intelligence, and a distinctive metallic sheen. The shiny coat of the breed led to their nickname, "Golden Horses". ...horse is believed to be a descendant of the original Ferghana horse.
See also
*Horses in East Asian warfare Horses in East Asian warfare are inextricably linked with the strategic and tactical evolution of armed conflict. A warrior on horseback or horse-drawn chariot changed the balance of power between civilizations. When people with horses clashe ...*Hematidrosis Hematidrosis, also called blood sweat, is a very rare condition in which a human sweats blood. The term is from Ancient Greek ''haîma/haímatos'' ( αἷμα/ αἵματος), meaning blood, and ''hīdrṓs'' ( ἱδρώς), meaning sweat. Sig ...*Nisean horse The Nisean horse, or Nisaean horse, is an extinct horse breed, once native to the town of Nisaia, located in the Nisaean plains at the foot of the southern region of the Zagros Mountains, Iran. History The first written reference to the Nisean ...*Turkoman horse The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, was an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Turkoman desert. Its closest modern descendant is thought to be the Akhal-Teke. It influenced many modern horse breeds, including the Thoroughbred horse. Some ho ...
Footnotes
References
*Bonavia (2004): ''The Silk Road From Xi’an to Kashgar.'' Judy Bonavia – revised by Christoph Baumer. 2004. Odyssey Publications. . *Boulnois (2004): ''Silk Road: Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road''. Luce Boulnois. Translated by Helen Loveday. Odyssey Books, Hong Kong. . * Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2011). 'The Heavenly Horses of the West' in: ''China's Ancient Tea Horse Road''. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B005DQV7Q2 *Watson, Burton, translator. (1961). ''Records of the Grand Historian bySima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b .... Han Dynasty II (Revised Edition)'', Columbia University Press. . *Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. North China Branch, Shanghai, China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. ''Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Issues 39-41.''
External links
*http://chinesehoroscop-e.com/astrology/ferghana-horses.php *https://web.archive.org/web/20120329190620/http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20110922000098&cid=1103 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferghana Horse Extinct horse breeds History of Imperial China Horse breeds originating in China Horse breeds