The Romans appear not to have been an equestrian nation, though they are said to have possessed a body of cavalry soon after the founding of the city by Romulus (752 B.C.). It is well known that they relied almost entirely on their infantry in the day of battle, and that their horse soldiers were in most instances no match against the cavalry of their enemies. They could not withstand the onslaught of the Numidian and Parthian horse, and had to succumb to the cavalry of Macedonia and Epirus. We consequently learn that Rome relied more upon mercenary cavalry than upon her own, and in the time of Caesar this force consisted of auxiliary corps composed of Numidians, Thracians, Spaniards, and Germans commanded by Roman officers (Praefecti equitum). "The Roman cavalry had disappeared before Marius; its last mention is in the Spanish campaign of 140 B.C., and after the Jugurthan war it vanished entirely. Even the Italian cavalry had been for long unable to cope with the enemies of Rome; it had been defeated by Hannibal in Italy, and Scipio only won Zama by the cavalry of Massinissa. It vanished completely in the social war, and after that foreign troops - Gauls, Spaniards, Thracians, and Africans - were taken into the service in larger numbers than before." It will be unnecessary to refer further to the native-bred equine trooper of Rome.

Yet although the native Roman horse was not a conspicuous charger, he was a beast of burden, and in this capacity became most useful to the postal service which was instituted for the purpose of transmitting letters, parcels, and baggage of every kind throughout the vast Roman empire. This important state department required for the execution of its duties several kinds of animals, namely horses, mules, asses, and oxen, which were ridden or employed in drawing vehicles laden with light or heavy goods and in the delivering of letters, parcels, etc, at their respective destinations. This service was divided into two branches, the one for light and the other for heavy traffic. Yet had it not been for the existence of the splendid roads throughout the Roman territories, which connected the remotest parts of the empire with Rome, the postal service never could have become so important an institution.

At this time a vast road traffic necessitated the employment of thousands of horses, the demand for which must have been great and have operated as an incentive to the production of the general utility horse. This type of horse was in most instances the descendant of native stock, and was the class of animal adapted for heavy vehicular traffic; but he could not perform with success in the arena, neither was he good enough for a charger. At circus exhibitions horses obtained from foreign sources, especially from Asia, always proved themselves to be facile Principes.

The Circus Publicus caused the employment of thousands of horses, and consequently created a demand which was responded to by the importation and extensive propagation of horses; but a greater incentive even than this far-reaching road traffic existed in the amphitheatre, which represented the race-course, where chariot and horse racing formed the leading sport of patrician Rome.

The games which took place in the circus were, so it is said, instituted by Romulus. They consisted in wrestling, running, fighting, horse-racing, and chariot-racing. For the latter pastime swift horses from all parts of the world were sought for by men who devoted their time and money to the promotion of this sport.

The equestrian exercises in the circus, for which the Romans were so famous, were no doubt introduced from Greece, and the best equine performers were imported from foreign sources - from Spain, Sicily, Greece, and in later times from Cappadocia. The horses intended for this sport were not broken in until three years old, and were not raced until the completion of their fifth year; and in consequence of this wise treatment we find that such horses were during several years winners of many races. A horse which was a winner of 100 races was called Centenarius. In the inscription of Diocles a horse named Tuscus is mentioned as the winner of 429 races, and others were even more successful. The drivers of chariots were originally of a low class and often slaves; yet when they won races the slaves received their freedom, and the winners generally were handsomely rewarded.

Under the Empire, especially after Caligula and Nero had mounted the chariot, the patricians condescended to contend in the arena, and many descriptions of races have been handed down to us which reveal how great was the rivalry between families and factions in order to gain victories at the circus. Horse-racineg and chariot-racing in the Roman circus were con-ducted very much upon the same principles as horse-racing at the present day: advertisements of race-meetings placarded in large letters were exposed in conspicuous places, as the discoveries at Pompeii prove; cards of the races, on which the names of the starters, riders, and drivers appeared, were sold; fortunes were won and lost; betting enslaved patrician and plebeian alike; intrigue and villainy corrupted the public mind, bribes secured a winner, poison put an end to the career of a dangerous favourite, and Caligula is said to have removed by iniquitous means the best drivers of his rivals' horses. This brief description is sufficient to prove how great must have been the incentive to the production of first-class horses, and that such was the case we learn from the fact that Marius had a stud farm where he "bred Moorish horses for the circus", "In 1878, in a village of Oned Atmenia, in Algeria, some elaborate mosaic pavements were found in the villa of the pro-consul of Africa under Honorius, who appears to have been a great breeder of horses for the circus. Perspective views of the training stables are represented on Those mosaics, and other pictures show the racers in their stalls clothed from head to foot." - Dictionary of Grecian and Roman Antiquities.