I read somewhere that there are more horses in China than in any other country. Which makes sense when you consider how many people live there, and the fact that many of the Chinese breeds are very old indeed.
Specific Horse Type
I’ve always appreciated Chinese art and it’s lasting power is undeniable, each piece below manages to convey a great deal of the animal’s personality. It’s interesting to see the stout pony-like build of their horses, which is overly caricatured in some while others are an accurate representation of the animals found in China at the time.
Part of what is so cool about these pieces is their age, many have survived for over a millennia & look at them – they are magnificent!
Horses & Art
In creating this website I never expected that it would teach me so much about art. It’s fun to be able to put two things I enjoy together and share them with other horse (& art) lovers. If you liked these, you may enjoy interviews with some more contemporary horse artists.
Beautiful work and how lucky we are that they have endured.
Has anyone noticed that crupper belts and chest straps are on
all or almost all of the saddled horses pictured? In my opinion
this is not an accident.
From the earliest asIan sAddles they all have this equipment.
I believe that this goes all the way back to the origin of the
saddle and is tied back to the charriot harness thAt preceded
the saddle. If you find this hArd to believe then check it out
for yourself. This saddle design spread to the middle east as
the result of the mongol invasion. This also shows up in north
america on the extant saddles of our native americNs. How
is thAt possible unless there was ancient Asian-north American
contact?