Jordanus Rufus's De medicina equorum - Chapter 2: On the capture and taming of the horse

Folio 8r of an Apocalypse manuscript (Add MS 35166), 13th century.
(c) British Library

 In 1250, the Italian knight Jordanus Rufus wrote the most significant veterinary treatise of his time, the De medicina equorum, which discussed and gave remedies for a large variety of diseases, from farcy (a contagious and often fatal bacterial disease), to colic, to hoof injuries. This treatise also contains the only original method for training horses in medieval Western Europe. This method was initially destined to warhorses but it ended up being applied on other types of horses. 

In a series of three articles, I will present an English translation of the first three chapters of the treatise which contain the training method. This translation is based on the Latin edition made in 1818 by Jérôme Molin: because the original manuscript written by Rufus is lost, the edition, which recreates what the original text could have been, based on several manuscripts including one of the oldest, is universally considered by historians as an essential source for studies on Rufus. 

I first translated Molin's text (from Latin to French) in the course of my Master's degree. I made the following translation into English a few years ago to share with members of the University of Exeter Warhorse project. Because it is a working text, it is very close to the Latin original and as such can seem clunky and weirdly phrased. I am publishing it on the blog now to give anyone interested in the topic of medieval horse training in Western Europe an insight into its most significant source. 

You can find chapter 1 here. 

On the capture and taming of the horse. 

The treatise on the procreation and birth of the horse being finished, we will next discuss his capture and taming. I say that the horse must be caught, lightly and gently, with a thick, strong rope, suitably made of wool, because wool is more suited for this due to its softness than hemp, linen, or anything else. Moreover, he must be caught in cool, cloudy weather, because if he was captured and worked in hot weather, he could easily be injured on his limbs or body due to him being unused to the capture. 

Once he has been captured, like I said, and once a strong halter made of hemp has been put on his head, he must be led, in the company of another horse, to the place where he must be tamed like I will describe below. And because all beings seek their kin, he will be led more safely with another of his species.

To tame him. 

The above-mentioned precautions having been applied, the horse must be tied to the manger with two reins, so that he does not hurt his legs, due to his un-tameness. And while he perseveres in his wildness, he must still be kept in the company of one of his kin, because the following advice can then be applied more safely: he must be touched with the hand, often, everywhere, lightly, and gently. 

In the beginning, you should not be severely angry against the foal, so that perchance, because of his own anger, he should not acquire some defect or other vice. But you must tame him with a great perseverance of lightness and gentleness, until he is completely gentle and tame, as suitable, thanks to the constant touching of the hand, like I have said, so that all his limbs can be safely touched from all sides, especially his feet, which you must be able to lift very safely and often, as if to shoe them, and which you must be able to hit. 

And you must know that the horse, for his own good, must not be caught or tamed, if he is not older than two years, because when he is tied when he is younger, he could easily be wounded on his legs by accident, due to the exertion of the taming to which he is not accustomed.