Horsemanship in History
Charles Chenevix Trench finds it ironical that horsed cavalry attained something near perfection just at the point when the military discipline was relegated to history.
Natural History
The Heavenly Horses of Ferghana
Why did the Chinese Emperor Wu send a military expedition to Ta Yüan in 102 BC to capture the ‘Heavenly Horses’?
The Horse: England's Sacred Beast?
The English aversion to eating horse flesh, recently highlighted in a number of food scandals, dates back to the coming of Christianity, as Jordan Claridge explains.
The Last Dodo
The Oxford Dodo has defined our idea of the creature. When alive, the bird was displayed in London as part of a kind of urban freak show. In death it featured in Alice in Wonderland. Charles Norton reveals what became of the last dodo.
Taking the Bull by the Horns
Richard Lowe-Lauri looks at the decline of bull running in the English town of Stamford.
London Zoo: 'Handsome Gifts' to a Young Society
The Zoological Society of London was launched in 1826 to promote scientific research into new species. Roger Rideout describes how it amassed its specimens for its private museum and menagerie, which soon became a public attraction.
Bees for Keeps
The niches created for bees in some of Britain’s castles were an important source of food, lighting and even defence, writes Gene Kritsky.
The Lisbon Tsunami
Jenifer Roberts recalls the impact of a tidal wave that brought chaos and disaster to Portugal.
Animal Lives
Erica Fudge asks if, and how, a biography of an animal might be written.
Homage to the Horse
This spring Lexington, Kentucky, home of American horse-racing, is staging a unique exhibition of some of Britain’s most prized equine artefacts. Tracy Powell explains.