The role of the horse in the history of mankind is reflected both in historical chronicles and in masterpieces of fiction. The names of famous horses, starting with the winged Pegasus - a symbol of poetic inspiration, have entered world culture.
For those who love history, the legendary Bucephalus is inseparable from his great horseman - Alexander the Great, and every reading person remembers the name of Don Quixote's horse. Rocinante is a full-fledged character in Cervantes’s great novel.
New name - new destiny
Among the many meanings, facets, and allusions that fill the famous novel, the most important is the idea of the power of the human mind, capable of changing the world around us with the power of imagination, creating a new reality. Just as Alonso Quijano (or Quejado, or Quesado), an ordinary person, turns into a glorious knight, ready for great deeds, as soon as he acquires the title of Don Quixote, everything around him is transformed, receiving a new name.
The copper shaving basin becomes a golden helmet. The peasant woman Aldonza Lorenzo becomes Dulcinea of Toboso - the most beautiful of women, in whose name knightly deeds are performed. A lame, skinny nag turns into a powerful horse, carrying its rider to glorious exploits. She receives her proud name Rocinante (the name of Don Quixote's horse) even before the cunning hidalgo chose a name for himself.
How to maintain and care
The main rule of communication
The Don horse is unpretentious. But because of her character, it is sometimes difficult to deal with her.
For representatives of this breed, there is one cherished rule - not to pay much attention to them. Otherwise, the Donetsk people begin to become impudent. And no longer behave affectionately, but rather the opposite.
Nuances of care
After each training session, the horse's legs are washed under cool water. It is recommended to additionally lubricate them with special cooling and insulating creams.
The hooves are lubricated with a special varnish. And from time to time they are treated with hydrogen peroxide. This way they will not crack and cause pain to the animal.
Once every six months, the Don horse is given new horseshoes. The cost of such a procedure is about 2000 rubles. Hoofs are cleaned once every two months. Price – 500 rubles. It is advisable to have a specialist do this.
Tip: before each workout or work, moisten the cotton wool with water. And thoroughly rinse the animal’s nostrils. After this procedure, the nose is cleaned. And the horse breathes better.
Additional requirements
It is important to encourage a horse or horse of the Don breed. These are quite vulnerable animals.
And at a young age they are also difficult to manage.
Before training, the pet is given a carrot or an apple each time. This way he will begin to understand that good gaits will reward him with goodies. The method is used to strengthen control. And I must say that it works.
The area of the stall for keeping horses of the Don breed should be 12 square meters per individual. Be sure to have a large window without broken glass, and a feeding trough with a drinking bowl. If possible, “balconies” are also installed in the stables - exits to the street.
In winter, you need to put a thick stall blanket on the animal. In bad weather - fleece.
From late October to mid-December, blankets that are less insulated than winter blankets are usually used. If a horse gets used to standing in a stall in a winter blanket at a temperature of 5 to 15 degrees, then in cold weather it will simply freeze.
Four days of reflection
Don Quixote was convinced: the change that occurred in the owner’s position required a change in the name and his horse. It must correspond to the new rank and its new, glorious field: everyone must remember the name of Don Quixote’s horse - the valiant knight from La Mancha. So he spends several days stretching his imagination, remembering and thinking, going through different options, reworking ready-made words and composing one of several parts. In the end, he settled on the sonorous and noble name Rocinante.
We do not know what the name of Don Quixote's horse was before it became a knight's horse, but for it the new name completely changed the future. According to all the canons of knightly novels, it is the horse that determines the fate of its rider by choosing the road. The name of Don Quixote's horse became famous, meaning a beautiful and strong animal, loyal to its heroic master, although it is more often used with an ironic or parodic connotation.
Intrabreed lines and types
As with all other breeds, the Don breed has its own intra-breed types and main lines.
Riding type of Don horses
Bolivar Line
One of the most valuable breed lines belonging to the sporting type. The horses are strong, with good bone and correct structure, ideal for both work under saddle and light harness. All young animals of this line receive good exercise, are raised in herd conditions and are distinguished by their friendliness and people-oriented nature.
Peony Line Chelna
The line of Peony and Chelna belongs to the eastern type of breed. The founder of the line, Peony, was born in 1906. Peony's descendants form the main breeding core at the Budennovsky stud farm. Chelny was born in 1912. His descendants are also used in the Budyonny stud farm. Horses of this line are distinguished by their large stature, massiveness, and bonyness, but often have a rather soft back and insufficient dryness of the legs, which is a disadvantage of the exterior. The best descendants go back to Cheln's son Korolk.
Peony Line. Golden brown Tibul
East Karabakh type of Don horse
Horses of this type are distinguished by a deeper chest, short stature, stockiness, more rounded shapes and a harmonious physique. The neck of horses of the eastern type is long, with a beautiful bend, and well-defined withers. The East Karabakh type of horse was formed from the descendants of the beautiful mare Agave, as well as the outstanding sires Bordeaux and Periwinkle.
Funny Line
The line of the Zabavnik also belongs to the eastern type. The stallion was born at the Issyk-Kul stud farm in 1925 and left behind numerous offspring, distinguished by their massiveness, stockiness, and long lines of neck and back. Horses of the Zabavnik line are also of the eastern type and are often used in driving.
Massive rock type
The massive type of rock is represented by the Rezvoy line. The stallion was born in 1912 and its use in the Don breed was very important. He had a rather dry body structure, was a thoroughbred, with good movements and had a bright type of Don horse. He passed on to his descendants not only large stature and massiveness, but also good muscles, endurance, and proper bone structure. In the Rezvoy line there are almost no such defects as sabering of the limbs, shortness, incorrect angle of the shoulder joint, or soft back.
Patron Line
The brown stallion Patron was born in 1907. His descendants played a big role in the formation and spread of massive horses. Horses of the Patron line are distinguished by their unpretentiousness to living conditions, efficiency, and strength, but the disadvantages include excessively long lines of the body, a soft back and a general dampness of the body structure. However, these shortcomings do not affect the overall performance of the Donetsk team. Patron's descendants show good agility on the racetrack.
Meaning of the name Rocinante
It’s not for nothing that the cunning hidalgo spent a lot of time looking for the right name for his horse - it’s hard to forget the name of Don Quixote’s horse. Its name is sonorous and ambiguous, explaining, first of all, as the owner wanted, the significance of the change in his status: the horse, which was previously an ordinary nag, becomes “the best of the nags.”
Rocinante is a pun made from combining two words. The first - Rocín - exists in several Romance languages, meaning a working, mongrel horse or, figuratively, a rude, illiterate person. The second part - ante - can be a separate word meaning “before”, “before”, “previously”, or a suffix that defines circumstances, that is, in this case, doing something like Rosin. The combination produces many meanings: “the likeness of a horse,” “what used to be a horse,” or “what the former nag became,” “the nag that is ahead of everyone,” and the like.
Part I
Dedication
THE DUKE OF BEJARA, THE MARQUIS OF GIBRALEO, THE COUNT OF BENALCAZAR AND BANNAREZ, THE VISCOUNT OF ALCOZERA, THE LORD OF CAPILLAS, OF CURIELS AND OF BURGUILLOS
In view of the fact that you, Your Lordship, being one of the nobles so inclined to encourage the fine arts, give a warm and honorable welcome to all kinds of books, especially those that, in their nobility, do not degrade themselves to the selfish gratification of the mob, I decided to publish the Cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, under the protection of the illustrious name of Your Lordship, and now, with the reverence that Your greatness inspires in me, I beg You to accept him under Your gracious protection, so that, although deprived of the precious ornaments of grace and learning, which usually make up the decoration of works derived from -under the pen of enlightened people, he dared, under the shadow of Your Lordship, to fearlessly appear before the judgment of those who, going beyond the limits of their own ignorance, are in the habit of, when analyzing the works of others, passing not so much a fair, but a harsh sentence, - You, Your Lordship, fixed your eyes With your wisdom in my good intentions, I hope you will not reject such a weak expression of my lowest devotion.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Prologue
Idle reader! You can believe without an oath how I would like this book, the fruit of my understanding, to represent the height of beauty, grace and profundity. But it is not in my power to abolish the law of nature, according to which every living creature gives birth to its own kind. And if so, then what else could my barren and undeveloped mind give birth to, if not the story of a bony, skinny, eccentric son, full of the most unexpected thoughts that had never occurred to anyone before - in a word, about such a one as could be to give birth in the dungeon, the place of all kinds of disturbances, to the abode of only dull sounds? A quiet corner, peace, welcoming valleys, cloudless skies, murmuring streams, a peaceful spirit - this is what can fertilize the most barren muse and thanks to which her offspring, as soon as they are born, fill him with delight and surprise. It sometimes happens that someone will have an ugly and awkward son, but love hastens to put a blindfold on the father’s eyes, and he not only does not notice his shortcomings, but, on the contrary, in these very shortcomings he finds something witty and attractive and in when talking with friends, he passes them off as examples of intelligence and grace. I am only considered the father of Don Quixote - in fact, I am his stepfather, and I am not going to follow the beaten path and, as others do, almost with tears in my eyes, beg you, dear reader, to forgive my brainchild for his shortcomings or to look at through their fingers: after all, you are not his relatives or friend, there is a soul in your body, your will is as free as that of any experienced husband, you have the same power to dispose of your home as a king has the power to establish any tax, and you The saying should be known: “Let me cover myself with my cloak - then I will deal with the king.” All this frees you from the need to flatter my hero and frees you from any obligations - therefore, you can say whatever you want about this story, without fear that you will be judged if you blaspheme it, or rewarded , if you praise.
The only thing I would like is for it to appear before you unsullied and naked, unadorned either by a prologue or by the countless number of unchanging sonnets, epigrams and laudatory poems with which our book usually opens. I must admit that although I spent a lot of work on my book, it was even more difficult for me to compose this very preface that you are about to read. Many times I took up the pen and many times I abandoned it, because I did not know what to write about; but one day, when I, having spread a sheet of paper in front of me, put a pen behind my ear, leaned my elbows on the desk and rested my cheek on my palm, was indecisive, my friend, a witty and sensible man, came to me by chance, and, seeing that I was absorbed thoughtfully, inquired about the reason for my concern - I, not at all intending to hide it from my friend, said that I was considering the prologue to the story of Don Quixote, that nothing was working out for me and that because of this prologue I had even lost the desire publish a book about the exploits of such a noble knight.
“Indeed, how can I not be afraid of the legislator, from ancient times called the public, if after so many years spent in the silence of oblivion, I, with a heavy burden of years behind me, now bring to his court an essay as dry as a pole, not sparkling with invention, not distinguished by either the beauty of style or the play of the mind, not containing any scientific information and nothing edifying, without notes in the margins and notes at the end, while other authors equip their books, even secular ones, belonging to the narrative genre, the sayings of Aristotle, Plato and the whole host of philosophers, what delights readers and thanks to which these same authors pass for well-read, educated and eloquent people? What’s more, they’ll even quote the Holy Scriptures to you! Really, you might think that you are reading someone like St. Thomas or another teacher of the church. At the same time, they are masters in maintaining decorum: on one page they will depict you as a dissolute rake, and on the other they will present you with a short sermon in the Christian spirit, so touching that reading or listening to it is a pleasure and pleasure. All this is missing from my book, because I have nothing to put in the margins and nothing to make notes on; Moreover: having no idea which authors I followed in this book, I cannot, according to established custom, preface it with at least a list of names in alphabetical order - a list in which Aristotle, and Xenophon, even Zoilus and Zeuxides would certainly appear, despite that one of them was simply a scolder, and the other an artist. You will not find sonnets at the beginning of my book - at least sonnets written by dukes, marquises, counts, bishops, ladies, or the most famous poets. However, if I had turned to two or three of my official friends, they would have written sonnets for me, and even ones that could not be compared with the works of the most revered Spanish poets.
In a word, my friend and sovereign,” I continued, “let Senor Don Quixote remain buried in the archives of La Mancha until heaven sends him someone who will adorn him with everything that he lacks.” For I am not able to correct my book, firstly, because I am not sufficiently educated and gifted for this, and secondly, because innate laziness and a tendency towards idleness prevent me from rushing in search of authors who, by the way, , will not tell me anything that I would not know without them. This is where my bewilderment and my confusion stem from - everything that I have told you serves as a sufficient reason for this.
After listening to me, my friend slapped himself on the forehead and, bursting into laughter, said:
“By God, my friend, only now have I realized how wrong I was about you: after all, during our long acquaintance, all your actions convinced me that I was dealing with a reasonable and prudent person.” But now I see that my idea of you is as far from the truth as heaven is from earth. In fact, how could it happen that such insignificant and easily removable obstacles confused and puzzled your mature mind, accustomed to emerging with honor from more difficult situations? I guarantee that this is not a matter of inability, but of an excess of laziness and sluggishness of thought. Do you want me to prove to you that I'm right? In this case, listen to me carefully, and you will see how in the blink of an eye I will sweep away all the obstacles from your path and fill all the gaps that supposedly confuse you and plunge you into such despondency that you no longer dare to release the story of your glorious life into the light of day. Don Quixote, the light and mirror of all knights errant.
“Well, explain,” I cried out after listening to him, “how do you hope to extract me from the abyss of fear and illuminate the chaos of my confusion?”
To this he answered me like this:
- First of all, you have a hitch with sonnets, epigrams and laudatory poems, which you would like to place at the beginning of the book and which should be written by important and titled persons - this can be easily resolved. Take the trouble and compose them yourself, and then, having baptized them, give them any names: let them be adopted - well, even by Presbyter John of India or the Emperor of Trebizond, about whom, as far as I know, there is a tradition that they were excellent poets. If the situation is different and if other pedants and bachelors begin to hiss and sting you on the sly, then do not take it to heart: after all, even if you are caught in a lie, the hand with which you write this will still not be cut off. .
As for the references in the margins - references to the authors and to those works from which you will borrow maxims and sayings for your book, then you just need to bring to the point such maxims and Latin sayings that you know by heart, or at least those that you it won’t be difficult to find - so, for example, when talking about freedom and slavery, insert:
Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro[1]
and immediately note in the margins that it was written, let’s say, by Horace or someone else. If the conversation turns to omnipotent death, hurry to rely on another quote:
Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres[2].
If it comes to the fact that the Lord commanded us to keep in our hearts love and a friendly disposition towards our enemies, - without hesitation, refer to the Holy Scripture, which is accessible to every more or less knowledgeable person, and pronounce the words spoken not by anyone, but by yourself by God: Ego autem dico vobis: diligite inimicos vestros
[3].
If you are talking about bad thoughts, turn to the Gospel again: De corde exeunt cogitationes malae
[4]. If we talk about the fickleness of friends, Cato is at your service with his couplet:
Donec eris felix, multos numerabis amicos, Tempora si fuerint nubila, solus eris[5].
And so, thanks to Latin and other things like that, you will be known as at least a grammarian, and in our time this title brings considerable fame and considerable income.
As for the notes at the end of the book, you can safely do this: if any giant is mentioned in your story, call him Goliath - it won’t cost you anything, but meanwhile you already have an extensive note ready like this: Giant Goliath is a Philistine whom the shepherd David in the Terebind Valley struck with a stone from a sling, as it is related in the Book of Kings, in chapter such and such.
Then, if you want to pass for a person well versed in secular sciences, as well as a cosmographer, try to mention the Tagus River in your book - here is another magnificent note for you, namely: The Tagus River is named after one of the kings of all Spain; originates there and, washing the walls of the glorious city of Lisbon, flows into the Sea-Ocean; there is an assumption that there is golden sand at the bottom,
and so on.
If we talk about thieves, I will tell you the story of Kaka, which I know by heart; about fallen women - the Bishop of Mondonedo is at your service: he will place Lamia, Laida and Flora at your disposal, and a reference to him will give you considerable weight; about cruel women - Ovid will present you with his Medea; whether about sorceresses and witches - Homer has Calypso for you, and Virgil has Circe; about brave commanders - Julius Caesar in his Notes
will put his own person at your disposal, and Plutarch will reward you with the darkness of Alexanders.
If it comes to love, knowing two or three words in Tuscan, you can easily come to an agreement with Leo of Judah, and you won’t leave him empty-handed. If you don’t want to wander around foreign countries, then at home you will find Fonseca’s treatise On the Love of God,
which will completely satisfy both you and even more experienced readers in this area. So, all you have to do is mention all these names and refer to the works that I named for you, and entrust the notes and callouts to me: I swear that the margins of your story will be dotted with callouts, and the notes at the end of the book will take up several sheets.
Now let's move on to the list of authors, which is available in all other books and which yours lacks. This is a fixable problem: just try to find a book that has the most complete list attached, compiled, as you say, in alphabetical order, and insert this alphabetical index into your book. And even if deception comes out, because it is unlikely that you will actually borrow anything from these authors, then do not attach any importance to it: who knows, maybe there will be such simpletons who will believe that you actually resorted to these authors in their simple and unsophisticated book. Consequently, at the very least, this long list will be at least useful to you because it will completely unexpectedly give your book a certain impressiveness. In addition, it is unlikely that anyone will check whether you followed any of these authors or not, because this makes no one feel good or cold. Moreover, as far as I understand, your book does not need any of those decorations that you think it lacks, for it is all a complete denunciation of chivalric romances, and Aristotle did not even think about them, Basil the Great did not say anything and Cicero had no idea. Her fables have nothing in common either with the search for immutable truth or with the observations of astrologers; it has no need to resort to either geometric measurements or the method of refuting evidence that rhetoric uses; she decisively does not preach anything and does not confuse the divine with the human, which mixture every reasonable Christian should beware of. Your job is to imitate nature, for the more skillfully an author imitates it, the closer to the perfection of his writing. And since the only goal of your work is to overthrow the power of chivalric romances and nullify the widespread popularity that they have received in high society and among the common people, then there is no need for you to beg sayings from philosophers, teachings from the Holy Scriptures, fairy tales from poets, rhetoricians - speeches, saints - miracles; better take care that all your words are understandable, decent and correctly arranged, so that every sentence and every period of yours, intricate and full-voiced, conveys what you want to say with the greatest possible simplicity and vividness that is accessible to you; express yourself more clearly without confusing or obscuring the meaning. Also make sure that, while reading your story, the melancholic person laughs, the merry person becomes even more cheerful, the simpleton does not get bored, the reasonable person is delighted with your invention, the sedate person does not condemn it, the wise person cannot help but praise it. In a word, strive tirelessly to destroy the shaky structure of chivalric romances, for although they disgust many, how many more extol them! And if you achieve your goal, then know that you have done a lot.
I listened to my friend with great attention, and his words were so vividly imprinted in my memory that, without entering into any arguments, I immediately agreed with him and from these arguments of his I decided to compose a prologue, but you, gentle reader, can now judge the mind of my friend, you will understand what luck it was for me to find such an adviser in difficult times, and you will feel relief at the thought that the story of the glorious Don Quixote of La Mancha will reach you without any beating, in all its spontaneity, but the whole Montiel district speaks with one voice that he was the most chaste of lovers and the bravest of knights that ever appeared in that region. However, in introducing you to such a noble and such a worthy knight, I do not intend to exaggerate the value of my service; I want one thing - for you to be grateful to me for meeting his glorious squire Sancho Panza, for, in my opinion, I embodied in him all the best qualities of a squire, while in a heap of meaningless knightly novels only scattered features of him flash. Therefore, I pray to God that he will send you health and not leave me. Vale[6].
Don Quixote's double
Anyone who reads Cervantes' novel for the first time will be struck by the similarity between the horse and its rider. This is confirmed by many literary scholars who have devoted entire volumes to the study of this book. There is undoubtedly an external similarity: both the knight and his steed are characterized by incorporeality, denying vulgar materiality and belonging to a higher, spiritual world. The tests sent by fate are also similar: Rocinante is subjected to ridicule no less than his valiant master, and the beatings inflicted on him are just as painful and noticeable.
There is one more quality common to the two characters, which has a sublime meaning. Both Don Quixote and Rocinante display abilities in their new lives that were unavailable in the past. A little horse, from which, due to its thinness, the bones stuck out in all directions, having become a knight's horse in an imaginary world, becomes capable of actions that perhaps exceed its capabilities. Despite the clumsy fall at the beginning of the novel, this is Don Quixote’s faithful and resilient horse, whose name was Rocinante - “ahead of everyone else, the first nag in the world.”
History of the Don Horse
The Don breed of horses was bred in the steppes along the majestic Don.
The climate, food supply and Cossack life have formed a unique and interesting breed, hardy, playful, courageous and unpretentious to the conditions of keeping and feeding.
The breed was based on local aboriginal horses, which the Cossacks conquered in their campaigns and bred in herds, as well as trophy horses of eastern blood - Akhal-Teke, Arabian, Karabakh, Persian. Already in the stud farms, the Donetsk horses were lightened and improved with purebred riding breeds, Oryol trotters and Russian riding breeds. The first type of Don horse was distinguished by its dryness, medium-sized stature, endurance and agility.
The first mention of the strength of the Donetsk people dates back to the end of the seventeenth century; they found their real glory only at the beginning of the nineteenth century, after numerous campaigns by Suvorov’s army.
The Russian cavalry seemed invincible on golden, strong, brave horses capable of multi-day marches. Having seen the potential of the Donchak breeders, breeders seriously began breeding work, methodological selection and improvement of the breed. This is how the first stud farms were created, where living conditions were much better than herd ones. As a result, a larger type of Don horse was obtained, with a spectacular exterior, strong bones, and selective selection for color made it possible to assign an elegant golden-red color to the breed.
Don horses were supplied to the cavalry and exported abroad. This caused great harm to the stud stock as breeders could not control the performance of the horses as well as their conformation and type. Only in 1920 was control over livestock introduced for the needs of the army and economy and for the breeding core of factories. The command of the First Cavalry Army managed to gather the best representatives of the breed, and already in the early thirties the population of golden beauties began to grow. The breed suffered significant damage during the Great Patriotic War. It took years to restore the breeding composition of horses, return the lost type and conformation, and introduce control over working qualities.
Today, horses of the Don breed have proven themselves well as improvers of local breeds, as a universal horse for walking and sports, but the number of livestock is relatively small.
Common noun
The significance of the novel about the adventures of the knight from La Mancha is confirmed by its worldwide fame and the total number of circulations around the world. There is no need to explain what “quixoticism”, “fighting windmills” or “Knight of the Sorrowful Counter” is. The images of Don Quixote, Sancho Panza, and Dulcinea are embodied in many films and theatrical productions in drama and musical theaters.
There is no need to remind the whole world what the name of Don Quixote's horse was. Any emaciated or extremely thin horse invariably receives the ironic nickname Rocinante. But this word, according to Don Quixote, is indeed beautiful and sonorous, valued by naming professionals without ironic overtones, simply as a famous horse name. Many hippotherapy centers or equestrian schools are named after Don Quixote’s faithful companion.
Exterior of the Don horse
The Don breed of horses is distinguished by its rather large height (withers 160-170 cm), deep and wide chest, and good bone structure. The wide body of the Donchak is a unique feature inherent in some steppe breeds and associated with the climatic characteristics of the region of residence. Donchaks digest even roughage well and create fat reserves in case of summer drought or harsh snowy winters. Another advantage of broad bodiedness is the versatile use of the horse. The Don breed of horses is equally well used under saddle and in light harness.
- The head of the Donchak is medium, the profile is straight or concave, the forehead is wide.
- The neck is well muscled and most often of medium length, it can have a “swan bend”, or it can also be short, with a low outlet.
- The withers are low.
- The back of the Donetsk people is straight, with good muscle definition, wide, with a wide lower back.
- The legs are strong, with a good level hoof.
Breeders pay special attention to the front legs of Don Chaks, since almost a third of the livestock have a sunken wrist and an insufficient angle of the shoulder blade, which reduces the performance of movements. Also a disadvantage of the exterior is the shortness of the pasterns and the sabering of the hind legs. Most Donchak people have a dry constitution and an energetic temperament with a calm and reasonable character.
The color is predominantly red in all shades with a golden tint. Bay and black Donchaks are less common. Slight marking is also found in the breed.
