Where does one start if they want to develop a deeper esoteric knowledge and understanding of the horse? This is not so easy a task! But I think I may have found a clue …

“The horse species is not employed in legend without reason.”
Rudolf Steiner, Apocalypse of St John, Lecture IV

To get started here is the scientific classification of a horse:

Kingdom – Animalia = Latin “having breath”
Phylum – Chordata = Latin “cord”
Class – Mammalia = Latin “of the breast”
Sub-class – Theria = Greek “wild beast”
Infra-class – Eutheria = Greek “true / good beast”
Order – Pessodactyla = Greek “uneven finger / toe”
Family – Equidae = Latin “horse family”
Genus – Equus = Latin “horse”
Species – Equus Ferus = Latin “wild horse”

This doesn’t really tell us that much, although I find the infra-class eutheria – “true / good beast” – to be rather intriguing. This infra-class consists of mammals which are born with a placenta.

Some of the other animals, including humans, in this infra-class:

Boreotheria = Greek “north beast” – badgers, hares, dogs, dolphins
Xenathra = Greek “foreign joint” – anteaters, armadillos
Afrotheria = Greek “afro beast” – elephants

The other infraclass is metatheria – “other beasts” – which are animals that produce a yolk sac placenta and give birth to larval like offspring. Marsupials are part of this class.

I suddenly find this distinction rather interesting – placenta vs yolk sac animals. One being “true or good” and the other … not.

Before moving onto myths and legends, this may take some further investigation.