Observation et instrumentalisation de la douleur du cheval dans la littérature technique du xvie siècle

Abstract

Through history, human societies have meticulously observed horses in order to properly heal and tame them. In the mid-16th century, a shift occurs in the way technical and scholarly literature teaches how to reach those two goals, the long tradition of the hippiatric treatises being gradually superseded by the first manuals of horsemanship. At the same time, the understanding of the animal’s pain evolves. While veterinarians focus on the pain endured by the horses and even seem to use this word mostly to refer to diseases related to internal disorders, riders now pay attention to the pain they might inflict upon the horses, with the fear that this could ruin the training by permanently terrorizing the animals. Instead of describing physical symptoms alone, the attention is then focused on the psychology of the horses, to the point of sometimes valuing an ideal of gentleness towards them.

Keywords

• horse
• veterinary medicine
• hippiatric treatises
• manuals of horsemanship
• hippology
• training