خرک حلقه(pommelhourse)

Even Alexander the Great and his Macedonians are said to have practised mounting and dismounting on a wooden horse. In the 4^th century Vegetius describes Roman soldiers using wooden horses for practice in his “Overview of the Roman Army". Somebody must have remembered Vegetius' work in the 17^th century and expanded what was originally part of military training into a sporting activity. Equestrian acrobatics was an important part of the education at academies for knights and fencing schools up until the late 18^th century, and a great number of manuals date from this time.

 

Models of the pommel horse from various eras: