Caligula was at the head of the Roman Empire during the years 37-41 of our era. A serious illness of the emperor, shortly after coming to power, which would have been the reason to explain the true image of this cruel ruler. And one of his greatest delusions led him to worship to the extreme to a horse named Incitatus (impetuous)

Of Hispanic origin, the original name of the stallion was Porcellus (pig), appellative that the emperor considered improper. Such was Caligula’s admiration for his equine mascot that he was appointed as consul of Bithynia (northern territory of Turkey) in an attitude of clear contempt for the institutions and senators of Rome during his reign rather than for his insanity.

Incitatus was a racehorse that got to participate in the competitions celebrated in the hippodrome of Rome. To ensure that the horse was rested, the night before the race Caligula decreed a general silence in Rome that no citizen could violate under pain of death. She even slept with him.

If the animal was nervous at the beginning of the competition, the emperor sent a cohort of his praetorian guard to a certain district of Rome with the intention of punishing whoever dared to disturb his rest. Several sources say that Incitatus only lost a race in his life, after which the insane emperor ordered the death of the winning charioteer.

Caligula ordered to build a marble stables with ivory cribs for his exclusive use. Later, he gave him a whole villa with his gardens and 18 servants at his disposal to take care of him. He also erected an ivory statue in his honor. Incitatus fed on oat flakes mixed with gold. At dinner, the emperor offered him wine served in golden cups and delicacies like mice, squid, mussels and chicken. He even found a wife for her. But she was not a mare to use as one might suppose, but a woman named Penelope, who belonged to one of the noblest families in Rome.

The horse worshiped by the emperor wore purple tints, the most expensive, and always appeared in public decked with jewels and precious stones. Caligula considered Incitatus as «a combination of all the gods» and worshiped him as such. There was no doubt about it. His delirium led him to be killed by the praetorian guard in the year 41, and to the end of the mad emperor, Incitatus also breathed his last breath.

Source: http://ow.ly/wpwZ30dn4Mr

If there is an emblematic photo and with a symbolic load unparalleled in Peronism is that of Peron mounted on horseback. Framed in the festivities and commemoration of the San Martín Year, a parade took place on August 17, 1950 led by President Juan Domingo Perón with his pinto horse, called Mancha.

Ionically, the photos of Evita and Perón define a period and a political style, but the one that immortalized the chamber of the matancero Antonio Perez, was the eternal poster of basic units and unions.

Peron, an animal lover, had great friends in dogs and horses. In his fifth of San Vicente demolished the old house and had a large chalet built and a horse stable where he housed the famous horse.

There are also images in magazines of the time where it is testified that I use it to jump with obstacles and other activities of equitation to the homonym of the Mancha that with Cat rode the continent years before in heroic crossing.
The horse’s race was Appaloosa. There were famous stables with this breed in San Nicolás, Buenos Aires, and in Salta, where it is also said that in a wit of Salta, he knew to have copies that were given by Peron and came from Cuba. Also an anecdote of 1953 where, before the visit of the President, the Peronist militants tried to honor it with a parade with a local Stain – painted to brush for the occasion – but that an inopportune downpour distills to the suffered horse.

Within the framework of its State policy in defense of horses, the President of the Nation Juan Domingo Perón, affirmed on September 21, 1950 – commemorating the day of the Creole horse – on the occasion of the donation of 100 Criollo horses to mount The Riobamba squadron, which «not only commits my deepest gratitude, but also inspires a motive for the righteous remembrance of this noble race, to which the Great Captain Don Jose de San Martin entrusted the leadership of the Army of the Andes.»

On that occasion, President Perón also affirmed: «I have printed in the book of the Regiment that keeps the memories of the visits, the brief and synthetic history of a Criollo horse that, it may be said, is in the Legion of Heroes that formed the Regiment».

Less dignified and truculent is this information: Did you know that Perón prohibited by decree the meat of horses?