Ireland

(map)

Horses were very important in Irish society. The following tradition stresses the close association between horses and people.

Noah forgot to bring a stallion aboard the ark, so one of his sons had to act as sire to the mare. As a result of horses having a human ancestor, horses and humans share several ribs, and their natures are akin.

Daithi Ó hÓgain, Myth, Legend, and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition (New York: Prentice Hall, 1991), 251.