String of horses outside an inn, by Otto Bache, 1878

The horses on this picture have been tied to each other with the rope of their halter to the tail of the foregoing horse. In this way eight horses form a group that is led by only one rider. He rides the front horse on the left. The rider apparently has made a stop at the inn, where other visitors are showing him out. Among them a postillion who blows his horn, which causes unrest for the horses. The fourth horse of the string is a spotted one, probably from the Knabstrup stud. The last horse has some Arabian traits. 

All horses have the tail tied up to facilitate the knot of the halter rope. This is the cheapest and easiest way to transport a group of horses, maybe to a horse market. Connecting a group of horses to each other was practised in various ways in the 19th century. Here we see the simplest way.

This article is reposted from the website of the author Boudewijn Commandeur: thehorseinart.nl