History of Horses
Few domestic animals have unquestioned ancestry, but the horse is the exception to the rule.
It has a wonderfully complete fossil record which traces it's descent over a period of more than 50 million years.
During the Eocene Age the area of land which now forms North America was vast and productive with enormous plains covered in lush herbage and some of the first deciduous forests.
Although the highest mountain peaks of the Western regions were glaciated, the lower-lying lands were temperate and supported many developing mammalian forms.
One of the most successful of these mammals was a small hare-like creature, measuring about 10-20 inches (25-50 cm) at the shoulder.
It had four-toed forefeet and three-toed hindfeet, which enabled it to run swiftly over soft ground.
Each of the toes terminated in a tiny hoof. It's short neck and arched back showed little flexibilty and it had a thick tail.
Its teeth had distinctive low crowns, indicating a diet of soft vegetation, and its eyes were placed on either side of its narrow head, giving it all-round vision.
Fossil remains of this little creature were found in considerable numbers in the deposits of Baja, California and right across North America and into Europe.
Palaeontologist Sir Richard Owen first identified the tiny horse in 1840 from remains discovered the previous year which had been deposited in the London clay.
He gave the creature the name Hyracotherium.
Similar horse fossils found in North American deposits,more than 50 million years old were named by Professor Marsh of Yale Unversity in 1876.
He called the animal Eohippus
Most horse lovers look at museum representations of the delicate little animal, ancestors of the horses and ponies of today, and marvel at its survival.
They recall how it trotted and galloped its way out of danger in an often hostile and newly developed world, and they prefer to think of it by its other, and perhaps more romantic name, the Dawn Horse
Through the eons of time the horse developed from the diminuitive, multi-toed creature into the modern powerful one-toed horse
It passed through many stages of evolution, losing its toes one by one, gradually growing larger, and altering its denition to cope with each newly available form of herbage.
Unsuccessful mutations died out, but the advantageous features were retained, the horse remained fleet of foot and kept its almost all-round vision.
Today's oldest surviving form of horse is the Poljakoff or Wild Horse of Mongolia, discovered by Colonel N. M. Przewalski, a Russian explorer, in a remote region of the Gobi Desert in 1881.
Przewalski's Horse is considered to be part ancestor of all modern breeds and is conserved in zoos and parks throughout the world where it breeds successfully.
Horses
Man probably domesticated the reindeer long before he attempted to tame the horse which was then hunted for meat. Eventually the first members of the equine family were captured and subdued. These were the asses or onagers which were initially used for pack purposes until the development of the wheel encouraged their use in harness.
The spoked wheel and light vehicle could be pulled faster by onagers than by oxen.
The true horse was probably first harnessed about 5 000 years ago by the ancient Chinese, and before long, replaced the wilful and often stubborn onager when speed and obedient response to commands were required.
Although the horse had evolved in North America, it became extinct there for some obscure reason, returning only to the continent of its birth when the ships of Christopher Colombus first landed the animals on Haiti in 1493. Meanwhile, in the areas in which wild horse herds roamed, they were caught and tamed, and were brought into the service of man by many peoples of Asia, Europe and North Africa.
From pack and haulage work, the horse was elevated to drawing a chariot into battle.
Horses were selectively bred for specific purposes and prized for their powers of speed and endurance. Man learned to ride them and devised sophisticated bridles and bits to help control his steed.
The saddle was invented, which allowed riders to remain astride their mounts for longer periods, and after many more years had passed, the addition of stirrups added to equestrian stability.
The military horse has played a great part in the fortunes of war for many nations.
Perhaps the greatest of the charioteers were the Hittities who left records showing that they excercised great skill in breeding horses and in their care, training and feeding.
In the 14th century B.C, the Hittite empire ranged right across Kurdistan, Armenia and Syria. The Chinese, too were skilled horsemen and, as long ago as 1 000 B.C, were using horses in cavalry work as well as for pack and draught purposes.
In Egypt the horse replaced the ass about the year 1650 B.C. Chariots were used by the Pharaohs for hunting gazelle and other game as well as in battle.
One of the earliest and most original of all writers on the subject of horses and equitation was Xenophon, an Athenian who lived from 430-355 B.C.
He showed great understanding about all aspects of the animal's needs and psychology, and was able to convey this to others through his works.
We are indebted to Xenophon for much of our knowledge of the Ancient Greek Horses and their methods of training and riding.
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