Do You Know Where The Horses Come From?
Today we are going to tell you about the origin of the equus ferus caballus, that is to say of the horse, one of the most beautiful animals in the world. For thousands of years, he has been a staunch friend of human beings, as well as an exemplary work companion.
The horse is an animal that has been on Earth for more or less 50 million years, but for several decades scientists have been trying to find out the exact origin of horses.
Horse characteristics
The horse is a “domesticated perissodactyl mammal” of the equine family. It is a great looking herbivore, with a wide, arched neck covered with long hair.
A female horse is called a mare, and the young are foals when it comes to males, and fillies when it comes to females.
Horses are prey for predators, that’s where their instinct to flee comes from. However, if they see that they cannot escape, they will not hesitate to face danger.
Most breeds are characterized by their speed, agility, and hardiness. Horses are extremely social animals , able to bond with both people and other animals.
The origin of horses
We have to go back 55 million years to the time when the eohippus, the ancestor of the horse, lived in North America. It was a small herbivorous mammal that lived during the Eocene era and from which all the horses descend. He was small, between 20 and 40 cm in height, with 4 toes on his front legs, and 3 on the back legs.
In size and shape he resembled a dog, but as he progressed his stature significantly developed, his toes became monodactyl, that is, with one finger.
The toes have evolved into clogs on all legs so that they can more easily escape predators.
It was only later that the mandibles appeared, and that they evolved to the species of equus, name from which derives the word horse, and from which comes the whole family of horses.
Emigration to Asia
Due to bad weather conditions, the equus left North America for Eurasia. This is where scientists found the trace of this now extinct wild horse which is the ancestor of our domestic horses.
Scientists believe that the Pleistocene, 2 million years ago, was the time when the horse as we know them today appeared. This emigration caused the extinction of horses in America, but the Spanish colonists exported some specimens to repopulate the territory.
The Przewalski, a horse that comes to us from Asia, is one of the genetic fathers of the current horse, which then dispersed to the African continent. Nowadays, there are 300 Przewalski horses that live in captivity.
Horses in different civilizations
If a civilization gave particular importance to horses, it is indeed the Roman civilization. Indeed, they worked in the breeding and taming of this magnificent animal, and also used it as a beast of burden for their work.
The different civilizations that invaded the Iberian Peninsula, and especially the Arabs, have managed to create their own livestock, to the point of turning it into a real industry.
Horses in the news
Nowadays, the horse has become a very popular animal. Since its domestication, it has been granted various uses, especially as a means of transport and as a farm worker. Today that has changed, and horses are used in different sports and presented at fairs.
An obvious example is classic taming for horse racing, horse bullfighting, obstacle courses or ballads. Horse therapy has also been shown to help many people with disabilities.
According to a study, there were 58 million horses in 2007, including 9 million in the United States. Historically, the Russian Empire was the country with the most horses, over 35 million specimens.
