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Horses
Introduction

They gallop and trot, whinny and neigh, capturing our imagination — and our hearts. Indeed, horses are said to have done more to change human history than any other domestic animal, once upon a time carrying explorers to new frontiers and mighty armies to great conquests.

Though their glory days may be in the past, these hoofed creatures continue to enthrall us, as the NATURE program HORSES demonstrates in sparkling detail. From the steppes of Mongolia, where children race at breakneck speeds perched on stallions ten times their size, to the fields of Georgia, where people confined to wheelchairs find new freedom in the saddle, HORSES highlights the many roles played by this multi-talented beast of burden. There are also rare glimpses of the world’s most endangered horse, and an inside look at the art of the horse whisperers, the trainers who through their gentle touch can transform a wild bucking bronco into a stately show horse.

But the star of the show is the animal that scientists call Equus caballus, the modern horse species that includes everything from miniature Shetland ponies to massive draft horses able to pull astounding loads. The horse we know today, however, evolved from an ancestor that was quite different.

More than 50 million years ago, a small fox-sized animal crept through the forests of North America, browsing on fruit and leaves. Its arched-back body was only about a foot high at the shoulder, and a long tail and short-snouted head probably gave it a distinctly dog-like look. In fact, its feet sported pads like a dog’s, except each toe ended in a tiny hoof instead of a claw. Interestingly, in modern horses, one toe has become the hoof, and the others remain as vestigial bumps higher up the leg.

When fossil hunters first discovered the bones of this creature a century ago, they named it Eohippus — “the dawn horse” — and believed it was the first link in an evolutionary chain that led directly to today’s horse. Indeed, many museums and textbooks still have displays and pictures showing this neat, predictable progression, with horses gradually getting larger, shifting from many toes to modern hooves, and gaining longer teeth able to grind down tough prairie grasses.

These days, however, researchers have a far more complex picture of horse evolution — and they have given the dawn horse a much less colorful name. While they agree that today’s horse probably arose from that smaller ancestor, the path was by no means direct. Instead, paleontologists have uncovered fossils that show that horse ancestors varied in size: some large early horses gave way later to smaller ones. They also discovered that some lines of horse-like animals alternated between many and few toes over time. In addition, some proto-horses once thought to be direct forefathers of the modern animals were revealed to be distantly related cousins — just one dead-end branch on a bushy family tree.

One branch, however, kept growing. About a million years ago, it produced an array of small pony-sized animals that galloped across ancient plains around the world in large herds. They probably behaved much as today’s wild horses do, using their flowing tails as remarkably accurate fly swatters and signal flags, and snorting the air for the smell of enemies and the scent of food.

Less than 10,000 years ago, however, many of these horse-like species became extinct, along with other browsing animals such as mammoths. Climate changes and over-hunting by humans may have been to blame, but no one knows for sure. The only survivors were horses in Asia and several zebras. In North America, however, horses were wiped out.

So where did the modern horses come from, the ones that spawned America’s cowboy myth? Historians believe that Spanish explorers brought the animals with them on their voyages to the New World in the 1500s. Let loose upon the land, they soon reclaimed the prairies that had once been theirs alone, producing vast herds of wild horses.

Even today, as HORSES shows, tens of thousands of wild horses roam the American West. To prevent the herds from destroying their habitat, the U.S. government captures hundreds each year and puts them up for adoption. For some of the proud new owners, the chance to ride a wild-born horse is a dream come true — and the continuation of an age-old relationship that has made the horse one of our most revered and fascinating animal partners.

Online content for Horses was originally posted November 1999.

239 Responses to “Introduction”
  1. Kathyrn says:

    i love horses so so so so so so so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just wish i had 1

  2. yasmina says:

    i love to ride horses when i go out to my aunt’s farm when i visit Michigan.When i go to Michigan my aunt’s farm is the first place that i want to go to.Michigan rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. CUITEY22222222 says:

    I LOVE YHIS ARTICAL I LOVE HORSES

  4. lilly says:

    i love horses but i dont accually have one but i wish i do

  5. emily says:

    i love horses have 7 of them my own THERE THE BEST EVER !!!:)

  6. kiara says:

    i dont know a thing bout horses but now i do thanks for helping me with my school project

  7. Betty says:

    i love horses and i kno so much and now even more thx to this page caint wait ta get up on the back of a horse agian i have to start loping agian soon

  8. brian says:

    i love horses i always have its sumthin about them that free my mind they make me feel like there is hope for tomorrow when eva i dont feel hope for my self thank god for them

  9. mara says:

    i have an aunt who has many horses and i love them. i learned to ride them when i was just 3 years old, isn’t that amazing? i can walk, trot, canter, and jump. also do flying lead changes.

  10. ariana says:

    Horses Rule! My parents say im too young, but soon ill have as many horses as i desire! P.S.:Even my email has the word horses in it!

  11. Kat says:

    Dear Bella Hauck
    A male foal is actually called a colt. A foal can either be a filly or a colt.

  12. maimi says:

    I love horses because they are the most butiful animals on Earth!!!!!! Thats what I think its just my opion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. nikki says:

    i luv horses.i have won name aggie she is a creamy chesnut luvin horse.all of my sisters and 2 brothers has won too.{ALABAMA BABAE}XOXO HORSES!!!!!

  14. mary says:

    I think that horses are the best animals because they are soooooooooooo butiful and soft and can canter smoothly!!

  15. CHARLEY says:

    I love horses because they are the best in the world and i hope to get one when i grow up!

  16. Kristyn says:

    I like horses because they are beautiful!

  17. Bailey says:

    This is very informational I’m not a big fan of horses though. I love them because they are animals and I love nature but they just aren’t my fav animal or anything. I like Pugs.

  18. CATIE says:

    I LOVe HORSES! AND MY HORSE “MISS SCARLET”!

  19. cheyenne says:

    i love alot of hoeses

  20. shania says:

    I like horses because they are beautiful!

  21. superacethekittyadventurer X) says:

    i love,love,luv,luv,luv, LUV horses! i wished i owned sooooo badly!,im positive you feel the same way if u don’t own one,anywho i’ve herd theres a poll made in 2004 voting that horse are the 4th most fav. animal in the world! besides cat’s and lizards! and siberian huskies!! i wood do anything to get one!,my twin sister says she wants a monitor lizard!

  22. Ivy says:

    I realy love horses ther the best animals I first like horses are cool!

  23. Leiah :)) says:

    i have 21 horses and trust me you dont want one that bad.. sometimes they are a pain but then again they are cool :))

  24. horse lover says:

    I love love love horses. My Uncle owns a horse farm tha i go to once a year i mean i don’t have a horse but i have mucked out a stable befor some people hate the smell but i love it . I have a rabbit that smells real bad and i can’t stand the smell but i can clean up after a horse any day. I love horses and will be getting ridding leason in 3 months. Can’t wait

    -horse lover-

  25. KieranRyan says:

    Hello i have mucked a stable and hate the smell i am a neare

  26. shereda says:

    I love this website because Ican learn about horses and people.

  27. horsegirl says:

    I love horses! I am getting one for Christmas! I can’t wait! Horses are my favorite animal.

  28. abby and mrs.lillie says:

    okay my 3rd grade class is learning about horse we learned that they were used for transportation

  29. Payton Shelnutt says:

    I love horses so much! I love them so much I am in a saddle club! EVERYBODY should be kind to horses. They almost went extinct!!!!!!!!!! I love horses!

  30. michelle says:

    i think horses are the most beautifull animal that walk this planet..plus there my favorite..and someday i will own one

  31. Michelle says:

    horses are so amazing and like pretty. can’t wait to ride one again!!!

  32. Elizabetg says:

    thank you very much! i am doing a project and this did all and more! this has informed me alot more than anything else. i thank you very much!

  33. jessica says:

    well I think horses are amazing and that they are really awsome and also they need to be out more and another thing is that they are fasanating.

  34. Ashley says:

    I think that horses are like sush the best animal in the world. i wish i had like a whole ton of them. horses are like the coolest animal in like forever I LOVE THEM LIKE SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  35. horseloverforever says:

    I love horses more then any of you people, i have 60 of them, most of them are wild, i broke most of them, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE HORSES11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

  36. jason says:

    i love horses i did not know they almost went extent i camp out in the sand hills every year i only had to put one horse to sleep but i got horses and i ride everyone of them.

  37. mere says:

    Amo a los caballos porque son los animales más butiful en la Tierra !!!!!! Eso es lo que creo que su sólo mi !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! opion

    Tengo una tía que tiene muchos caballos y me encantan. Aprendí a montar cuando yo era apenas 3 años, ¿no es increíble? Puedo caminar, trote, galope y salto. también hacer cambios de vuelo de plomo.

    Amo a los caballos love love. Mi tío es dueño de una granja de caballos i tha ir a una vez al año i significa que no tienes un caballo, pero he limpiado un befor estable algunas personas odian el mal olor, pero me encanta. Tengo un conejo que huele muy mal y no puedo soportar el olor pero puedo limpiar después de un caballo en cualquier momento. Amo a los caballos y será conseguir librar Leason en 3 meses. No puede esperar

    -amante de caballos

  38. alyssa says:

    i have a horse, his name is buster he is sweet like strawberrys

  39. sydney price says:

    I have study horses ever seece i was 2 years old and grown up on a farm and my dad is a horse trainer and his name is willame dean price . my dad tought me how to ride horses all my life i have two horses . and i help my dad tarin horses i really do love horses . alot

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