Equus "Story of the Horse" | Episode 2: Chasing the Wind

Discover how humans have partnered with the horse throughout the centuries, creating more than 400 breeds, from the Yakutian Horse to the Arab Horse, found all around the world.

Noteworthy Facts:

• Horses are the stars of Ice Age art; our ancestors drew them more than any other animal. The first piece of art to depict a living thing was a tiny figurine of a wild horse living somewhere in Europe more than 35,000 years ago.
• Humans began to domesticate the wild horse about 6,000 years ago.
• There is only one species of domestic horse, but around 400 different breeds that range dramatically in shape and size.
• Horses have evolved to be able to survive the most extreme climates on earth, from the bitter cold of the Siberian Arctic to the scorching heat of the Arabian Desert.
• All thoroughbreds are a descendant of one of three stallions who lived 200 years ago. The thoroughbred has been a closed Stud Book since the early 1800s, when it was determined that no further input from exotic gene pools would improve the breed.

Buzzworthy Moments:

• The coldest place humans live is the Verkhoyansk Mountains of northeastern Siberia. Most of the population is comprised of ethnic Yakuts, and they wouldn’t survive without their Yakutian horses, who can survive winter temperatures that fall to -58 degrees Fahrenheit for weeks at a time. Apart from their extremely thick coat of hair and their stocky build, Yakutian horses have developed a form of “standing hibernation” by lowering their metabolism during the coldest weather and entering a form of semi-hibernation.
• Irish geneticist Emmeline Hill discovered a genetic code in thoroughbreds that reveals their racing potential. Horse breeders now have access to a genetic test that predicts at birth whether a thoroughbred will be a distance, sprint or mixed-distance runner. Hill’s “speed gene” test is now used at top horse training centers to select the most promising thoroughbreds for training, and to determine which races are best suited to their genetic profile.
• The world’s only truly wild horses live on Canada’s Sable Island, where a population of 500 horses has been living for at least 40 horse generations. Although descended from domesticated horses abandoned or shipwrecked in the 19th century, these horses receive no care from humans today. Population biologist Philip McLoughlin has discovered how the horses are changing in response to their environment. With no natural predators, they do not startle and run like typical wild horses. They live in partnership with the seals, who provide natural fertilizer to the barren dunes every winter when they gather to give birth on the island, ensuring a healthy grass diet for the horses.