10 Things That You Didn’t Know About The Development of Horses

First posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 By Charis

  1. Fossils show that the horse’s earliest ancestors cna be traced back about 55 million years to Eohippus – a small mammal with four toes on its front feet and three on its hind feet.
  2. Over millions of years this animal gradually developed a single hoof on each foot and longer limbs so it could move over wide areas in search of food.
  3. Theses animals roamed in herds for saftey. As the horse travelled across the continents, th differing climates and terrain produced a different kind of horse.
  4. The hotter climates produced horses that could cope with the extreme temperatures.
  5. Horses from hotter climates were noted for their speed while those from cooler climates were strong and calm.
  6. Mongolian tribes were the first to domesticate the horse about 5000 years ago.
  7. All domestic horses in the world today are descended from these ancestors and are called in Latin Equus Caballus.
  8. For centuries horses have served man in agriculture and industry as pack animals and transport and in warfare, leisure and sport.
  9. Today there are over 150 breeds of horses and pony.
  10. Horses who do not belong to a specific breed can be categorised into types such as hunter or cob.

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