THE ORIENTAL HORSE
- The First Stirrups Came From the Orient
- Attila the Hun, 406-453 A.D.
 - 1998.iso/horse/eohippus.gif)
The horse, "hippus";as the scientists named it, first appeared on earth as a small, timid creature no bigger than a fox. It was 10 to 17 ¾ inches tall at the shoulder and had four toes on its front legs and three toes on its hind legs. Eohippus lived in a damp, hot jungle of huge cypress and mammoth trees. Here it fed on leaves as it roamed over the boggy ground. Small size and multi-toed feet kept Eohippus from sinking into the swamp. The remains of this original little horse have been found in such places as the Wasatch Range in Utah and in the Wind River Basin in Wyoming.
During this time, some of the early horses migrated across a land bridge between
Europe and North America. As the temperature and the climate changed, conifers
began to outnumber deciduous trees. The forest thinned and grass became more
prevalent. Mesohippus was larger than Eohippus, its teeth had further evolved,
and it had three toes on its front legs. It was better suited to running fast
to escape the enemies that pursued. Because the swamp had given way to soft
ground, Mesohippus no longer needed his toes as much has Eohippus did. The lateral
supporting toes decreased in size while the middle toe strengthened. The toes
ended in little hooves but still had a pad behind them. Both in Europe and North
America, these browsing horses became extinct in the early Pliocene Epoch, perhaps
7 million years or so ago.
In this period, a totally new adaptive type of horse appeared. Merychippus evolved
in North America and adapted to the hard grasses of the plains region. This
was the beginning of the grazing horse of today. The horse had now increased
in size to about 35 inches. These larger horses of the plains became increasingly
gregarious and lived in herds. In order to chew the rough, hard grass, Merychippus
developed complicated grinding teeth quite similar to present-day horses. Its
lateral toes continued to diminish and no longer reached the ground. The main
toe thickened and hardened for swift travel on the dry ground. The feet were
without pads and the weight was carried on the enlarged single hoof on the central
toe.
At the beginning of the Pliocene Epoch, one branch of horses crossed into Asia
and quickly multiplied and spread to Europe. Meanwhile in North America, the
horse developed into the final model. The pliohippus was the first true monodactyl
(one-toed animal) of evolutionary history. Pliohippus had increasing need for
speed to outrun its enemies, so the hoof evolved from the continued over-development
of its middle toe. Its denture and extremities were the nearest approach to
our present-day horses. This horse now spread into South America, as well as
Asia, Europe, and Africa. In the last two million years, Pleistocene and present,
Equus emerged as the large, magnificent creature we admire today. Finally about
8,000 years ago, Equus became extinct in the New World and was not to return
until the Spanish brought horses to the Western Hemisphere in the 1,400's.
For perhaps half a million years - far into the dark reaches of prehistory -
man's only contact with the horse was as a hunter in search of food. Only in
the relatively recent past (between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C.) did man domesticate
the horse, and yet it was still used for food. This domestication began on the
steppes north of the Black Sea (where there were wild horses at the time) at
a period when oxen were already being yoked in draft in Mesopotamia. By the
early 3rd millennium B.C., asses and onagers (wild asses of central Asia) had
been similarly harnessed in the region; and when the horse was brought there
in numbers in the early 2nd millennium B.C., a tradition of driving already
dominated the scene.
 - 1998.iso/horse/cave-1.gif)
Our first insight into man's relationship with the horse comes from Stone Age cave paintings. Located in such places as Lascaux and Pech-Merle in France and Altamira in Spain, these cave paintings frequently show the horse as an object of prey. Yet these prehistoric cave paintings also reveal the great majesty man saw in the horse, and show the great effort he made to recreate this beauty on the lasting canvas of the cave's rock walls.
The Vogelherd Horse - A Magic Image for Luck in the
Horse Hunt  - 1998.iso/horse/vogel.gif)
The ivory of a mammoth's tusk provided the material for the prehistoric artist who carved this horse some 30,000 years ago. The carving is 2 ½ inches long and is called the Vogelherd Horse after the cave in Germany in which it was discovered. Archaeologists believe the carved animal images were carried by the hunter for good luck. This horse has been worn smooth by the handling of its Cro-Magnon owner, who hoped to down some horses for his family's food.
Prehistoric Equine ArtEarly cave painters depicted
man's great regard for the horse. The importance of the horse to hunters in
this early period is evidenced by the many drawings that have been found in
caves. Of particular note are two French sites, Lascaux, whose paintings date
from 18,000 to 17,000 years ago, and the
Ardéche gorges site discovered in 1994. Paintings found at the
Ardéche may well be 20,000 years old.
Considering the limited materials available to the Cro-Magnon artist, his
skill was amazing. He probably made a paintbrush by chewing the end of a small
branch from a nearby shrub. His paints were natural materials; clay, charcoal
and minerals which he mixed with animal fat. Many of these cave paintings
have been discovered on the walls of caves throughout Europe. The colors are
still brilliant after 10,000 to 20,000 or more years.
Many cave paintings of horses resemble the tough little Przewalski horses of
today, with their large strong heads and erect manes. It is believed that the
Przewalski horses are a direct or collateral ancestor of many living equine
breeds. The breed was discovered in 1879 in Mongolia. It is now threatened with
extinction and measures have been taken to establish a refuge for the remaining
horses in the wild. A few of them are held in captivity in zoos around the world.
The oldest horse still in existence is the Przewalski horse (Equus Przewalski).
Ironically, this horse was discovered only in the last century. In 1879, the
Russian Captain, Nikolai Mikailovich Przewalski sighted the horse as he traveled
through the remote valleys of Mongolia. The modern Przewalski horse resembles
many of the animals appearing in the cave paintings at Lascaux, France. It is
believed to be a direct or collateral ancestor of all living breeds.
The Przewalski horse typically stands 12 to 14 hands high and has a dun (yellowish)
coloring. It has a light colored muzzle, a short, upstanding mane, a dark
streak along its back, as well as dark legs. In its native Mongolia it feeds
on tamarisk, feather grass, and the white roots of rhubarb. The Przewalski
horse was once threatened with extinction. The former Soviet Union had established
a refuge for the horse in the late 1970s to insure both it's continued existence
and its freedom. Unfortunately, political and economic realities now make
the Przewalski's future somewhat uncertain. Although held in captivity in
many zoos around the world, the Przewalski horse has never been effectively
tamed, and in fact can be vicious if threatened. (Also known in Mongolia as
the Taki, Tachi, or Tag.)
Info on
New Pony Discovered in Tibet (From CNN)
Museum FrontPage || Planet Horse FrontPage
 - 1998.iso/horse/imhlogo.gif)
 - 1998.iso/horse/eohippus.jpg)
The horse, "hippus";as the scientists named it, first appeared on earth as a small, timid creature no bigger than a fox. It was 10 to 17 ¾ inches tall at the shoulder and had four toes on its front legs and three toes on its hind legs. Eohippus lived in a damp, hot jungle of huge cypress and mammoth trees. Here it fed on leaves as it roamed over the boggy ground. Small size and multi-toed feet kept Eohippus from sinking into the swamp. The remains of this original little horse have been found in such places as the Wasatch Range in Utah and in the Wind River Basin in Wyoming. - 1998.iso/horse/cave.jpg)
Our first insight into man's relationship with the horse comes from Stone Age cave paintings. Located in such places as Lascaux and Pech-Merle in France and Altamira in Spain, these cave paintings frequently show the horse as an object of prey. Yet these prehistoric cave paintings also reveal the great majesty man saw in the horse, and show the great effort he made to recreate this beauty on the lasting canvas of the cave's rock walls.  - 1998.iso/horse/vogel.jpg)
The ivory of a mammoth's tusk provided the material for the prehistoric artist who carved this horse some 30,000 years ago. The carving is 2 ½ inches long and is called the Vogelherd Horse after the cave in Germany in which it was discovered. Archaeologists believe the carved animal images were carried by the hunter for good luck. This horse has been worn smooth by the handling of its Cro-Magnon owner, who hoped to down some horses for his family's food.