DOMESTICATION OF THE HORSE

HELLEN AUFDERHEIDESchool 54, Indianapolis, Indiana

Amherst College, Massachusetts, possesses an interesting fos-sil exhibit showing how the horse {Eqims caballus) has grownand developed in North America during the past 6,000,000years.The earliest fossil shows him to be a small four-toed creature

about the size of a jack-rabbit. The second fossil shows him thesize of a Collie dog with three toes all of which touched theground as he walked. The third specimen shows him muchlarger in size with only one toe on the ground. The two side toeshung at the sides are small and useless. The fourth fossil showshim about the size of a Shetland pony, with the side toes goneand only "splints^ left representing the original second andfourth digits. The fifth skeleton is that of the horse of today.As the toes decreased in number and the body increased in

size, the teeth became steadily harder and harder. So, over thelong epochs of time, he grew gradually from the small creaturefeeding upon the succulent plants of the lowlands, into the largeand fleet animal, feeding upon the grasses of the hard prairielands.

In Europe this same evolutionary story is told in the fossilsfound, but there, as in North America, he had disappearedbefore man had domesticated him. In Asia, however, he seemsto have lived on in spite of the wolves w^hich were perhaps hiswwst enemy, until the time of the cave men who hunted himfor food up until the time when they began to settle down to alife in one locality. It was then that they began to provide foodand care for the wild horse in return for the meat he furnishedand later on for the sendees he could render. Thus began hissubjugation.That this subjugation began ages ago is learned from the fossil

bones found in the remains of the Lake Dwellings of Switzerlandwhich are believed to date back to somewhere near 5000 B.C.

These domesticated horses resembled to a marked degree thewild horse {Equus Przcwalskii) which was discovered in 1881roaming in herds over the Zungaria desert of western Mongolia.The horse seems to have been quite a finished animal even

long before his subjugation for in certain caves in France andSpain have been found drawings of horses made by the artist-

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DOMESTICATION OF THE HORSE 525

hunters of the Late Paleolithic Age. These drawings date backperhaps as many as 20,000 years beyond the time of the LakeDwellers. They portray a horse that not only resembled those ofthe Lake Dwellers but also bore a marked resemblance to thewild Mongolian horse of today.Some scientists are inclined to believe that this Mongolian

horse is not a truly wild form, but one escaped from domestica-tion�a feral type. But if it is a truly wild horse, as others be-lieve, it may be called the aboriginal form, the connecting linkbetween the fossil horse of old and the horses of today. Somecannot see how the many different breeds of modern horses coulddescend from one such form. Yet it is well known that horsesliving in cold countries where food is scarce and living is rigor-ous, if given abundant food and good care, do increase within ashort period of years in both size and appearance. It is reason-able to believe, therefore, that over a long period of time, theycould become so changed that they would not easily be recog-nized for the same breed.

It is also believed that their domestication took place some-where in or near the dry uplands just west of the HimalayaMountains in central Asia. From here they were, no doubt,taken to the rest of the eastern hemisphere by the migratinghordes as they left their ancient homes in the highlands andmoved farther and farther aw^y in search of new lands and newhomes.

Greek mythology is full of references to the horse showingthat he had long been domesticated in Greece as well as in thesurrounding lands. He played an important part in the siege ofthe ancient city of Troy which occurred about the beginning ofthe twelfth century B.C. He was honored by being placed in thesky as one of the largest of the constellations, that of Pegasus,so familiar to all.

It is of no little interest to note that the horses used by theGreeks, as shown by carvings on the Parthenon 400 B.C., borea close resemblance to the present wild horse of Asia "in size,in the shape of the head and in the peculiar short upstandingmane."

In the East from still earlier times the horse was not onlyknown but was typical of power and splendor. As representedin sculptures and bas-reliefs he was similar to the horses ofGreece.Horses were not known in Egypt, however, until after the

526SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

Drawing by Dr. Esther M. Whitney, Central Normal College, Danville, Ind.

DOMESTICATION OF THE HORSE 527

reign of the Shepherd Kings (about 1800 B.C.). This was aftertheir contact with the Assyrians. .Horse breeding then becameof great importance among the Egyptians but the horse never"enjoyed sacred honors" there as did so many other animals.

In all probability the horse was known to the Phoenicians ata much earlier date. These ancient traders are also believed tohave carried the horse to England centuries before the Christianera, where it was found by Caesar when he landed there in55 B.C. He wrote of finding the natives using a small-sized horsewith great skill. These horses were compelled to forage for them-selves and were rounded up only when some were to be selectedfor use or for breeding purposes. It was these small horses thatformed "the foundation" stock for the horses of Great Britainon which from time to time superior blood was grafted, resultingin the development of several distinct and famous breeds, as theThoroughbred (race horses), the Hackney (harness horses), andthe powerful Suffolk and Clydesdale breeds (draft horses).Those horses that were left out to forage in the open, however,without care or protection remained small and undeveloped.Their descendents make up the pony population of GreatBritain today.

Since Arabian and Barb horses have one vertebra less thanmost other breeds, some naturalists claim two distinct lines ofancestry for the horses of today, (1) the African, comprising theBarb and Arabian races, and (2) the Asiatic, comprising allother breeds.Libyan tribes are known to have possessed horses long before

the Arabians did and it is entirely possible that these Africanhorses reached Arabia through Egypt and became the pro-genitors of the Arabian line.

Others claim as many as five lines of ancestry: (1) The Mon-golian wild pony�progenitor of the Chinese and Mongolianbreeds as well as the Norwegian, and Irish ponies. (2) TheTarpan, a larger form that up to 1880 roamed wild over southernRussia�progenitor of Nubian, Greek, and Assyrian breeds.(3) A still larger type with a "Ram’s nose" of central and south-western Europe�progenitor of the draft horses. (4) The Barband Arabian. (5) A small wild type of northern Europe now

represented by the Shetland and kindred breeds.Still many other naturalists believe all horses have descended

from one primitive type. If this is true, then our numerous pres-ent varieties must be the result of moderate climate, good food

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and care, plus careful selection and breeding over a long periodof time for certain definite characteristics.

Ages ago man saw the advantage gained in war by the use ofhorses. He saw that the better mounts an army had, the morehighly superior was that army. So he early learned and prac-ticed the art of breeding. During times of peace when farmersneeded better horses the draft type was developed. Men withmany fine horses were long ago tempted to pit their favoritesagainst another’s in speed and strength, so chariot races andlater tournaments w^re instituted. These, and other fads, forcedbreeders to develop highly specialized types such as the racehorse, the hackney, the draft, and the saddle horse.

Structurally, the horse has changed little since his domestica-tion, but he has increased in size, in strength, in speed, and inappearance. Since his domestication he has also developed anew gait, the trot, which has become the instinctive one withsome breeds. His original natural gaits were the walk and thecanter. Now, many of the high-bred saddle horses have notthree, but five gaits, any one of which they take at the directionof the rider�a tribute to training and breeding.

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Food for Thought�The School’s Responsibility in Nutrition Education,Pamphlet No. 22, 15 cents.

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ROBERT FORTENBAUGH BOWMANIt is with deep regret that we announce the death on April 22, 1942 of

Mr. Robert Fortenbaugh Bowman, Vice-president of The BIakistonCompany.