Origin of Equus

The history of the horse, Equus Caballus, begins about 55 million years ago, when the continents, the great mountain ranges and the oceans were taking form. It was in the time when the Rocky Mountains, the Andes and the Alps were taking shape, the great Saurions had become extinct and the Gulf Stream was beginning to influence the climate in Europe, that the first mammals appeared on the land. The ancestors of the elephant, the rhino, the ox, the hog, the monkey and…the horse.

The first horse-related findings is a little animal called Hyracotherium that almost looked like a small dog; the hind legs were longer than the front legs and the loin bent. The neck was short and the head pointy. The feet had pads. The shape of the molars suggest that the animal fed on leaves, shoots, herbes and bushes; grass was too hard on the enamel. Remains of the Hyracotherium has beeb found in both North America and in Europe (the American species are often called Eohippus).  It is believed that these species were not so different from another group of mammals, the Condylarthra, which existed 80 to 20 million years ago. It is among these that the first signs of developement towards the herbivorous, hoofed mammal were found.

The Hyracotherium was about 30cms in height, had four toes on each front-foot and three on each hind-foot. But in the next 40 to 50 million years, the fourth toe on each foot disappeared, the middle toe developed into a primitive hoof and the two last toes slowly disappeared as well.

The great number of bones found from this animal, was primarily found in the southern part of the United States, and that suggests that the Equus family has its origin in that part of the world. The animals spread north over Asia and to Europe. Later, the American and Eurasian strain developed differently, before becoming extinct. Hyracotherium disappeared about 40 million years ago, probable because they couldn´t adapt to the geological changes. The Hyracotherium was followed by the Orohippus and later the Epihippus; both of them types with roughly the same build as the Hyracotherium, but with better teeth.

About 5 million years ago, the Pliohippus developed. Pliohippus was a hoofed mammal that was three times bigger than the Hyracotherium and by the time Homo Sapiens came, Pliohippus had developed into Equus, the actual horse, then about 130cms in height.

Equus also seems to have its origin in North America. These animals wandered south, first to South America and then on to Asia, Europe and Africa. About 8000 years ago, Equus became extinct on the American continent, but developed further in Europe, Asia and Africa, and is the ancestor of the horse as we know it today.

It is believed that all the different types of Equus we have today, all originated from three prehistoric types´, the Steppe-horse, the Mountain-horse and the Forest-horse. It should be mentioned, that experts have provided conflicting evidence about the developement, but as one of the characteristics of Equus is that you can croos the types, it is fair to assume that crosses existed before man began to breed the animal.

The Steppe-horse had a big head with long ears and a dished face. The body was short and stocky, the legs long and slim with small hooves, and the mane was standing up on a well developed neck. The color was probably a greyish brown with a few black spots, zebra stripes on the legs, shoulder stripes and probably a dorsal stripe. It was a muscular, active and fearless little horse. The last of this type is the Przewalski Horse.

The Forest-horse was much heavier and not as active as the Steppe-horse. It had a long body, short, strong legs with big, round hooves. The head was short and roman-nosed. Mane and tail was long and thick. The collor was greyish brown, sometimes with stripes or spots, which made it easier for the horse to hide from predators.

The Mountain-horse still exists today in the few herds of Tarpans that remain. It should be mentioned, that the Tarpan officially became extinct around 1885. The horses we call Tarpans today, were found with Polish farmers.

The Tarpan has a small head, small ears, big eyes and a straight or roman nose. Body and legs are leighter and longer than the other two types. Mane and tail long and thick, and the color again a grey with a dorsal stripe.