Evolution Of Horses Essay

First off when purchasing your horse you have to watch for proper balance. Balance is arguably the most important aspect when examining a horse since it is fundamental for both movement and performance, this is determined by the horse's bone structure.(Duberstein) Some aspects that play a role in determining the balance includes the horse's weight along with the proportions and angles of the body. A horse can be light weighted or heavy weighted and still balanced if its bone structure allows for equal distribution of that weight. Appropriate balance of a horse allows it to carry itself in a well mannered fashion.("Test Your Eye for Horse Conformation") Along with a horse's balance, structural correctness plays a major role in

Horses are stunning creatures used across the world for centuries, and even in the Roman empire. In ancient Rome, horses were mainly used for chariots, hauling supplies, and light skirmishes. The Romans’ particular favorite breeds were Andalusians, Dales Ponies, Arabians, Camargues, and Galician Ponies. Rome learned about horses from Greeks and of how to best uses the different breeds also how to efficiently train them. Horses were chosen for their stable temperament, great stamina, resistance of extreme environments, and their ability to sustain depletion of food. Horses have aided in wars, and transportation, without these amazing creatures Rome would have not been so successful

To evaluate conformation and gait analysis, an example of a thoroughbred racehorse was examined to show structure and balance; good conformation within perimeters; way of going through photographic evidence to support gait analysis. The horse is a 6 year old, 15.3hh thoroughbred racehorse who has a good pedigree, has won and placed in races on

The horse (Equus ferus caballus)[2][3] is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, Eohippus, into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term is used to describe horses that have never been domesticated, such as the endangered Przewalski's horse, a separate subspecies, and the only remaining true wild horse. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior.

During the middle to late Eocene and into the Oligocene epoch several other members of the equids, with distinct evolutionary changes, existed including the Orohippus, Epihippus, Mesohippus, and Miohippus. The Orohippus developed from the Hyracotherium and shared many of the same traits. One major change was that the first and second toes disappeared. Another significant change occurred in the teeth. The last premolar changed to become like a grinding molar. Also the crests were more defined showing that the Orohippus’s diet had changed to a tougher plant material. During the middle Eocene a descendant of Orohippus appeared. The Epihippus still resembled a dog-like animal. It had four padded toes on the front leg, and three on the back leg. However, the teeth changed more drastically with two of the premolars changing to grinding molars. Now there were five grinding cheek teeth with low crowns. As

Percherons and Quarter horses each have different physical features. Both the Percheron and the Quarter horse have straight profiled heads. While the Quarter horse has a short and small refined head, the Percheron has an exceptionally broad forehead, small ears, and large eyes. Both Percherons and Quarter horses have very deep and broad chests. Although the Quarter horse has strong legs and flat knees, the Percheron has clean and heavily muscled feet and legs.

Percherons and Quarter horses each have different physical features. Both the Percheron and the Quarter horse have straight profiled heads. While the Quarter horse has a short and small refined head, the Percheron has an exceptionally broad forehead, small ears, and large eyes. Both Percherons and Quarter horses have very deep and broad chests. Although the Quarter horse has strong legs and flat knees, the Percheron has clean and heavily muscled feet and legs.

From its early stages as a 40 cm tall, 25 kg Eohippus to its current state as a 1.6 meter tall, 500 kg beast, every step can be traced through an abundance of fossils located mostly right here in the United States. While the changes in equids from their beginnings until now are drastic, I found it interesting that it was not necessarily gradual. Most of the changes in size, structure and teeth did not happen until the Miocene, upon which the development was rapid. Figure 5 shows the mass of Equid genera in comparison to when they lived. For the first half of equid development, barely any change occurred. This displays how important environmental factors are in the evolution of species; without the emergence and prominence of open grasslands in the Miocene, horses as we know them today would almost certainly not

The Quarter horse is very known to be a western riding horse, especially back in the old time western days. Nowadays these horses are most commonly known to be race horses. These horses are used for short distance racing, because they are very fast but only for a short distance. Many people love to watch these horses race

The ferghana horses were a lot better than any other horses and here is why they were a lot better These horses were used for trading and a lot more

The American Quarter Horse is one of the oldest recognized breeds of horses. By the late 17th century, these horses were being raced successfully over quarter mile courses that is why they are called the American Quarter Horse. The Quarter Horse was a breed for performance and had considered thoroughbred blood as well as traits of other lines. In the early 19th century the Quarter Horses were overshadowed by thoroughbred which ran better over longer distances. But, Quarter Horses soon found a new acceptances in the western and southern United States as a stock horse.

english show horses and jumping horses tend to be taller lankier horses. paints get from

"History of Wild Horse." Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2017

The first major change in the evolution of the horse came as the forestland became drier and the grass quality began to change. "The species mesohippus celer appears suddenly in the late Eocene" due to the presence of "new selective forces" (Hunt 1995). Evolution began to favor animals with teeth more adapted to grinding. Mesohippus celer had 6 grinding 'cheek' teeth. Its tooth crests were "well-formed and sharp" (Hunt 1995). It was larger and with longer legs than eohippus, enabling it to have greater speed to move across the open plains. It measured 24 inches at the shoulder and had three toes on both its front and back feet. Its brain was larger than its ancestor (Hunt 1995). A later version of mesohippus called mesohippus westoni was

Horses are incredible creatures that have shaped history around the globe. There are over 150 different breeds of horses that have countless skills. Between their extraordinary intelligence and obedience, horses have worked at the mercy of humans for many different reasons. Their expertise ranges from being one of the fastest modes of transportation on land, to helping fight in wars, herd cattle and even serve as a source of recreation or sport (Duren). Horses have been present throughout all of history up until present day specifically in religions or cultures, war, and their uses in modern times.