The History and Consequences of Domestication of the Horse

If you’ve ever owned an animal, you know that being around them can be extremely therapeutic. After a stressful day at work or school, it is always nice to come home to your pet and feel comforted by them. Many dog owners even claim that their dogs can feel their pain. However, if you speak to anyone who has been spent their life around horses, they’ll tell you that the connection between horse and rider is unlike any other. Norwegian researcher Anita Maurstad explains in a recent article, that over time horse and rider can become so attuned to each other that they develop a state of co-being. Maurstad also found, through research, that horses appear to learn to relate to humans in ways that provide them with a good quality of life. A recent study from Washington State university has concluded that kids who work with horses have significantly lower stress levels. In addition to these, there have been numerous other studies that show that working with horses decreases blood pressure, reduced feelings of anger, tension, and anxiety. Riding horses also allows you to gain feelings of self esteem, empowerment, patience, and trust. Because of the overwhelming positive effects that horses seem to have, horses are no longer being used just for recreational or agricultural

Some people think of them as animals. Some people think of them as objects. Some people think of them as friends. Then there are the few who think of them as family. Horses have always been like family to humans, except sometimes closer. There are many benefits to owning or being around horses. They come in many different colors. There is a multitude of breeds, also. Additionally, they have a long history with humans. Horses have unique behaviors. Showing horses has been the past-time or even career of many people. Furthermore, caring for horses can be a handful, but is definitely rewarding. Finally, riding horses is not just a hobby or a sport, but an action of your heart. Horses are wondrous creatures that have lived with man or

Evidence is concrete examples of raw materials – how we interpret them is an important key when studying history. Evolution and the Kennewick Man will be discussed.

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.

The benefits are not only felt by horse owners in short supply of money; recently in Europe, the supply of meat from traditional sources, such as cattle, sheep and pigs has dwindled due to epidemics in the herds, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy  or "mad cow" disease, as well as hoof and mouth disease.

The horse left a large impression on the lives of the Plains Indians; however, the real question being viewed is how this animal impacted the lives of, more specifically, the Sioux, Comanche, and Apache Plains Indians. Life before the introduction of the horse was a challenge. The Sioux’s constant migration with the buffalo required long days and created the need for a tool like the horse in order to better the living standards. The Comanche Indians were extraordinary horsemen once the horse was introduced to them allowing hunting and gathering to become more efficient. The Apache Indians were known for their fighting skills and warrior-like attributes. When they encountered the Spanish conquistadors and saw their use of the horse, strong desires for this animal swept over the Apache population and quickly lead to the trade and even theft of the horse. It boosted the abilities to fight for these Indians and provided them with a tool that made them, in their opinion, almost invincible. This information is being derived from a source that covers every Plains Indian tribe and accurately expresses the actions of these Indians. Without a bias, it describes that advantages and disadvantages of each tribe, and in this case, explains the actions of the Apache Indians. Even with this advantage, however, the Comanche Indians still seemed to have an advantage over the Apache Tribe. This efficiency as well as addition to the Indian tribes allowed for these societies to feel more

The domestication of animals by humans is an early example of eugenics. Animals were used for hunting, warning system against predators, and overall companionship. (History of Eugenics) Humans at the time wanted a powerful animal, that was able to protect their owner, and help be able to produce food and clothing Obviously a strong animal does not come from handicapped ancestry, rather it comes from a far more adaptive origin. Early day humans exchanged this idea that the fittest animal comes from the fittest parents. This idea of superior origin was used in animal husbandry (History of Eugenics). For instance, a cattle that could produce twice as much milk and supply a strong hide, would obviously out weigh its less useful

The spread and use of guns and horses, transformed relations of power between colonists and natives. On the other hand, it transformed relations of power between different native populations. Guns and horses allowed the Osages, Comanches and Sioux to become powerful native polities on the plains. Other native communities such as the Pawnees were weakened. In addition, the lives of the tribes had been changed after the introduction of horses to Plains Native Americans. The coming of horses boosted the development of local transport and economies because the horses allowed the Indians to transport larger amount of goods and crops. Also, the horses could pull much larger and heavier loads on travois than dogs or people could. On the other hands,

The introduction of horses has changed the lifestyle of Indians dramatically. The change, however, has a good and a bad side. In the article, Hämäläinen indicated that “Horses did bring new possibilities, prosperity, and power to Plains Indians, but they also brought destabilization, dispossession, and destruction” (834). It happened in the late sixteenth century when the Spanish approached the Great Plain. The horse changed the lives of buffalo hunters who turned to hunt for trade from that for survival. “The core of Comancbe pastoralism was intensive trade in horses and mules, which was stimulated by a shifting political and economic geography” (Hämäläinen, 837). The tribes of the southern Plains had to make a balance between the trade economy based on horses and the subsistence economy based on bison. The southern Plains Indians became pastoral people who mainly lived on hunting and horse keeping. On the positive side, the horse has brought wealth to Southern Plains Indians. On the negative side, it ended up as a disaster for the grassland ecology and led to famine and drought.

“I predict that the natural hoof care practitioner of the future will be less of a trimmer, than a diagnostician of healthy changes in the hoof and an expert at creating natural behavioral stimuli in the track that serve the adaptation mechanism”(Jackson). What I will be talking about in this research paper is shoeing horses. Contemplating the workings of horse hooves, I found that a horse being shod does not hurt the hoof like so many would argue because when a horse is working on hard ground - the wearing down of the hoof is greater than the hoof growth and protection prevents soreness. My main points throughout this paper will be the history of horseshoes, different types of hooves, how natural selection has been prevalent in Mustangs,

Did you know that the average lifespan of a horse could range from 20-45 years? Horses have been domesticated in Eurasia since 4000 BC and were believed to be domesticated across the world by 3000 BC. They have evolved from a small, multi-toed animal called Eohippus into what they are today. In this essay, I will be showing you how two different breeds of horses, the Akhal Teke and shire, and how they can be so different although they are both horses. The differences and similarities between the Akhal Teke and the Shire are striking and deserve through examination. Some examples would be how they show, their physical appearance,

The adoption of the horses by native americans, after the intial impact, increased rapidly and proved a major implement of change for the nomadic

If you know much about horses, and I say domestic horses live an average of about thirty years, you would likely agree. If I were to follow that statement by telling you that those living in the wild tend to live much closer to forty years, you would probably be shocked. “How could that be?” you would ask. “We have medicine and we take care of them! How could horses living without such things survive longer?” It is becoming increasingly obvious as new studies are performed, and new information is found, that some of our basic traditions in horse care may actually be doing more harm than good. One such practices is that of having them shod. After experiencing living with horses who have been shod and those who have not, as well as after much

This topic makes sense for Modern Farmer because it offers information related to horses that even the most avid equine lover probably does not know.

For example, horses aren't taught how to control their breathing they just do it and that way it either saves or distroys their energy, horses only breath through their two nostrils, when racing dust and dirt are rised into their nostrils and causes them to inhale that dirt and it is then taken into their lungs resulting a chronic rhinitis (inflamed nose). The end result is a swollen, inflamed nasal passage, more importantly, the combination of swelling, inflammation and thick secretions increases air flow resistance, which can lead to poor performance and other