Animals Then & Now

Domestication

4000 BCE

Horses were domesticated 6,000 years ago on the grasslands of Ukraine, southwest Russia and west Kazakhstan, a genetic study shows.

Where Domesticated

4000 BCE

Horses were domesticated 6,000 years ago on the grasslands of Ukraine, southwest Russia and west Kazakhstan, a genetic study shows. Domestic horses then spread across Europe and Asia, breeding with wild mares along the way

Interesting Facts

3300 BCE

Horses have been domesticated for over 5000 years, they can sleep both lying down and standing up, they have around 205 bones in their skeleton, an adult’s horse brain weighs 22 oz, horses can’t vomit, they like sweet flavors

Past Uses

2000 BCE

Horses and other animals were used to pull wheeled vehicles, chariots, carts and wagons and horses were increasingly used for riding in the Near East from at least c. 2000 BC onwards. Horses were used in war, in hunting and as a means of transport.

Important Event

348 BCE

The horse owner Kyniska becomes the first woman to win a victor's crown at the Olympic Games. Philip II of Macedon wins the horse race at the Olympic Games. Philip II of Macedon wins the chariot race at the Olympic Games and retains the crown in 348 BCE. Alexander tames Bucephalus, his war horse.

Hyracotherium

1 BCE

The first members of the horse family, the dog-sized Hyracotherium, were scampering through the forests that covered North America

Hagerman Horse

1 BCE

It it also called the Hagerman zebra. This animal is considered one of the oldest species of the horse kind. It appeared about 3 and a half million years ago. These wild horses are thought to have gone extinct about 10,000 years ago due to climate change

Adaptations

1 BCE

However, for the general habitat of a flat grassy plain, the horse has evolved over millions of years by elongating its legs, altering its molars, and developing hooves.Over time, horses became larger and developed higher-crowned teeth. They changed from having three toes, known as tridactyl, to having a single toe, called monodactyly.

Present Uses

1970

They have been used by humans in many different ways for travel, work, food, and pleasure and showing. Cavalry horses were used in war until the middle-20th century. They are used for riding and transport. They are also used for carrying things or pulling carts, or to help plow farmer's fields in agriculture.