History of the Horse - Our First Web Page - Jacquelyn Geyer & Amberleigh Million

HISTORY

HORSES HAVE BEEN AROUND A VERY LONG TIME

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG ?

OKAY....... I know that History for a lot of people is boring, but don't click off ! We will try and get through the scientific stuff quick.

About 50 million years ago some small animals about the size of a big dog roamed the forests. These animals had 4 toes on their front feet and 3 toes on the back feet. It looks funny doesn't it.

Scientists called this animal Eophippus.

As the centuries went by, the horse went through a lot of changes. They were bigger and had longer necks and longer legs. All four feet had only three toes. Scientists like to classify or name creatures so they called this new horse Mesohippus.

Scientists call this new horse Mesohippus.

Thousands of years passed, the three toes changed into one really strong toe and the two extra toes shorten and become part of their lower leg. Remember, it takes a really long time for this to happen. Of course scientist have a name for this new horse, they call him Pliohippus.

Scientists call this latest horse Pliohippus.

This brings us to the place in history when cavemen roamed the earth. Believe it or not cavemen hunted horses for food. No one knows for sure but horses might have been raised like cattle and used for food. They also could have been milked like cows.

About 5000 years ago man must have got tired of walking everywhere and figured out that they might be able to train

and ride their horses!

Once people learned to ride it wasn't long before horses were used to carry soldiers into war. Horses were used to pull chariots in Egypt. Knights in armor rode horses into battle.

Horses are now mainly used for transportation. Rich people, Kings and Queens rode in beautiful coaches pulled by horses.

Now...... this hasn't been too bad has it? This brings us up to the time in history when America was starting out and how horses were a big help in the new land.

HORSES IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Okay..... one of the things I learned about horses in American history was that the Indians didn't have horses until the Spanish brought them to America. You see some of the horses probably escaped and the Indians were able to catch them.

These wild horses were called Mustangs. The Indians were able to tame them. The Indians became very good horsemen.

Horses were used for work in the new colonies. They were brought from Europe to settlements in the east. They were used by early Americans who fought in the American Revolution. They were also used by farmers for planting and other work.

In 1920 there were more than 2 million horses in the United States. Today there are less than 1 million. Our cars, trucks, and tractors have taken the place of the horse. But people will always raise horses for some purpose. Machines will never completely take their place. Remember the cowboys? Cowboys still use their horses everyday and of course race horses will always be popular. If you would like to know more interesting things about horses, just click on FAMOUS HORSES IN HISTORY. Maybe you will pick up a little trivia that will amaze your friends.