Earthly Equine Evolution

[labelwench]

Somewhere, tucked away, I have a rare old book of horse breeds that lists over 400, although today, since the advent of the internal combustion engine, there are about 267 +/-.

It is no wonder that the true origins of the horse are shrouded in mystery when one observes that much change in such a brief period of time, mostly at the whim of our species. Our co-evolution with this magnificent species deserves far more study, for we owe our rapid advancement to this noble creature which has served us for thousands of years, providing food, warmth, transportation and a formidable force in combat, law enforcement and emergency services. Even today, specially trained horses are used in crowd control and selective logging.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publics...icle827557.ece

Modern types
AQPS ("Autre Que Pur-Sang"), French designation for riding horses "other than Thoroughbred," usually referring to the Anglo-Arabian, Selle Francais and other Thoroughbred crosses.
Baroque horse, includes heavily muscled, powerful, yet agile Classical dressage breeds such as the Lipizzaner, Friesian, Andalusian, and Lusitano.
Cob (horse)
Canadian Cutting Horse
Colonial Spanish Horse, the original Jennet-type horse brought to North America, now with a number of modern descendants with various breed names.
Draft horse or Draught horse
Feral horse, a horse living in the wild, but descended from once-domesticated ancestors. Most "wild" horses today are actually feral. The only true wild (never domesticated) horse in the world today is the Przewalski's horse.
Gaited horse, term used to describe any of a number of breeds with an intermediate speed four-beat ambling gait, including the Tennessee Walker, Paso Fino, and many others.
German Warmblood or ZfDP, collective term for any of the various warmblood horses of Germany, of which some may be registered with the nation-wide German Horse Breeding Society (ZfDP).
Grade horse, a term used to describe a horse of unknown or mixed breed parentage.
Hack, a basic riding horse, particularly in the UK, also includes Show hack horses used in competition.
Heavy warmblood, heavy carriage and riding horses, predecessors to the modern warmbloods, several old-style breeds still in existence today.
Hunter, a type of jumping horse, either a show hunter or a field hunter
Hunter pony, a show hunter or show jumping animal under 14.2 hands, may be actually of a horse or pony breed, height determines category of competition.
Iberian horse, encompassing horse and pony breeds developed in the Iberian peninsula, including the Andalusian, Alter Real, Lusitano and others.
Iranian horse, a subgroup of horse breeds believed to have developed from ancestral Persian stock
Mountain and moorland or "M&M" is a general term which covers several breeds of horse native to the British Isles.
Riding Pony, a term used in the United Kingdom to describe certain types of show ponies.
Sport horse or Sporthorse, includes any breeds suitable for use in assorted international competitive disciplines governed by the FEI.
Stock horse, heavily-muscled riding horses of several different breeds, suitable for working cattle. Not to be confused with the breed Australian Stock Horse
Warmblood, a group of Sport horse breeds developed for modern Dressage and other Olympic disciplines, including the Dutch Warmblood, Hanoverian (horse), Swedish Warmblood, Westphalian (horse), etc.
Windsor Grey, the gray carriage horses of British Royalty.
[edit] Archaic types
See also: Horses in Warfare and Horses in the Middle Ages

Prior to approximately the 13th century, few pedigrees were written down, and horses were classified by physical type or use. Thus, many terms for Horses in the Middle Ages did not describe breeds as we know them today, but rather described appearance or purpose. These terms included:
Charger, see Courser (horse)
Courser (horse)
Destrier or "Great Horse"
Hobby, see Irish Hobby
Jennet, sometimes called Spanish Jennet
Palfrey
Rouncey

The "Four Foundations" wild prototypes
Main articles: Evolution of the horse#The "Four Foundations" theory and Domestication of the horse

These are the original wild prototypes from which domesticated breeds are believed to have developed.
"Warmblood subspecies" or Forest Horse, also called Diluvial horse (Equus ferus silvaticus)
"Oriental" subspecies, (Equus agilis)
"Draft" subspecies
Tarpan subspecies
Extinct breeds

These were human-developed breeds, now no longer in existence
Chapman horse
Ferghana horse
Galloway pony
Karacabey (horse)
Irish Hobby
Jennet, or Spanish Jennet
Mazury (horse)
Narragansett Pacer
Neapolitan horse
Nisean horse
Norfolk Trotter, also called the Norfolk Roadster, Yorkshire Trotter or Yorkshire Roadster
Öland horse
Old English Black horse
Pozan
Tundra Horse
Turkoman Horse also known as Turkemene. The Akhal-Teke may be a direct descendant.
Yorkshire Coach Horse

I, too, can get 'long-of-wind' on a favored topic, lol....

[RascalPuff]

Dear LW:
Over 600 Horse Breeds Listed so far:

http://www.theequinest.com/breeds/

All of the listed horses in blue lettering can be clicked on and beheld in still and moving pictures.

Doncha' just love it?

(Figured you would. Hee haw! )

Thanks for the inspiration. : )

Best regards,
- Kai

[labelwench]

Dear LW:
Over 600 Horse Breeds Listed so far:

http://www.theequinest.com/breeds/

Thanks for the inspiration. : )

Best regards,
- Kai

Excellent link, Kai.

A quick glance, and I observe the inclusion of many 'crossbred' species, so when one allows for such addition, the number of possibilities increase dramatically. My earlier link was somewhat less inclusive as scientists also debate where to draw the line on what constitutes a species, and which then should be classified within that species.

That all are of common ancestry at some point up the line, does seem most likely.

Kind regards,

LW

[labelwench]

The clatter of small hooves and a shrill "Ehh,ehh,ehh?" voiced repeatedly were the indications that Handy had gotten himself into a matter of difficulty. The sound carried through the 12 inch thick walls of the log cabin, and as I stepped out the back door, I wondered why I did not hear the mare calling out in reassurance to her foal.

The foal had wriggled through a space between the rails of a pen designed for mature animals and was now in with his aunt. A small welt on his ribcage looked suspiciously like a kick, and my best guess was that he had tried to nurse Caramel, and gotten soundly whacked for violations of personal space, of which the foal would be unaware, and the two mares looked much alike, and likely smelled similar also as they were by the same sire and dam.

Handy had now spotted Madelaine 100 yards away, calmly grazing and quite unconcerned about her wandering youngster. She could see and hear that there was no threat nearby and she was fueling up, as her foal was a prodigious nurser. He was running up and down the fence calling in concern, but was unable to locate the same gap by which he had entered the pen.

As I went to be of assistance, Caramel came to join me. I escorted her into the adjoining pen, and closed the gate, after which I opened the outer gate of the pen that Handy was in and just waited for him to notice. He has much experience of openings, and as soon as he quit gazing in the direction of his mother, and glanced around, he spotted the opening and scooted through. He was making small sounds of relief as he dashed over to rejoin her, whereupon he immediately nursed in reassurance.

A most interesting and experienced mare, is Madelaine. My previous brood mares were most anxious whenever their foal called out, and I attribute the difference in personality to Madelaine's former herd life and interactions with multiple species in a variety of circumstances.

Experience truly is the best teacher, it would seem.

[RascalPuff]

* From Free animation library :http://www.animationlibrary.com/a-l/

Handy on his first solo outing?

[labelwench]

* From Free animation library :http://www.animationlibrary.com/a-l/

Handy on his first solo outing?

Actually, his first solo outing was within minutes of birth, as he rolled out under a fence designed for adult horses, rather than the foal pen, his arrival being a few days earlier than anticipated by the standard 'birth charts'.

This would be more of a solo inning, as he entered into the enclosure of Caramel, which must have taken some alacrity in the raising of his legs to 'limbo' through the rails, spaced with proper consideration for each application and occupant.

Fortunately, aside from a shot to the ribs for improper conduct as becomes a horse, he suffered no serious harm, and his aunt found him to be quite good company. It was the call of his stomach which was eliciting the cries of concern, as foals nurse approximately every 20 minutes during the first few months of birth.

Even as adults, they prefer to nibble frequently, and many of the health problems experienced by the domestic horse are directly related to long periods between meals (ulcers) and over-feeding of concentrates which can lead to colic or founder, with severe injury to the hooves as a result, the exact relation between digestion and circulation still not fully comprehended by Science, even today.

A grass hay of good quality and low protein content is a safe alternative, with free access to water and a trace mineral salt block. Concentrates, in moderation, and in small servings can be added as and when required, as when a mare is nursing, a growing foal, or a horse in heavy training.

Off to indulge in some heavy training at present.

Ta-Ra.......until later.......

Thank you for your posts, which are always most interesting.

[labelwench]

A typical young lad, Handy has managed to get himself 'grounded' or at the least, no more unsupervised privileges, lol...

The colt and his dam were happily out on grazing the other day, and I was inside the house, observing on occasion as the two would amble by one of the windows, as they enjoyed their natural equine lifestyle.

When I went to retrieve them, they were not immediately to be found. I called out and searched the immediate few acres without result, with lead rope in hand, deciding that I would have to saddle up Caramel for a second time that day and go in search of the missing horses, something that has never happened prior, as my horses are not inclined to wander from their premises. On occasion a gate has been left unlatched, a tree fall on the fence, or a horse break a rail allowing the occupant to escape, yet any and all have come to me upon my arrival on the scene.

I was just pondering the most likely direction to begin my search, when I heard some noise in the bush along the fence-line at the furthest edge of the back paddock. Mare and foal had been on the cut-line bordering the neighbors, the curious foal attracted by the sound of the folks working in their yard. Madelaine, of course, had no option but to go along with her errant son as even a Mother horse cannot restrain a willful young man, merely be on hand to assist where and when possible.

I was much relieved that I did not have to ride off in pursuit of the two horses as such endeavor would have seriously cut into my rest time and leave me sleep-deprived for work, lol.....

However, the grazing at liberty policy has now been determined to be up for review.

[RascalPuff]

A HORSE'S TALE, by Mark Twain:

http://www.readbookonline.net/title/228/

[labelwench]

A HORSE'S TALE, by Mark Twain:

http://www.readbookonline.net/title/228/

Thank you for the link to the book, Kai. I look forward to reading it when we have a few rainy days. The present mission is the training of young Handy, continuation of Madelaine's schooling, keeping Caramel fitted for our journey up the mountain pending, caring for the garden and doing some major fencing repairs, as such have gotten in arrears as I have been finding my stride with this bizarre schedule of the last 10 months, and working nights for the last five years.

My fences were originally constructed with poles from the clearing and improvement of this rural acreage. Though there continues to be no shortage of fencing poles on this land, the time to fall the trees with a chainsaw, limb them with an ax and skid them in before deploy to their ultimate purpose, is a luxury of time I no longer have.

This day, I went by the lumberyard and purchased 60 pieces of 2 x 6 x 12 feet, to be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I weighed the cost of 20 hours of my work in an air-conditioned building against the sweat equity of logging in the heat, combating the bugs who are much ired by such disturbance.

It was an easy decision, primarily because I have so little riding time as is, and we are having a year more fair than many previous.

An example of 'Cowgirl Logic', lol.....

A song for you....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw25PDNuiA8

[RascalPuff]

DIAGRAM SHOWING SEVEN STAGES IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE FORE-LIMBS AND HIND-LIMBS OF THE ANCESTORS OF THE MODERN HORSE, BEGINNING WITH THE EARLIEST KNOWN PREDECESSORS OF THE HORSE AND CULMINATING WITH THE HORSE OF TO-DAY
(After Marsh and Lull.)
1 and 1A, fore-limb and hind-limb of Eohippus; 2 and 2A, Orohippus; 3 and 3A, Mesohippus; 4 and 4A, Hypohippus; 5 and 5A, Merychippus; 6 and 6A, Hipparion; 7 and 7A, the modern horse. Note how the toes shorten and disappear.