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The first horse, Eohippus, roamed the planet 58
million years ago. This first horse was barely a foot tall with 4 toes
on the front legs and 3 on the rear. It was adapted to living in and
around swamplands. About 20 million years later, Eohippus evolved into
a larger animal called Mesohippus. The second horse was about 2 feet
tall and had 3 toes on all legs. Increased size meant increased
intelligence and agility. Mesohippus was better adapted to browsing
than was Eohippus. Over the next 38 million years, the horse went
through two more distinct evolutionary periods, Merychippus and Pliohippus,
before emerging as the modern day Equus. Equus has only 1 toe on each
leg, with an elongated foot structure, allowing for greater speed. By
this final stage of evolution, the horse has become adapted to prairie
terrain with teeth suitable to grasses. The horse was one of the last farm animals to be domesticated. It was first used by the nomads of Central Asia as a mount and draft animal. Riding on horseback allowed the nomads to cover more territory and to become superior fighters. The chariot was invented by the Egyptians for war and ease of travel. The Greeks developed the snaffle bit. The Romans became superb horsemen, using them for all of aspects of life. The Arabs first started breeding for specific refinements leading to the creation of the Arabian, Barb and Turk breeds, which were the foundations for most of the modern breeds of horses.
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