13-Mar-2005 11:06
Running Free - A Wild Horse Tale
Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Module 5 | Module 6 | Module 7 | Module Summaries | Self Assessment
| Date Last Revised: 13-Mar-2005 11:06 |
Running Free - A Wild Horse Tale |
Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Module 5 | Module 6 | Module 7 | Module Summaries | Self Assessment |
|
|
Wild Horse Tutorial - Module 1 |
|
Module 1 - Origins of the American Wild Horse (a.k.a. Mustang)EvolutionThe horse we know and love today evolved over 50 millions years ago. The first horses looked more like small dogs, almost greyhound in stature. They had four toes on the front feet and three toes on the back feet with soft pads and thick nails. They lived in North America in the tropical forests, and were very timid. These first horses are called Eohippus ("dawn horse"). Over the next 20 million years, Earth's climate changed and forests shrank and grasslands appeared. The horses evolved into grassland animals. These horses are called Mesohippus. In the next 10-20 million years, horses continued to evolve. They developed longer legs and started to lose their side toes (Merchippus and Pliohippus). By two million years ago, the horses we know today appeared, and are called Equus. About 10,000 years ago, by the end of the last Ice Age, the horse disappeared from North America. Scientists are not exactly sure why they disappeared, but they think they were hunted to extinction.
Spanish ConquistadorsIn the 16th century, the Spanish Conquistadors began to arrive in North and South America. They brought with them horses of Arabian and Barb descent. Some horses escaped, others were turned loose or left behind. These horses are the foundation horses for the American Mustang. The word Mustang actually comes from the Spanish word mestenos, which means "strayed or escaped".
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
