There once was a time when horses of all sizes and colors roamed the world side by side. It’s every horse-lover’s dream, right? Though this isn’t the case for us in 2021, it was certainly the case millions of years ago…
As a fellow horse enthusiast, you might find yourself wondering how long these majestic creatures have been around. Horses have an unusually complete history, but it may not be as cut and dry as you’d think! The horses we know today only represent a small fraction of the entire horse family, or the Equidae. This family now consists of horses, donkeys, and zebras. Let’s break down the history of how horses became the lovable creatures we know today.
The Earliest Known Horse
The large and strong horses we know today were not always that way. In fact, the first members of the horse family were the size of a dog! It wasn’t until climate conditions changed and grasslands expanded when horses began to slowly evolve into the strong and sturdy steeds we rely on today.
The earliest known member of the equidae family is now believed to be hyracotherium. Fossils of hyracotherium have been found in the western United States and Europe. This species was only the size of a dog, and was initially mistaken for a monkey due to its size and primitive teeth. This primitive horse had four toes on the front foot and three toes on the hind foot, but horses aren’t the only relative of this species. Other well-known animals, like rhinos, have ancestral binds to the hyracotherium too!
When reconstructed, the hyracotherium was given stripes. This is thought to be a correct assumption because stripes allowed these creatures to blend in and avoid their predators.
The Last Direct Ancestor
It’s been recorded that the earliest known horses evolved 55 million years ago, with multiple horse species living at once. Today we have over 300 breeds of horses, but they’re all the same species, known as Equus ferus. This species is now broken down into just three subspecies of which all horses can be classified by. Sadly, all the other species of horses are now extinct.
Among the many species from the equidae, the dinohippus seemed to be the closest connection. They survived for 6 million years and became extinct an estimated 13-5 million years ago. This species showed many similarities to the equine family in appearance, and its ability to stand for long periods of time without expending a lot of energy. Though the dinohippus had four legs and similar facial features to a horse, this intriguing species only had three toes while some were discovered to only have one. The dinohippus also loved to graze, we guess some things never change!
Now that you know the history of horses, it’s pretty safe to say we’ve got the very best version of them! Through millions of years of evolution, horses have been nearly perfected into the useful, dependable, and adorable companions we know and love today.