evolution of the horse?

Question

I want to know how we have domesticated, the thoroughbred horse & how we have applied this adaption to race horses.

Answer 1

That's just the domestication of the horse.

The evolution of what we'd call a horse began with galloping creatures which still had 5 toes (now its down to one) something like 100,000,000 years ago - they were the size of dogs and got chased and eaten by giant flightless birds.

Answer 2

There are 2 steps to understanding this.

Horses were first domesticated around 5000 years ago, most likely on the Steppes now found in modern Ukraine and maybe from as few as 30-40 mares. The early domestics were much like their wild counterparts about 14 hands and probably dun coloured. These domestic horses were then introduced across Europe and Asia and later to other parts of the world.

The breed in the UK which probably most closely resembles an ancient domestic horse is a highland pony, about 14hh with eel stripes on its legs a feature which has disappeared from modern breeds. Early domestic horses diverged into different breeds, partly through different environments they lived in and partly through the intervention of humans. The native ponies in Britain demonstrate this variation well.

You need to fast-forward to the 18th century before the thoroughbred is created. All modern thoroughbreds are descended from just three stallions, the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian, these Arabian horses were crossed with mares from local stocks of 'running ponies' with the express intention of creating faster race horses. All of the original crosses were recorded in 'The Stud Book' and the ancestry of every thoroughbred is known. No horse may race today unless it is registered in the stud book and its ancestry recorded.

It was a process of selection of the fastest horses, selected for breeding the next generation that created the modern thoroughbred with its light frame and athletic ability. Things haven't changed all that much, breeding stock are still selected from their racing performance, although horses have not got any faster in the last 50 years.

Answer 3

Horses have been domesticated as far back as human history can remember, with ancient cave painting depicting spear throwing humans on the backs of horses. Race horses are actually a throwback to a wilder side of horses, as the "spirit" of the horse is what drives it to run faster than the other horses and win. Race horses are notoriously cantankerous, and only occasionally become suited for regular riding after they are retired from racing.

Answer 4

It seems to me you asking about more recent changes than the long evolutionary history of the horse.
Recent changes in domesticated species are directed by people. If you want to have a horse with certain characteristics, you select the horses that are the nearest to having that characteristic and breed them. This is why a winning horse is retired to become the genetic donor to future generations. Miniature horses were made by selecting small horses for breeding and then continuing the process with the subsequent offspring.

Answer 5

Take care not to confuse evolution - a natural process, with selective breeding. Many of our domesticated animals would not fare well in the wild and hence could not have developed through evolution.

Answer 6

The evolution of the horse was proven wrong a long time ago. I know where they are still using this but they are lying to you. It is false.....

Answer 7

I never saw a horse evolve at all, nor did anyone else.

Answer 8

through selective breeding to try for the outcome of fastest best endurance animal

Answer 9

I am definitely in the wroing category....is Anthropology two doors down or something????