Horse | Definition, Breeds, Pictures, Evolution, & Facts (2024)

horse, (Equus caballus), a hoofed herbivorous mammal of the family Equidae. It comprises a single species, Equus caballus, whose numerous varieties are called breeds. Before the advent of mechanized vehicles, the horse was widely used as a draft animal, and riding on horseback was one of the chief means of transportation.

General features

In prehistoric times the wild horse was probably first hunted for food. Research suggests that domestication had taken place by approximately 6,000 years ago. It is supposed that the horse was first used by a tribe of Indo-European origin that lived in the steppes north of the chain of mountains adjacent to the Black and Caspian seas. Influenced by climate, food, and humans, the horse rapidly acquired its present form.

The relationship of the horse to humans has been unique. The horse is a partner and friend. It has plowed fields and brought in the harvest, hauled goods and conveyed passengers, followed game and tracked cattle, and carried combatants into battle and adventurers to unknown lands. It has provided recreation in the form of jousts, tournaments, carousels, and the sport of riding. The influence of the horse is expressed in the English language in such terms as chivalry and cavalier, which connote honor, respect, good manners, and straightforwardness.

The horse is the “proudest conquest of Man,” according to the French zoologist Georges-Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon. Its place was at its master’s side in the graves of the Scythian kings or in the tombs of the pharaohs. Many early human cultures were centred on possession of the horse. Superstition read meaning into the colous of the horse, and a horse’s head suspended near a grave or sanctuary or on the gables of a house conferred supernatural powers on the place. Greek mythology created the Centaur, the most obvious symbol of the oneness of horse and rider. White stallions were the supreme sacrifice to the gods, and the Greek general Xenophon recorded that “gods and heroes are depicted on well-trained horses.” A beautiful and well-trained horse was, therefore, a status symbol in ancient Greece. Kings, generals, and statesmen, of necessity, had to be horsem*n. The names of famous horses are inseparably linked to those of their famous riders: Bucephalus, the charger of Alexander the Great; Incitatus, once believed to have been made a senator by the Roman emperor Caligula (see Researcher’s Note); El Morzillo, Hernán Cortés’s favorite horse, to whom the Indians erected a statue; Roan Barbery, the stallion of Richard II, mentioned by Shakespeare; Copenhagen, the duke of Wellington’s horse, which was buried with military honors.

The horse has occupied a special place in the realm of art. From Stone Age drawings to the marvel of the Parthenon frieze, from Chinese Tang dynasty tomb sculptures to Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches and Andrea del Verrocchio’s Colleoni, from the Qurʾān to modern literature, the horse has inspired artists of all ages and in all parts of the world.

The horse in life has served people in travels, wars, and labours and in death has provided many commodities. Long before their domestication, horses were hunted for their flesh, and horsemeat is still consumed by people in parts of Europe and in Iceland and is included in many pet foods. Horse bones and cartilage are used to make glue. Tetanus antitoxin is obtained from the blood serum of horses previously inoculated with tetanus toxoid. From horsehide a number of articles are manufactured, including fine shoes and belts. The cordovan leather fabricated by the Moors in Córdoba, Spain, was originally made from horsehide. Fur coats are made of the sleek coats of foals. Horsehair has wide use in upholstery, mattresses, and stiff lining for coats and suits; high-quality horsehair, usually white, is employed for violin bows. Horse manure, which today provides the basis for cultivation of mushrooms, was used by the Scythians for fuel. Mare’s milk was drunk by the Scythians, the Mongols, and the Arabs.