The domestic horse is a large, social, hoofed mammal domesticated from wild horse lineages and widely used by humans for riding, work, sport, and companionship. The horse is a four-legged herd animal. Various breeds of the animal have been domesticated and are used for work, riding and as a source of food and milk.

Understanding the Context

Historically, the domestication of horses helped humans to spread across the world and also improved their ability to farm. There are more than 300 breeds of horse in the world today, developed for many different uses. Horses and humans interact in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits as well as in working activities such as police work, agriculture, entertainment, and therapy. Horse - Evolution, Domestication, Anatomy: The history of the horse family, Equidae, began during the Eocene Epoch.

Key Insights

Eohippus (Hyracotherium) was the first ancestral horse to appear. While the horse is intelligent among nonhuman animals, it is safe to say that the horse is more concerned with the functioning of its acute sensory reception and its musculature than with mental processes. Horses are large mammals characterized by their powerful musculature, long legs, and strong hooves. Their skeletal structure is uniquely adapted for running, with flexible joints and a spring‑like ligament system that helps absorb shock. Learn about the 30 most popular horse breeds found in the world today - presented below in an alphabetical order - horse breeds A to Z.

Final Thoughts

Wild horses have been known since prehistory from central Asia to Europe, with domestic horses and other equids being distributed more widely in the Old World, but no horses or equids of any type were found in the New World when European explorers reached the Americas.