The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus. It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, Eohippus, into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies caballus are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term is used to describe horses that have never been domesticated, such as the endangered Przewalski's horse, a separate subspecies, and the only remaining true wild horse. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behavior.
Odd-toed ungulates, mammals which constitute the taxonomic order Perissodactyla, are hoofed animals—ungulates—which bear most of their weight on one of the five toes: the third toe. The non-weight-bearing toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or positioned posteriorly. By contrast, the even-toed ungulates bear most of their weight equally on two of the five toes: their third and fourth toes. Another difference between the two is that odd-toed ungulates digest plant cellulose in their intestines rather than in one or more stomach chambers as the even-toed ungulates do.
The quagga was a plains zebra that lived in South Africa until becoming extinct late in the 19th century. It was long thought to be a distinct species, but early genetic studies have supported it being a subspecies of plains zebra. A more recent study suggested that it was merely the southernmost ecotype of the species. The name was derived from its call, which sounded like "kwa-ha-ha".
A number of hypotheses exist on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat.
Przewalski's horse, Equus przewalskii or Equus ferus przewalskii, also called the Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse native to the steppes of central Asia. At one time extinct in the wild, it has been reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia at the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, and Khomiin Tal. The taxonomic position is still debated, with some taxonomists treating Przewalski's horse as a species, E. przewalskii, others as a subspecies of wild horse or a feral variety of the domesticated horse.
The tarpan, also known as Eurasian wild horse, was a subspecies of wild horse. It is now extinct. The last individual believed to be of this subspecies died in captivity in the Russian Empire during 1909, although some sources claim that it was not a genuine wild horse due to its resemblance to domesticated horses.
A horse is a hoofed mammal of the species Equus ferus caballus.
Equus is a genus of mammals in the family Equidae, which includes horses, donkeys, and zebras. Within Equidae, Equus is the only recognized extant genus, comprising seven living species. The term equine refers to any member of this genus, including horses. Like Equidae more broadly, Equus has numerous extinct species known only from fossils. The genus most likely originated in North America and spread quickly to the Old World. Equines are odd-toed ungulates with slender legs, long heads, relatively long necks, manes, and long tails. All species are herbivorous, and mostly grazers, with simpler digestive systems than ruminants, but able to subsist on lower-quality vegetation.
Smokie are an English rock band from Bradford, Yorkshire. The band found success at home and abroad after teaming up with Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn. They have had a number of line-up changes and were still actively touring in 2018. Their most popular hit single, "Living Next Door to Alice", peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and, in March 1977, reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other hit singles include "If You Think You Know How to Love Me", "Oh Carol", "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone", and "I'll Meet You at Midnight".
Wolf generally refers to the gray wolf, Canis lupus.
The Atlas wild ass, also known as Algerian wild ass, is a purported extinct subspecies of the African wild ass that was once found across North Africa and parts of the Sahara.
The Heck horse is a horse breed that is claimed to resemble the tarpan, an extinct wild equine. The breed was created by the German zoologist brothers Heinz Heck and Lutz Heck in an attempt to breed back the tarpan. Although unsuccessful at creating a genetic copy of the extinct species, they developed a breed with grullo coloration and primitive markings. After the Nazi invasion of Poland, they were introduced to the Białowieża Forest, where a small herd still survives. Heck horses were subsequently exported to the United States, where a breed association was created in the 1960s.
Tarpan is an extinct Eurasian wild horse.
The history of horse domestication has been subject to much debate, with various competing theories over time about how domestication of the horse occurred. The main point of contention was whether the domestication of the horse occurred once in a single domestication event, or that the horse was domesticated independently multiple times. The debate was resolved at the beginning of the 21st century using DNA evidence that favored a mixed model in which domestication of the stallion most likely occurred only once, while wild mares of various regions were included in local domesticated herds.
