Backbone, good temperament were key features of horses that swept the world
The cradle of horse domestication has been revealed. What was so special about these particular animals?
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History
Articles on the history of horses and more.
Horse riding and iron metallurgy drove military evolution – study
The combination of iron metallurgy and horse riding had a particularly strong effect on innovation and adoption of militarily technologies.
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Cradle of horse domestication identified in major international study
Evidence points to the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the heart of horse domestication.
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Old human teeth provide evidence of early horse domestication
“Our discovery indicates that the potential center of horse domestication is the Black Sea-Caspian steppes in the third millennium BC.”
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Racehorse betting magnate’s art and antiques up for auction
Known predominantly for his racehorse betting empire, Selwyn Demmy also rubbed shoulders with pop music icons and amassed a large collection of art and antiques.
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Heart of horse domestication was likely the Pontic-Caspian region, fresh evidence suggests
Study that explored milk consumption among pastoralists provides evidence that could pinpoint where horse domestication arose.
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Two new species of pseudo-horses identified by researchers
The mammals, with unusual dental features, lived about 37 million years ago.
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Ancient horse-training techniques could serve as a blueprint for today – review
Careful feeding, interval training, swimming, massages, blanketing, clipping and turning out to paddocks. It was all happening 4000 years ago.
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I tölt you so: Early horses may have had an impressive range of gaits
“This wide range of gaits available to earlier horses seems to have been reduced in modern breeds through selection and breeding.”
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Researchers cast light on how the ancestors of modern horses moved between continents
Molecular biologists studied the DNA of horses that migrated from North America to Eurasia and back.
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Gene flow between Eurasian and North American horses revealed by ancient DNA
Ancient DNA reveals that horses were not only dispersing between the continents, but they were also interbreeding and exchanging genes.
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Prehistoric horses and bison had similar diets, research shows
Tooth wear offers clues to how a diversity of Ice Age mammals co-existed in Alaska.
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Ancient wolves shifted diet away from horses in successful survival strategy
It was possibly only the ability of gray wolves to adapt their diet to other species that enabled them to the survive beyond the last Ice Age.
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Researchers suggest the Botai people never used horses for transport at all
The Botai may have represented the final chapter in a millennia-long tradition of mass harvesting of wild horses, they said.
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Ancient genomes reveal insights into horse-riding Scythian warriors
A new study analyzes genome-wide data for 111 ancient individuals spanning the Central Asian Steppe.
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The mystery of the Roman cavalry saddle: Did it ever have a wooden tree?
A researcher in Britain has come up with a construction method that questions whether the saddles were ever fitted with wooden elements.
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New revelations on the evolution of the horse revealed in fresh study
Using analysis of ancient DNA sequences, researchers have shown that Hippidion was, in evolutionary terms, close to true horses, with origins considerably more recent than the currently accepted date of around 10 million years ago.
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Ancient Siberian horse remains tested for evidence of paleoviruses
“We hope that paleoviruses will be found at our facilities and interesting discoveries in the world of viruses await us.”
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North American extinctions, including horses, were likely climate driven, say researchers
The loss of some 37 species of megafauna a little over 10,000 years ago cannot be blamed on overhunting by humans, findings suggest.
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African American dominance of early US horse racing in spotlight
The profound impact of Black horseman in US horse racing is being brought to life in a new immersive exhibit at the Kentucky Derby Museum.
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