Mammals · Perissodactyla · Equidae

Horse

Equus caballus

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The domestic horse is a perissodactyl of the horse family, domesticated some 4,200 years ago on the Pontic steppe, north of the Black Sea. It is a grazing herbivore with hypsodont dentition and a digestive system that ferments in the caecum. Its domestication transformed transport, farming and war. There are more than 300 breeds, from the Shetland pony to the Shire draught horse. The only truly wild horse left is Przewalski's.

Weight

200 kg – 1 t

Size

2 m – 2.8 m

Lifespan

27 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Herd

Lives in large groups as a strategy against predators.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

GrasslandHerbivore Diurnal In herds Grassland Mammal

9same family

Fun facts

It sleeps standing up thanks to the stay apparatus of its limbs, a system of tendons and ligaments that locks the joints with no muscular effort; it lies down only for deep sleep.
It cannot vomit: the cardiac sphincter is so strong that it prevents reflux, which is what makes colic so serious.
Its origin was settled in 2021, after decades of debate. Analysis of 273 ancient genomes placed the ancestors of all today's domestic horses on the steppes of western Eurasia, in the lower basins of the Volga and the Don, about 4,200 years ago.
The Botai horses of Kazakhstan, which show bit wear from 5,500 years ago and were considered the first domestic horses, turned out not to be ancestors of modern ones: they are relatives of Przewalski's horse.
From 2000 BC that new lineage spread across Eurasia within a few centuries and replaced almost all the others, coinciding with the appearance of the spoke-wheeled chariot of the Sintashta culture.
Selection concentrated on two genes, GSDMC and ZFPM1, linked to back strength and temperament: more docile horses with a better back — in other words, easier to ride.
The tarpan and Przewalski's horse do not descend from the same ancestral population as the domestic horse.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Grassland, steppe and prairie; today tied to livestock holdings worldwide
Sexual maturity: 2.5 years
Gestation / incubation: 11.1 months
Litter / clutch size: 1
Lifespan in captivity: 35

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equus_ferus_caballus