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55 million years ago
In the tropical rain forests of North America
A Hyracotherium is a leaf-eating mammal about the size of a dog.

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Hyracotherium, the ancestor of the modern horse, first appeared in the early Eocene epoch in the forests of North America. Also known as Eohippus, the "Dawn Horse", it was the size of a small dog. Unlike horses today, this primitive horse had several toes on each foot.

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13-15,000 years ago
Bering Land Bridge
Horses crossed here and spread to asia and all over America.

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Horses and other large mammals who lived on Alaska's massive northern slope during the last ice age relied on the land bridge across what is now the Bering Strait to cope with the rapid climate changes that characterized the period, according to researchers.

It allowed them to move between different continental habitats during what the study team described as boom and bust cycles.

Short periods of warm climate during the last ice age triggered these boom-and-bust cycles in the populations of large mammals in the Arctic, the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Many large mammals became extinct when these cycles and the ice age ended and spreading peatlands and rising sea levels restricted the animals' ability to move between continents.

Scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of California examined the age and abundance of the bones of megafauna - a term for mammals weighing more than 100 pounds - on Alaska's North Slope, a tundra region between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean.

By radiocarbon dating the fossils and comparing their ages and abundances to climate records spanning the past 40,000 years, the researchers reconstructed a picture of what happened to horses, woolly mammoths, steppe bison and other mammals in Alaska's Arctic.

"We wanted to know how these large animals responded to the rapid climatic changes that characterized that period of Earth's history," said lead author Daniel Mann, an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

To do this, the study team tested a hypothesis suggested by retired paleontologist Dale Guthrie that megafaunal populations experienced boom-and-bust cycles during the ice age as the vegetation tracked climate change.

The last ice age, which began about 80,000 years ago and ended around 12,000 years ago, was a time of diverse climates, Mann said.

The results of the 20-year study show that animal and plant communities were much more changeable during the ice age than they have been during the last 12,000 years of interglacial climate in which we live today.

"This has been a long-term effort, and it has resulted in a much larger data set of bones from one given area than anybody else has ever compiled," said co-author Groves, a wildlife biologist with the university's Institute of Arctic Biology.

During the last ice age, a lowered sea level drained the Bering Strait, the narrow seaway now separating Alaska and Asia.

Being able to move back and forth across Bering Strait was probably what kept the large Arctic mammals thriving for so long, Mann said. This travel corridor allowed mammals to come to Alaska when their favored foods - grasses, sedges, and rushes - thrived during warm periods.

The corridor also allowed mammals to leave Alaska for greener pastures when prolonged periods of warmer, wetter climate allowed peat to spread, which cooled the ground and discouraged the grass, sedges and rushes from growing.

"Counterintuitively, rapid climate changes during the ice age were, at times, highly beneficial for megafauna when rapid warming allowed grasses and forbs to briefly spread before peatlands had a chance to take over the landscape and degrade forage quality," Groves said.

When the planet's big ice sheets collapsed at the end of the last ice age, their melting caused global sea levels to rise as much as 100 meters in roughly 10,000 years, which is fast in geological time, Mann noted.

"In the case of northern Alaska, the rising seas flooded the Bering Strait, which changed the climate of the North Slope," Mann said.

"Summers became wetter and cooler because the sea was much closer. This encouraged the spread of organic soils and peat at the same time that it cut off access between Asia and Alaska."

The animals could not migrate elsewhere because ice sheets were still blocking their way to the east.

Mann became interested in the study when he and other researchers went to archaeological sites on the North Slope in 1994 to see what ice-age humans were eating.

He said they did not find much evidence of humans on the North Slope, which suggested they weren't a driving factor in the mass extinction of the large mammals.

However, the researchers did find more than 4000 bones of ancient ice-age animals during the last two decades. The bones are now archived in the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

It took two decades to collect enough bones for the study and then several more years to figure out the statistical methods needed to analyze the radiocarbon data, Mann said.

Groves continued: "One of the contributions of research like this is helping humans understand the challenges large animals face today from climate change. It's a testimony to the value of doing long-term research."

Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro, of the University of California Santa Cruz, who was also a part of the study, said: "We've known for some time that the population sizes of these animals fluctuated throughout the last ice age. What this study provides is a possible explanation for these changes."

The study's conclusions have implications for present-day extinctions.

Sharpiro said: "As human populations grow, patches of suitable habitat for many species are becoming increasingly isolated from each other. If we are to preserve these species, we will need to devise strategies that allow these populations to remain somehow connected."

Mann says Arctic climates are particularly unstable and are changing rapidly today. "This means the Arctic is an interesting place to study how climate changes cause extinctions, and the past gives us many interesting examples of extinction there. Plus, bones are exceptionally well-preserved because of the frozen ground."

Based on current evidence, the regional extinction of the ice-age megafauna was complete in arctic Alaska around 12,000 years ago, leaving caribou, the tundra muskox, and brown bears as the only surviving megafaunal species.

Of the Pleistocene species, horses and steppe bison survived the longest. The most recent horse lived between 12,400 and 12,700 years ago. They said there was no direct paleontological evidence in the form of dated bones in mainland Alaska supporting claims based on ancient DNA that mammoths and horses survived as recently as 7500 years ago.

Their research pinpointed a surge in horse numbers on the North Slope of Alaska from around 40,000 years ago during these boom and bust cycles.

The project was supported by the National Science Foundation and the US Bureau of Land Management.

Life and extinction of megafauna in the ice-age Arctic
Daniel H. Mann, Pamela Groves, Richard E. Reanier, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Michael L. Kunz, and Beth Shapiro.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1516573112

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Land bridge helped ice-age horses and other mammals survive for millennia - Horsetalk.co.nz

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Horses and other large mammals who lived on Alaska's massive northern slope during the last ice age relied on the land bridge across what is now the Bering Strait to cope with the rapid climate changes that characterized the period, according to researchers.

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More than 17,000 years ago
In France
Cave paintings by early humans in Lascaux that beautifully display horses.

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In collaboration with Noël Coye, Conservateur du patrimoine, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, France.

Lascaux is famous for its Palaeolithic cave paintings, found in a complex of caves in the Dordogne region of southwestern France, because of their exceptional quality, size, sophistication and antiquity. Estimated to be up to 20,000 years old, the paintings consist primarily of large animals, once native to the region. Lascaux is located in the Vézère Valley where many other decorated caves have been found since the beginning of the 20th century (for example Les Combarelles and Font-de-Gaume in 1901, Bernifal in 1902). Lascaux is a complex cave with several areas (Hall of the Bulls, Passage gallery) It was discovered on 12 September 1940 and given statutory historic monument protection in december of the same year. In 1979, several decorated caves of the Vézère Valley - including the Lascaux cave - were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. But these hauntingly beautiful prehistoric cave paintings are in peril. Recently, in Paris, over 200 archaeologists, anthropologists and other scientists gathered for an unprecedented symposium to discuss the plight of the priceless treasures of Lascaux, and to find a solution to preserve them for the future. The Symposium took place under the aegis of France's Ministry of Culture and Communication, and presided over by Dr. Jean Clottes.

Sections have been identified in the cave; the Great Hall of the Bulls, the Lateral Passage, the Shaft of the Dead Man, the Chamber of Engravings, the Painted Gallery, and the Chamber of Felines. The cave contains nearly 2,000 figures, which can be grouped into three main categories - animals, human figures and abstract signs. Most of the major images have been painted onto the walls using mineral pigments although some designs have also been incised into the stone.

Of the animals, equines predominate [364]. There are 90 paintings of stags. Also represented are cattle, bison, felines, a bird, a bear, a rhinoceros, and a human. Among the most famous images are four huge, black bulls or aurochs in the Hall of the Bulls. One of the bulls is 17 feet (5.2 m) long - the largest animal discovered so far in cave art.

A number of cave #paintings from Lascaux #France discovered on this day in 1940 https://t.co/RaG1yTDZT0 #cave #art pic.twitter.com/F8EwhpI3as
- Bradshaw Foundation (@BradshawFND) September 12, 2016

Additionally, the bulls appear to be in motion. There are no images of reindeer, even though that was the principal source of food for the artists. A painting referred to as 'The Crossed Bison', found in the chamber called the Nave, is often held as an example of the skill of the Palaeolithic cave painters. The crossed hind legs show the ability to use perspective. Since the year 2000, Lascaux has been beset with a fungus, variously blamed on a new air conditioning system that was installed in the caves, the use of high-powered lights, and the presence of too many visitors. As of 2006, the situation became even graver - the cave saw the growth of black mold. In January 2008, authorities closed the cave for three months, even to scientists and preservationists. A single individual was allowed to enter the cave for 20 minutes once a week to monitor climatic conditions.

→ Lascaux Cave Introduction
→ Lascaux Cave Paintings Symposium | Page | | 2 |
→ Lascaux Cave Symposium Conclusions
→ Lascaux Cave Symposium Results
→ Lascaux Cave Paintings - The Future

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In collaboration with Noël Coye, Conservateur du patrimoine, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, France. Lascaux is famous for its Palaeolithic cave paintings, found in a complex of caves in the Dordogne region of southwestern France, because of their exceptional quality, size, sophistication and antiquity.

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4,000 years ago
In the Middle East
Humans had the ability to ride by horse, and to domesticate horse for food. Horse-centered cultures emerged in places like the steppes of Central Asia.

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The Chariot in Egyptian Warfare, its history, design, and use

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Horses & the Persian Empire’s Royal Road

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Horses & the Persian Empire’s Royal Road

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Fifth century BCE
Central Asia
Horses and riders or chariots could cover huge distances at great speed. As trade routes developed, roads were built to move horses and chariots more quickly.

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The Persian Royal Road by Student Group 2

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TOUCH this image to discover its story. Image tagging powered by ThingLink

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2,000 years ago
In China
With a saddle and stirrups, warriors could use their hands to throw spears, slash with swords, or fire arrows

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Then saddles were simple cloths without stirrups, and all horses were ridden barefoot.

In contrast bridles and bits, familiar in design to be fitted by the modern rider, have been in use since 3500 BC.

Without the girth horse saddles are useless.

But with a girth to anchor it securely to your horse the saddle is a superb piece of horse tack and it has been progressively developed throughout history.

From the original soft pad, riders developed the leather pad, to which additions could be made with rolls of stitched cloth and rigidly stuffed leather panels.
The use of leather opened up the horse saddles potential
And the ability to set wet leather to dry over a frame and tighten produced a saddle far stronger and more hard wearing than cloth pads.

The leather was then fitted over a padded wooden former and this became the origin of the saddle tree.

Even so, a rider mounted in a frame saddle has no way to brace himself against the force of his own or other warriors blows, nor had he any way to maintain balance until the introduction of stirrups.

Historic use of the saddle ...

According to Historian Lynn White: (Medieval Technology and Social Change) :

The history of the use of the horse in battle is divided into three periods:

First, that of the charioteer

Second, that of the mounted warrior who clings to his steed by pressure of the knees

Third, that of the rider equipped with stirrups

The stirrup was a Chinese invention somewhere around the time of the first century.

The advantage it offered the cavalryman was such that its use spread throughout the steppes of central Asia and eventually the Mongol tribesmen brought the stirrup to Europe.

The earliest written record of the saddle stirrup dates from 580 A.D, when a military manual of the Byzantine emperor mentions the need for stirrups.

So important was this new piece of equipment that it is sometimes claimed that the introduction of the stirrup laid the foundation for European feudalism.

This then, is the history from which the modern saddle has evolved, to provide a secure seat from which to battle or wage war at speed.

An alternative to the tree'd saddle ...

However, here and there in history and myth, references are found to riding horses without bit or saddle.

Warrior groups such as the Celtic Irish chieftain Finn Mac Cumhails Fianna were said to disdain the use of a bit or saddle, riding using their skill and trusting the forbearance of their horses alone.

Shadowfax ...
If he will consent to bear you, bear you he does; and if not well, no bit, bridle, whip, or thong will tame him.Lord of the Rings

The same idea has also surfaced many times in works of fiction, where for horses such as Shadowfax from Tolkiens epic Lord of the Rings there is neither bridle, bit or saddle;

So, is the idea of riding by co-operation rather than by force, using both a bridle and saddle designed with the comfort of the horse foremost a matter of romance or a realistic and humane alternative for the average rider?

We've established that the major reason for the development of the frame or tree'd saddle was to improve its qualities as a secure fighting platform.

Likewise, working saddles such as the Western, Camargue and Spanish Vaquero were developed directly from the medieval war saddle, the need for a platform from which to work cattle taking over from the need to use weapons.

In each case there is a good thickness of padding to prevent the material of the frame rubbing on the horses body.

The first problem with this is that the saddle tends to sit up above the horses body preventing the rider from getting as good a feel of what is happening underneath as would otherwise be possible.

The second problem is that the frame or tree does not allow the saddle to flex with the movement of the horses body.

The English style cavalry saddle went some way toward reducing weight and improving flexibility for more modern light cavalry and has become the standard on which most saddles used in equestrian sport are based.

Yet often, particularly in older saddles, the attachment point for stirrup leathers results in the majority of weight being carried close to the shoulders and wither where it would tend to interfere with the free and fluent movement of the horse.

The further development of the synthetic tree allows a far greater flexibility than the fixed wooden tree, but that flexibility can in itself be a problem.

The synthetic tree also flexes on mounting, with the result that it can easily twist, and, as heat develops during a ride the gullet can open more bringing it into contact with the wither.

The saddle in an ideal world ...

In an ideal world every rider could afford to buy a saddle that had been individually tailor-made for them and their horse, with the riders weight, shape, gender and length of leg factored in as well as the tree and under panels of the saddle being contoured to fit the horse.

But this is rarely possible for the average person. The alternative is to go back to the pad type saddle and that is precisely what has happened.
A test conducted by well known professional equestrians involved trying two types of treeless saddle, the Barefoot and the Torsion.
And a number of different types of traditional fixed tree and synthetic tree saddles on a test stallion over several years.

As with many horses using traditional fixed tree saddles the stallion showed discomfort by the unsettling habit of moving away during mounting, and he disliked working at the trot.

A top brand dressage saddle with adjustable gullet to allow a more precise fit and greater freedom in the shoulder didn't work too well either.

So, the treeless saddles were introduced and right from the first ride the difference was very clear.

The stallions paces were lighter, transitions were far smoother and generally the stallion was more relaxed and comfortable.

After just three rides the habit of moving away at the mount had disappeared completely, replaced by perfect manners.

Rider comfort was also very good and while the treeless seat lacked the depth that is possible with fixed tree saddles the contact with the horse was excellent.

The testers also commented that when the order for the Barefoot brand saddle was placed, details such as rider height and weight were factored in so that the accessories, saddle cloth, girth and swinging fender style stirrups all fitted perfectly and suited both horse and rider well.
With long distance endurance riders increasingly making use of treeless saddles and winning it seems certain that a lot more horses are going to be enjoying fully flexible comfort in the future.
And with all the developments in horse saddles what could be more natural to complete the picture than getting rid of those old steel shoes and going bitless, treeless, and barefoot

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Then saddles were simple cloths without stirrups, and all horses were ridden barefoot. In contrast bridles and bits, familiar in design to be fitted by the modern rider, have been in use since 3500 BC. But with a girth to anchor it securely to your horse the saddle is a superb piece of horse tack and it has been progressively developed throughout history.

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In the thirteenth century
Asia
They were famous for their horse-mounted archers. When the stirrup arrived in Europe, it allowed European warriors to ride while armored with metal plates made by medieval blacksmiths.

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Mongol , member of a Central Asian ethnographic group of closely related tribal peoples who live mainly on the Mongolian Plateau and share a common language and nomadic tradition. Their homeland is now divided into the independent country of Mongolia (Outer Mongolia) and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China . Owing to wars and migrations, Mongols are found throughout Central Asia .

Population distribution

Mongols form the bulk of the population of independent Mongolia, and they constitute about one-sixth of the population in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Elsewhere in China there are enclaves of Mongols in Qinghai province and the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Tibet and in the Northeast ( Manchuria ; Liaoning , Jilin , and Heilongjiang provinces), and there are groups in Russia's Siberia . All these populations speak dialects of the Mongol language .

Present-day Mongol peoples include the Khalkha , who constitute almost four-fifths of the population of independent Mongolia; the descendants of the Oirat , or western Mongols, who include the Dorbet (or Derbet), Olöt, Torgut, and Buzawa ( see Kalmyk ; Oirat ) and live in southwestern Russia, western China, and independent Mongolia; the Chahar , Urat, Karchin, and Ordos Mongols of the Inner Mongolian region of China; the Bargut and Daur Mongols of Manchuria; the Monguors of the Chinese province of Gansu ; and the Buryat of Russia, who are concentrated in Buryatiya and in an autonomous district in the vicinity of Lake Baikal .

Lifestyle and livelihood

With a few exceptions, the Mongol social structure, economy, culture, and language showed very little change over many centuries. They were basically nomadic pastoralists who were superb horsemen and traveled with their flocks of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses over the immense grasslands of the steppes of Central Asia .

Traditional Mongol society was based on the family, the clan, and the tribe, with clan names derived from those of common male ancestors. As clans merged, the tribal name was taken from that of the strongest clan. In the tribe, weaker clans retained their own headmen and livestock but were subordinate to the strongest clan. In periods of tribal unity, khans (Mongol monarchs) assigned commanders to territories from which troops and revenues were gathered. Mongol history alternated between periods of tribal conflict and tribal consolidation.

Rise of the Mongol empire

Among the tribes that held power in Mongolia were the Xiongnu , a confederated empire that warred with the young Chinese state for centuries before dissolving in 48 ce. The Khitan ruled in Manchuria and North China, where they established the Liao dynasty (907-1125) and formed an alliance with a little-known tribal confederacy known as All the Mongols. After the fall of the Liao, the Tatars -a Mongol people but not members of the league-appeared as allies of the Juchen, the Khitan's successors.

During this time Genghis Khan (1162-1227) came to power within the All the Mongols league and was proclaimed khan in 1206. He skillfully gained control over the Mongols outside the league. Between 1207 and 1227 he undertook military campaigns that extended Mongol domains as far west as European Russia and as far east as northern China, taking Beijing in 1215. He died on campaign against the Xi Xia in northwest China. By this time the Mongol empire stretched over an immense swath of Asia between the Caspian Sea (west) and the China Sea (east), and Siberia (north) and the Pamirs, Tibet, and central China (south). The amazing military achievements of the Mongols under Genghis Khan and his successors were largely due to their armies of mounted archers, who possessed great speed and mobility.

After Genghis Khan's death the Mongol empire passed to his four sons, with overall leadership going to Ögödei . Jochi received the west extending to Russia; Chagatai obtained northern Iran and southern Xinjiang; Ögödei inherited northern Xinjiang and western Mongolia; and Tolui was awarded eastern Mongolia. Ögödei dominated his brothers and undertook further conquests. In the west the Golden Horde under Jochi's successor, Batu , controlled Russia and terrorized eastern Europe; in the east advances were made into China. With Ögödei's death in 1241 the branches fell into war and intrigue among one another for leadership. Tolui's son Möngke became great khan in 1248 and continued an expansionist policy. Möngke's brother Kublai (1215-94) became great khan in 1260, and Mongol power reached its zenith during his rule. The Mongols destroyed the Southern Song dynasty and reunified China under the Yuan , or Mongol, dynasty (1206-1368).

Dissolution of the Mongol empire

Mongol khans relied on their subjects and on foreigners to administer their empire. Over time, power shifted from the Mongols to their bureaucrats, and this, added to the continual feuding among the different khanates, led to the empire's decline. In 1368 the Mongols lost China to the native Ming dynasty . In the same period, the Il-Khanid dynasty of Persia disintegrated, and the western Golden Horde was defeated by a Muscovy-led alliance in 1380. Soon the empire was reduced to the Mongol homeland and scattered khanates. Eventually Ming incursions into Mongolia effectively ended Mongol unity.

In the 15th and 16th centuries supremacy passed from tribe to tribe. Military gains were made but never held, and politically all that was achieved was a loose confederation. First were the western Mongolian Oirat, who penetrated into Tibet and Xinjiang, where the Ming were weak. Next the Ordos in the Huang He (Yellow River) region challenged the Oirat and warred successfully against the Ming. Finally power came to the Chahar in the north, but tribal defections and the rise of the Manchu led to the end of the confederation under Ligdan Khan (1603-34). This period also saw the widespread introduction of Tibetan Buddhism into Mongolia as a means of unifying the people.

Formation of Inner and Outer Mongolia

The Manchu finally conquered Mongolia in two stages that led to its division into Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia. In invading China, the Manchu employed the eastern Mongolian Khalkha, and by 1691 the Manchu officially occupied southern and eastern Mongolia, which became Inner Mongolia. Though the western Mongolian Oirat attempted to unite the Mongols under their leadership against the Manchu, the Khalkha joined the Manchu in a savage campaign that resulted in the conquest of Outer Mongolia in 1759 and in the near extermination of the Oirat. The Manchu victory ended Mongol tribal warfare. It also caused the dispersal of many tribes into neighbouring regions and the division of Mongolia into two political units.

Under Manchu rule there was stagnation. Chinese colonists controlled the trade and barter systems, cultivated the pastures of Inner Mongolia, and in Inner Mongolia outnumbered the Mongolian natives. Cultural differences developed between the two regions, with Inner Mongolia becoming more nearly Chinese in character and population.

By the 20th century there was widespread dissatisfaction in both Mongolias, compounded by Russian and Japanese intrigue in the region. After the 1911 Chinese Revolution , Outer Mongolia declared its independence, but the situation was unsettled until 1921, when a Mongol-Russian force captured Ulaanbaatar and formed the Mongolian People's Republic from Outer Mongolia. Efforts to unite Inner and Outer Mongolia failed, and Inner Mongolia remained a part of China while Outer Mongolia (now Mongolia) maintained its independence, though it was a client state of the Soviet Union until the early 1990s.

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Mongol , member of a Central Asian ethnographic group of closely related tribal peoples who live mainly on the Mongolian Plateau and share a common language and nomadic tradition. Their homeland is now divided into the independent country of Mongolia (Outer Mongolia) and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China .

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250 years ago
America
The Plains Indians became experts at horseback riding.

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2,000 years ago
North America
Humans bred horses selectively for characteristics like maneuverability, speed, gentleness, and strength. More than 300 breeds exist today, reflecting the many ways horses have served humans.

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Horses. The beautiful creature and or animal that are used for riding to places (or just riding in general), farm plowing, shows (a sport), and more. Their beautiful, elegant, and graceful as the...

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1698
World wide
The invention of the steam engine ended the dominance of the horse.