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Originally Posted by kentuckyrosesinmay
Actually, GR, horses did evolve from Eohippus (Hyracotherium) to the present day Equus caballus for the specific purpose of speed because of predators.
Besides having to go further in search of feed and water, the horse evolved into the present day species of Equus caballus because they had to be able to run faster and further to escape enemies. Although the horse is not the fastest animal on the earth, the horse does possess great endurance. The horse is therefore, a creature of the open country and to this day, its first reaction to any strange or frightening object or situation is to panic and run away. This great fear of the unusual, plus the speed and endurance developed at the gallop, has made the horse a most valuable animal to man...
Another point to not is that world horse is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word hors meaning swift.
As a side note, their teeth evolved as an adaptation to vegetation changes. But their size and hooves evolved for reasons specifically related to speed, endurance...and power for those two purposes.
I can post numerous sources that say this if you would like. For the most, part the rest of your post contained some very good information. Sorry to get into the whole evolution thing for those of you who don't believe in it.
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Cool stuff KRose. I just posted something about eohippus on a different thread.
Some of the most beautiful equine art can be seen on the ceiling of Lascaux. Painted by folks that really depended on them.
To me, they look a lot like Icelandic or Fyord ponies.
For sure they never ran on poly crap.
And I've never grilled a equi-steak. No recipe and absolutely no taste for it.
But the folks that painted their beautiful representations on those cave ceilings certainly did.
And, here, all the time...we thought it was really about clicking some numbers to our on-line betting account or passing some green paper through a window.
Times have changed!
The art remains.