Horses were on earth before man. Fossil remains have made it possible to trace at least some aspects of the evolution of the modern horse over a period of some sixty million years, indicating how it gradually adapted to changes in its environment. The horse was first used by men about 4 thousand years ago. It was many years later that man began to breed horses to suit themselves. Today's horses are a combination of the needs of nature and men. Only nature could turn the horses toes into a single hoof. But man could select those animals with the best of what nature had to offer and breed them to establish the best characteristics. At first, the men ate horses because they didn't know what else they were to do with them. They then realised they'd be good at pulling carts and carrying loads. Once the art of riding was mastered, horses were used for various different things. Hunting, going into battle, ploughing fields, carrying things, pulling carts and different sports such as polo, jousting, show jumping, dressage, cross country and horse racing are just a few of the things horses done. The horse has long been know as 'The Friend of Man'.
The known history of the modern horse starts with Eohippus, also called the Dawn Horse, which is known to have lived in North America during the Eocene epoch (fifty-four to thirty-eight million years ago). An animal no larger than a small dog, Eohippus was designed for life as a forest browser moving around on soft soil. It had four toes on its forefeet, three on its back feet and pads similar to a dog's. Its small, low-crowned teeth were suited to eating leaves and other low, soft vegetation. It would probably have had a camouflage colouring to help it to escape predators. During the Oligocene epoch (thirty-seven to twenty-six million years ago) first Mesohippus then Merychippus showed distinct changes: the legs became longer, the back straighter, (Eohippus had an arched back) and the whole animal larger. One toe disappeared on the forefoot, leaving three toes on both fore and hind feet. The teeth also showed signs of change, the pre-molars becoming more like true molars.
In this slow process of evolution, the most significant change of all occurred during the Miocene epoch (twenty-five to seven million years ago) when forest gave way to grass land and the horse's ancestors became plains dwellers. This significant change in environment called for teeth design for grazing, as opposed to browsing, a longer neck to make grazing easier, longer legs to facilitate flight from predators and feet suitable for harder terrain. During this time the single toe, or hoof, began to evolve: the outer toes no longer touched the ground and the central toe became larger and stronger.
Then the history of the horse family becomes somewhat more complex, with various sub-families developing. Eventually, however these became extinct and it was Pliohippus which provided the link in the chain of Eohippus to the modern Equus. Pliohippus evolved some ten to five million years ago and had long legs with a single hoof on each. Its direct successor, Equus, the genus of modern horse, finally emerged a million years ago.
