the horse the epic history of our noble companion

When we gaze at a horse's eye, we also read his feelings. And although they are far-sighted and partially color blind, they recognize different human faces, even being able to tell twins apart, and, more important perhaps, perceive emotions. It's been revealed that horses can interpret two-dimensional images, much as humans can.

His intelligence, along with his physical prowess, also grew.īecause of horses' unique intelligence (dawn horses had advanced brains, according to paleontologists), as well as social and emotional commonalities with humans, behaviorists are able to conduct tests to determine horse perception. Beginning as a scampering little creature, he became a galloping athlete. Beginning as a browser, he developed into a grazer. In fact, the evolution of the horse's teeth determined his very survival, and the evolution of grass determined his teeth.

The horse we know now in North America originated 56 million years ago as the dawn horse, gradually losing his toes, developing a concave back and flat teeth. The horse has evolved according to the world he inhabits, adapting as the climate changed, grasses proliferated, water ebbed and flowed. Other domesticated animals have changed biologically because of the process of being domesticated. 'We must have horses and dogs and cats and other animals in our lives in order for our psyches to function as they should, just as we have to have bacteria in our guts in order to digest food.'

The horse the epic history of our noble companion