DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



19 



the horse is the best contrivance of its kind yet 

 produced by natures It is a modified nail, or claw. 

 The horse-shoe was invented by the Greeks or Ro- 

 mans about 400 A. D. 



THE HORSE AND ONE OF ITS ANCESTORS 



Shetland ponies are natives of the Shetland Is- 

 lands. They are probably degenerates, owing to 

 the unfavorable conditions on these small, rocky, 

 storm-swept islands. 



The forelock of the horse is modern. Wild 

 horses do not have it, and no prehistoric picture 

 of the horse shows a forelock, while every type of 

 existing horse has one. It is a new feature which 

 has been developed during domestication, like the 

 bark of the dog. 



