CHAPTER II 

 THE BREEDS OF HORSES 



The origin of the horse was for many years not well under- 

 stood. It used to be thought that the domestic horse 

 was descended from the wild ass that lived in Africa and Asia. 

 It is now pretty well agreed that the horse of today is 

 descended from animals that lived in past geological times. 

 Fossil remains of horses have been found in different parts of 

 North and South America and in Europe. These are known 

 as prehistoric horses, because they lived on the earth before 

 man left any recorded history. 



The prehistoric horse in the earliest geological times, say 

 three million years ago, was very small. He was probably 

 about as big as a fox terrier, and is known as the "dawn 

 horse." During the development of the earth's surface, the 

 prehistoric horse passed through gradual and very important 

 changes. There was an increase in size, and his body, legs, 

 and head became more and more like those of the modern 

 horse. Many parts of the skeletons of these early horses 

 have been found in North America, especially in the far 

 West, in Wyoming and the Bad Lands of that section. 

 Scientific men have put the fossil parts of these horses 

 together so completely that their development is clearly under- 

 stood. From this first period up to the last, skeletons more 

 or less complete have been found, showing the gradual 

 increase in size and change of character through which this 

 prehistoric horse passed. 



So we know that the horse has lived in America for 

 millions of years. Just when the first domesticated ones 



