MODERN HORSES AND THEIR ANCESTORS 



THE ever-increasing development of motor traffic 

 leads to speculation as to what is to be in the 

 immediate future the fate of the horse. What is its 

 history in the past? 



It is in nearly all cases a matter of great difficulty to 

 trace the animals and plants which mankind has domesti- 

 cated or cultivated to the original wild stock from which 

 they have been derived. Lately we have gained new 

 knowledge on the origin of the domesticated breeds of 

 the horse. It is generally agreed that the Mongolian 

 wild horse represents the chief stock from which the 

 horses of Europe and those conveyed by Europeans to 

 America were derived. This wild horse was formerly 

 known as inhabiting the Kirghiz steppes, and was called 

 the Tarpan. It became extinct there some seventy years 

 ago. The natives of that district asserted that the pure 

 breed was only to be met with farther East in the Gobi 

 Desert of Central Asia. The Tarpan itself showed signs 

 of mixed blood in having a mouse-coloured coat, which 

 is a sure indication amongst horses of cross-breeding. 

 Prevalsky, a Russian traveller, was the first to obtain 

 specimens of the pure-bred wild horse of the Gobi Desert, 

 which still exists. Live specimens have been brought to 

 Europe, and some are in the possession of the Duke of 



