2 THE HORSE, ASS, AND MULE 



The world-wide distribution of the horse in prehistoric times 



is now well understood. Besides the references to discoveries in 

 North America, fossil remains have been found in Patagonia, 

 South America, and in earth and sand deposits in various parts 

 of Europe which existed previous to the Glacial period. In 1901 

 most interesting discoveries were made of drawings of horses in 

 the cave of La Mouthe, France, which it is believed date back 

 to the Stone Age. These drawings were partly cut in rock and 



Fig. 1. Skeleton of prehistoric horse from Lower Pleistocene of Texas, in 

 American Museum of Natural History. Reproduced by courtesy of the 

 American Museum 



partly made in ocher, and represented animals associated with the 

 chase. These cave drawings are very clear, and show a horse 

 with no forelock and a head with Roman-nose character, also one 

 with a head similar to that of the Celtic pony. From the evi- 

 dence left in the caves of France it is thought a larger type 

 of horse lived toward the south, while farther north a smaller 

 form existed. It is also fairly well established that the ass was 

 known in Europe at this period. 



The evolution of the horse from the prehistoric to present form 

 covers geological ages of time and represents a passing of 



