31 8 EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE. 



CHAPTER XXX.* 



EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE. 



Ancestry of the Horse — Immediate Ancestors of the Horse — Conditions 

 which modified the Form of the Horse — -Points of Speed and Strength 

 in the Fossil Horse — The Horse of the Future. 



Ancestry of the Horse. — It is my intention here, with 

 special reference to conformation, to write about the descent 

 of the horse in such a manner that my remarks may be easily 

 understood by those who possess no acquaintance with fossils 

 or comparative anatomy. Instead of commencing the history 

 of the horse according to the orthodox method, at a period 

 many millions of years ago, I shall begin with him as he now 

 is, and shall try to trace back his lineage to a time sufficiently 

 remote for our requirements. Although we cannot hope to 

 determine the exact sequence of the footsteps of the animals 

 which, in their march of evolution, became gradually changed 

 into the horse ; we shall find on their track marks left by them, 

 or by their near relatives who accompanied them on their 

 journey, that will guide us in the right direction. As science 

 progresses, so will the intervals between these land-marks 

 become filled in from time to time ; though it seems impossible 



* For fuller information on this subject, see Professor A. Gaudry's 

 Enchatnemaits du Monde Animal, and Sir William Flower's The Horse. 



