HISTORY OF THE HORSE 65 



The early domestication of the horse was the result of 

 necessity. Primitive man needed help in the hunt, he 

 was not as strong as many of the animals about him and 

 no match for them in battle, he was not as fleet of foot 

 as most game that he hunted, nor could he trail by scent 

 as the wolf. Thus primitive man was not long in dis- 

 covering that his chief advantage lay in his wits. His 

 attention must have been very early attracted to the horse 

 on account of his fleetness and to the wolf on account of 

 his hunting habits, as these were the first animals 

 domesticated. With his horse and his dog, man was 

 match for anything that roamed the forest or the plain, 

 and with them he established and made good his claim 

 as master of all creation. 



Existing species of wild horses. — There are now no 

 known wild representatives of the true horse (Equus 

 caballus), although related species run wild in the open 

 arid desert plains of central Asia and Africa. There are 

 two species in Asia, the Asiatic Wild Ass (Equus hem- 

 ionus and Przewalsky's Horse (Equus Przewalskii), 

 while in Africa there are the African Wild Ass (Equus 

 asinus) and the several species of Zebra. In the Amer- 

 icas and Australia there are no wild horses. The mus- 

 tangs and bronchos of the western plains and South 

 America are feral (domesticated horses run wild), and 

 descended from the horses brought over from Europe 

 by the white settlers. Thus when the New World was 

 discovered by the Spaniards they found no horses on 

 either continent. The Indians were unfamiliar with them 

 and at first regarded the strange animals with wonder 

 and terror. 



Why the horse should become extinct in the- Americas 

 is not known and seems strange in view of the fact that 

 both the prehistoric and modern horse found conditions 

 agreeable to development. He may have been unable to 

 stand the cold winters, probably longer continued and 

 more severe during the Ice Age than now. The com- 



