
102 EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE 
very different in proportions the bone of the one correspond with the 
bones of the other. In the modern horse the remaining fingers or toes 
of the fore and hind foot have entirely disappeared, or remain only as 
vestiges, the so-called “‘splint bones.” The structure of the modern 
horse shows that it developed from a five-toed ancestor. This ancestry 
has been traced back to the four-toed stage. [See Guide Leaflet No. 36. 
The Evolution of the Horse.| 

Restoration of Eohippus, the four-toed horse. This ancestor of the modern horse, scarcely larger 
than the red fox, lived some three millions of years ago. It comes from the Lower Eocene of Wyoming 
and New Mexico. 
In the wall case at the right of the entrance is given a synopsis of the 
evolution of the foot and skull of the horse and the geological age in which 
each stage is found. Across the alcove the visitor will find skeletons 
of Hohippus, the four-toed stage of the horse and the earliest form that 
has been discovered. These are specimen from the Wasatch and Wind 
River beds of Wyoming and may have lived 3,000,000 years ago. It is 
interesting to note that while there were no horses found in this country 
by the white settlers, America is the original home of the horse. 
Passing from skeleton to skeleton the changes that have taken place 
in the development of the horse are easily distinguished. The exhibit 
is made more lifelike by plaster restorations of the animals and by water- 
color sketches showing primitive horses in their environment. These 
paintings and models are by Charles R. Knight. In the latter types of 

