Buzz
To claim that horses have shaped human history is an understatement. Entire empires might not have thrived without these magnificent creatures. Beyond their contributions to military power, horse bones and equipment hold tales that go beyond the surface. Some of these uncover the mysteries surrounding the earliest breeders, riders, and veterinarians.
Fossils and mummies provide an unmatched glimpse into extinct species, geological phenomena, and contemporary horse biology. At times, even equine art can offer unexpected insights into history.
10. Secrets of the Tibetan Plateau
Ancient animal bones can serve as a form of geographical record, revealing details about the environment where they were discovered. In this instance, the remains of a three-toed horse have contributed new information about the youngest and highest plateau on Earth.
Today, this plateau’s average elevation reaches approximately 4,500 meters (14,800 ft). Scholars have long debated when the Tibetan plateau first reached this height and, more specifically, whether its landscape was higher or lower about five million years ago.
In 2012, the discovery of a skeleton from that era shed light on the topic. The Zanda horse (Hipparion zandaense) resembled a small zebra with triple toes more than a modern-day thoroughbred. Its feet, teeth, and long legs indicated an animal that grazed and galloped across open grasslands. This suggested that the region had already surpassed the tree line.
Chemical analysis of the skeleton revealed a diet similar to that of the wild asses inhabiting the Tibetan plateau today. These grasses are specially adapted to the cold temperatures found at high altitudes. Taking all these clues into account, it was concluded that the Zanda Basin was already at its present elevation when the horse perished.
9. Rare Hipposandals
In 2018, a volunteer offered to assist with excavations at an ancient site. While working in a trench at the Roman fort Vindolanda in Northumberland, the volunteer uncovered something extremely rare.
Hipposandals were early Roman 'horseshoes' crafted from metal to protect the hooves. These were more intricate than today’s typical crescent-shaped shoe. What made this discovery an archaeologist's dream was the fact that the set of four hipposandals was complete and in remarkable condition. Even the ribbed undersides, designed to prevent slipping and maintain traction, were still visible.
One of the sandals exhibited a small crack, which might explain why a perfectly usable set was discarded. Perhaps the owner decided to dispose of all of them once he noticed the damage to one. Forged between AD 140 and 180, these iron shoes were found in a ditch that had originally served as a trash pit. It was later covered with fresh clay when a new fort was constructed, effectively preserving the shoes and countless other Roman relics.
8. Unknown Roman-German Peace
The Roman Empire once controlled vast territories, one of which was the region that is now Germany. Historians had always believed that the Romans had limited their interaction with the locals to occasional military raids. History, however, reveals that relations worsened for both sides after AD 9, when the Germans decimated a much larger Roman army at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest.
In 2009, a remarkable artifact was uncovered, suggesting years of peaceful engagement. It was a 2,000-year-old golden horse head. Found in a well at the German settlement Waldgirmes, the 25-kilogram (55 lb) head was a fragment of a larger statue. The complete sculpture, depicting a horse and the Roman emperor Augustus, once graced the village marketplace.
This discovery led to a deeper investigation into Waldgirmes, which uncovered evidence that Romans had coexisted with Germans. The site lacked military barracks that would have suggested an imposed presence. Instead, the surprisingly sophisticated town featured Roman-style homes, ceramics, workshops, and a forum (marketplace).
The aftermath of the Teutoburg battle brought the decline of many German settlements, including Waldgirmes. Within just a few years, tensions reached a boiling point, and the Romans burned Waldgirmes to the ground.
7. The Utah Discovery
Horses roamed North America for millions of years, only to become extinct around 11,000 years ago. It wasn't until several thousand years later that equestrian hooves once again touched North American soil, when horses were brought over by Europeans.
In Utah, it's extremely rare to find the remains of horses from the original groups that once roamed before their extinction on the continent. However, in 2017, a family discovered exactly that in their backyard.
Initially mistaken for a cow's skeleton due to the rarity of such finds and the area's history as farmland, the remains turned out to be from a small creature, roughly the size of a Shetland pony.
When an expert arrived at the scene, the remains were identified as a horse from the last ice age that had drowned and sunk to the bottom of a lake, where it lay undisturbed for 16,000 years.
While determining the exact cause of death and gender may be impossible, the specimen is still considered an extraordinary find. In the future, researchers may even be able to identify the species. It’s already known that the horse was elderly (evidenced by arthritis in the spine) and possibly had cancer (suggested by abnormal bone growth on one leg).
6. Horses of the Near East Came Second
Today, horses are celebrated as the ultimate symbol of human progress. Many believe that humans across the world were the first to ride them.
A skeleton discovered in 2008 provided evidence that the first saddle in the Near East was actually used on donkeys. The significance of this find became clear when it was noted that the molars of the donkey displayed the same type of damage as the molars of horses that wear bits.
Despite the discovery, no further research was conducted to explore the possibility that this could be the earliest evidence of donkey ridership in the region. Instead, the archaeologists focused on the animal’s journey and death.
It appears that the young donkey was part of an Egyptian caravan heading toward the ancient city-state of Tell es-Safi. Upon arrival, the donkey was sacrificed to ensure the strength and longevity of a mudbrick house built on top of it.
In 2018, scientific tests dated the donkey’s remains to around 2700 BC, confirming that people had been riding donkeys in the Near East for nearly 1,000 years before horses appeared in the region.
5. The First Horse Dentists
Initially, archaeologists were puzzled by an unusual tooth. Rediscovered in 2018 among the archives of the National Museum of Mongolia, the tooth was crooked and had been sawed halfway through. The mystery was solved when local archaeologists, familiar with traditional horse care, were consulted.
The tooth belonged to a horse that had been ritually sacrificed and buried over 3,000 years ago. Before the animal’s death, its owner had tried to straighten the crooked incisor to alleviate the horse’s discomfort. For reasons unknown, the procedure was abandoned, and the horse was killed shortly afterward.
Despite the failed attempt, this is one of the earliest known instances of veterinary dentistry. It also offers a glimpse into Mongolian horsemanship, which would later shape the history of Eurasia in the 13th century and play a crucial role in the rise of Genghis Khan’s empire.
As horses grew in importance to the region, skills like dentistry were refined to improve the care of these animals. Historians believe that Genghis Khan’s empire might not have achieved its powerful reach without the advanced horsemanship of the Mongols.
4. The Extinct Foal
Around 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, a foal perished in what is now modern-day Siberia. The two-month-old foal met its untimely death under unknown circumstances, leaving little damage to its body. Whether it drowned or fell ill, the small carcass was preserved in permafrost. Over time, the foal's species—the Lena horse—was lost to extinction, along with many other creatures from the ice age.
In 2018, while exploring the 100-meter-deep (328 ft) Batagaika crater, researchers discovered the foal. This find is considered the best-preserved specimen of an ancient horse to date.
The foal's remains, measuring 98 centimeters (39 inches) tall at the shoulder, were remarkably intact. Soft tissue, skin, hooves, the hair inside the nostrils, and even the tail were preserved.
Wild horses still roam the region today, but none share any genetic ties with the extinct Lena horse species (Equus caballus lenensis). Future research will focus on the foal’s diet and potential cause of death to uncover more about this extinct species.
3. Ancient Breeders Cleared of Blame
The horses we know today carry many characteristics shaped by the choices of ancient breeders. One such trait is the narrow Y-chromosome pool. Modern stallions share a nearly identical Y-chromosome, leading to the belief that early breeders relied on a small number of males. This genetic practice is now frowned upon, as centuries of inbreeding have left horses with segments of harmful DNA.
In 2016, remains of horses were excavated from Scythian graves and burial sites, where hundreds of these animals were ritually laid to rest thousands of years ago. The Scythians of Kazakhstan, active from the ninth to first centuries BC, were renowned as exceptional riders and warriors.
Analysis of 11 stallions from a royal tomb revealed no signs of inbreeding or harmful DNA, indicating that ancient breeders were responsible and utilized a sufficient number of stallions, contrary to previous assumptions of using a limited few.
The research also discovered that the Scythians permitted wild horses to mate with their domesticated stock. The detrimental genes and shrinking male population only became an issue in the past 2,000 years, long after the breeders who were initially blamed.
2. The Botai Horse Tamers
The question of who first tamed horses is a subject of intense debate among scholars. The leading theory suggests that the Yamnaya people of the Bronze Age were the first to domesticate horses, and it was believed they passed on their knowledge to the Botai, a hunter-gatherer group from Kazakhstan (3700–3100 BC).
Recent genetic findings and horse remains have added complexity to the story of horse domestication. The Botai people of Asia are now identified as the earliest known group to have domesticated horses, with evidence like traces of mare’s milk found in a vessel and a tooth showing signs of bit-wear. Despite this, some researchers believe the Botai learned horsemanship from other cultures, as they continued to be hunter-gatherers long after neighboring societies had adopted farming.
In 2018, genetic testing revealed that the Botai were far more advanced than previously thought. While it was known they were an isolated group, tests on ancient Botai individuals showed no traces of Yamnaya DNA, which was surprising considering the Yamnaya were known for spreading their genes across vast areas.
The absence of Yamnaya genetic material in the Botai people, coupled with evidence that the Botai already had domesticated horses, strongly suggests that they were the first to domesticate horses. Further tests on Botai horses also found no connection to modern breeds, providing more evidence that the Botai developed their own unique domestication techniques and bred a distinct type of horse.
1. Prehistoric Pregnant Mare
The Messel Pit in Germany is famous for its exceptionally well-preserved fossils. In 2014, the site yielded the remains of a pregnant mare that lived around 47 million years ago. Her body was in remarkable condition and uncovered a surprising discovery.
The unexpected revelation was not the near-term foal inside her, but rather the striking similarities in her reproductive system to that of modern mares. Like today's horses, the ancient mare's uterus had a crumpled outer wall and a ligament linking the uterus to the spine.
This may not seem unusual at first glance, but considering the physical differences, it's remarkable. The mare was about the size of a fox terrier and lived in an era when horses still had four toes on their front feet and three on each hind leg.
Although the ancient mare looked quite different from present-day horses, this discovery highlighted that certain aspects of the equine reproductive system were already established millions of years ago.
