"A canter is the cure for every evil."
-Benjamin Disraeli

Why do horses capture our hearts and imaginations? Maybe you fell in love with horses as a child—The Black Stallion, National Velvet, My Friend Flicka. Horses’ beauty, intelligence and gentle natures are endlessly intriguing. Horses of all kinds have fascinated humans since their earliest associations. From cave paintings to the Trojan Horse, as a primary mode of transportation for centuries—even today, children of all ages dream of having their own pony. The bond between people and horses is perhaps most similar to the one we share with dogs. More than other domesticated species, these two have willingly lived and worked closely with humans for thousands of years. Horses played a key role in the growth of civilization—enabling hunters to seek bigger and faster prey or venture farther from home to find hospitable living conditions, bringing their culture.

		The ancestor of the modern horse originated in the Western Hemisphere and migrated to South America, Eurasia, and Africa, before becoming extinct in its original homeland at the close of the Ice Age. Around 4000 – 4350 BC horses were domesticated in the Indus Valley and in Europe, providing meat, and a source of power as draft animals. Modern horses and livestock were first introduced to the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1493. The mustangs of the American West, still found in a handful of wild herds, are believed to be descendents of these Spanish horses.

Some of the most colorful expressions in modern English spring from a time when horses were our primary way of getting from place to place: to arrive safe and sound; that’s a horse of a different color; horsing around; straight from the horse’s mouth; don’t look a gift horse in the mouth; you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

Wild Horses & Retired Thoroughbreds
If you loved reading Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, you will enjoy visiting Hoofprints in the Sand: Feral Horses of the Atlantic Coast. Described as a writer’s scrapbook, it is a loving tribute with photos and stories about the wild bands of horses living on the barrier islands of Chincoteague and Assateague in Maryland and south to islands along the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia.

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation provides lifetime care for veterans of the thoroughbred racing industry. Their caretakers may surprise you. The stories are inspiring.

see also:

Horse Doctors
Horse Health Topics
Horse Reproduction Center
Services for Horses