Horses From Prehistoric Midgets To Modern Giants

Horses have been around from prehistoric times through the present time, but have changed greatly over the centuries.  Fossil remains show that the earliest horses were very small and stood about a foot tall.  They had four toes on the front feet and three toes on the rear feet.  They lived in swamps and ate the plants growing there.  Through thousands of years of changing climate and environmental conditions, the horse grew taller and the toes grew longer and stronger and developed into a hoof.  Its habitat and food supply moved to prairie lands.  

The horse was probably the last of today's farm animals domesticated by man.  Different species of horses originated in Asia and were domesticated throughout Asian and European countries.  They were brought to America by early explorers.  When Spanish explorers arrived here, they established missions among the Indians and brought horses with them.  The native Indians adopted horses into their daily lives and used them for transportation, racing and even wars.  Horses played a vital role in settling the western states.  They became valuable and loved members of the family.  They aided in farming the land, harvesting crops, moving produce to market and picking up groceries and supplies from the town store.  

The importance of the horse to rural American life began to lessen with the coming of the automobile, truck and tractor.  Today, horses are raised mostly as family pets, for sporting contests and recreational events, such as racing or shows.

To properly care for your horse, adult horses need to be fed regularly.  For a healthy diet, they need plenty of hay or hay products, water, salt, vitamins and minerals.  Grains, such as corn and oats, are sources of energy to keep them healthy.  Foals get all of their nutritional needs from their mother's milk for the first few months of life.  Eventually, they will start eating the same foods as their mother.  Then owners must decide when is the right time to wean foals from their mother.

 Both mother and baby, become very upset during this process.  It is wise to keep them far apart. Keep a close watch on the baby's diet to make sure that he is getting enough healthy foods to gain weight and energy.  He can eat as much hay as he wants, and a balanced grain mix providing vitamins, minerals, and protein.  Water should always be available.  As he grows older, he will eventually require the full adult horse diet.  Horses must eat about one and one half to two percent of their total body weight daily to stay healthy.  If they exercise and work, they need extra grain and as mentioned previously corn is an excellent energy source.

By giving your horse plenty of water, food and love they should be fine and healthy and happy!

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