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86-432: Bucking can vary in intensity from the animals' slight elevation of both hind legs, to lowering their head between their front legs, arching their back, and kicking out several times. Originally, it was predominantly an anti-predator and play behavior, but with domestication , it is now also a behavioral issue in riding horses, and a desired behavior in bucking horses and bulls . If powerful, it may unseat or even throw off

172-463: A Copper Age corral was discovered at Krasnyi Yar in 2006 and mats of horse-dung at two other Botai sites. Current findings continue to support the Botai as having domesticated horses. A study in 2018 revealed that the Botai horses did not contribute significantly to the genetics of modern domesticated horses, and that therefore a subsequent and separate domestication event must have been responsible for

258-530: A change in skeletal measurements detected among horse bones recovered from middens dated about 2500 BCE in eastern Hungary in Bell-Beaker sites, and in later Bronze Age sites in the Russian steppes, Spain , and Eastern Europe . Horse bones from these contexts exhibited an increase in variability, thought to reflect the survival under human care of both larger and smaller individuals than appeared in

344-646: A distinct cluster. Genetic evidence suggests that modern Przewalski's horses are descended from a distinct regional gene pool in the eastern part of the Eurasian steppes, not from the same genetic group that gave rise to modern domesticated horses. Nevertheless, evidence such as the cave paintings of Lascaux suggests that the ancient wild horses that some researchers now label the "Tarpan subtype" probably resembled Przewalski horses in their general appearance: big heads, dun coloration , thick necks, stiff upright manes , and relatively short, stout legs. The horses of

430-504: A few cases, a horse that cannot be retrained not to buck may be sold to a rodeo stock contractor . Ironically, such horses often fetch a high price in the bucking stock world because they often are easy to handle on the ground, yet very clever and skilled at unseating riders, thus allowing a cowboy to obtain a high score if the rider can stay on. At rodeo auctions such as the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale ,

516-416: A gag bit gives the impression that it is not. Gags are also never seen in the hunter arena, again because riders wish to portray that the horse is an easy ride, and because the ideal is a long, relaxed frame with the neck stretched out, rather than a high neck. Gag bits are also occasionally seen in western-style competition, usually in the form of a sliding mouthpiece on a shanked curb-style bit (similar to

602-442: A horse may be excited or try to run off with the rider. They can also be used to help elevate a horse that is heavy on its front end. They are not permitted at any level of dressage (only snaffles are permitted in dressage), since dressage riders are trying to get the horse to come down onto the bit , and want to encourage the horse to accept contact. Additionally, the horse is supposed to be completely submissive in dressage, and

688-412: A horse that has begun bucking. When the horse stops bucking, it must be asked to move forward—forward motion makes it difficult for the horse to buck and discourages the behavior. The use of positive punishment , such as to deliberately put the horse into a hollowed-out frame for a moment by deliberately raising the head and hollowing out the horse's back, may discourage or reduce the power and severity of

774-412: A horse to release extra energy before a rider gets on. In certain cases (such as a show, when horses are unable to be turned-out for extended periods), longeing the horses for a brief period can help calm excess energy, allowing the rider to mount, and ride safely. If poor riding is the cause, special attention and improvement to the rider’s balance and aids will help eliminate confusion and thus prevent

860-438: A predator from its back. It can also be used as a mechanism of play and territorial herd defense. For a human to safely ride a horse, the horse has to be desensitized to the presence of something on its back and also learn not to kick out with both hind legs while under saddle. Nonetheless, because the instinct is always there, bucking can still occur for a number of reasons: Ordinary riders need to learn to ride out and correct

946-467: A rider may still prevent bucking by using one direct rein to pull the horse's head sideways and up, turning the horse in a small circle. This is sometimes called a “one-rein stop.” If a rider pulls the horse's head up with both reins, the horse's neck is stronger and the rider is likely to be flipped over the horse's head. By turning the horse sideways, the rider has more leverage and a horse cannot easily buck while turning around. This also can be used to stop

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1032-457: A rider so as to no longer have to work), then the horse must be re-schooled by a professional trainer. It is important to address the problem of the bucking immediately. Even with good cause, it is a potentially dangerous disobedience that cannot be encouraged or allowed to continue. However, a rider does need to be sure that it is not triggered by pain or poor riding. The horse's turn-out schedule should also be assessed, as extra turn-out will give

1118-414: A rider, and can seriously injure either animal, rider, or both. Bucking, though a potentially dangerous disobedience when under saddle, is a natural aspect of horse behavior . Bucking is used by animals for several reasons. In the wild, it can be used as a defense mechanism against predators such as mountain lions that attack by leaping on the animal’s back. By performing this behaviour, the animal throws

1204-417: A simple buck or two, because it is a relatively common form of disobedience. Further, at times, movement akin to bucking is actually required of a horse: Horses that are jumping over an obstacle actually are using almost the same action as bucking when launching themselves into the air, it is simply carried out with advanced planning over a higher and wider distance. The classical dressage movement known as

1290-465: A spoiled riding horse, particularly one that is powerfully built, will bring a top price and have a long career in rodeo. Domestication of the horse How and when horses became domesticated has been disputed. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BC, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. The clearest evidence of early use of

1376-413: Is a type of bit for a horse with sliding cheekpieces of rolled leather or chord that run through the bit rings, providing leverage that pulls the bit up into the corners of the horse's mouth. It is considered a severe bit used to provide more braking power. Some styles of gag bit are integral to a special bridle, known as a gag bridle ; others are used with a standard bridle. Inside the horse's mouth,

1462-412: Is evidence that horses were kept as a source of meat and milk before they were trained as working animals . Attempts to date domestication by genetic study or analysis of physical remains rest on the assumption that there was a separation of the genotypes of domesticated and wild populations. Such a separation appears to have taken place, but dates based on such methods can only produce an estimate of

1548-527: Is from these horses which all domestic horses appear to have descended. These horses showed little phylogeographic structure, probably reflecting their high degree of mobility and adaptability. Therefore, the domestic horse today is classified as Equus ferus caballus . No genetic originals of native wild horses currently exist. The Przewalski diverged from the modern horse before domestication. It has 66 chromosomes , as opposed to 64 among modern domesticated horses, and their Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) forms

1634-409: Is not an ancestor to modern domesticated horses. A 2014 study compared DNA from ancient horse bones that predated domestication and compared them to DNA of modern horses, discovering 125 genes that correlated to domestication. Some were physical, affecting muscle and limb development, cardiac strength and balance. Others were linked to cognitive function and most likely were critical to the taming of

1720-414: Is not conclusive evidence against domestication because horses can be ridden and controlled without bits by using a noseband or a hackamore , but such materials do not produce significant physiological changes nor are they apt to be preserved for millennia. The regular use of a bit to control a horse can create wear facets or bevels on the anterior corners of the lower second premolars . The corners of

1806-496: Is some evidence; and warfare could have been worsened by mounted raiding; and the horse-head maces have been interpreted as indicating the introduction of domesticated horses and riding just before the collapse. However, mounted raiding is just one possible explanation for this complex event. Environmental deterioration, ecological degradation from millennia of farming, and the exhaustion of easily mined oxide copper ores also are cited as causal factors. Gag bit The gag bit

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1892-509: Is used to determine so-called haplogroups . A haplogroup is a group of closely related haplotypes that share the same common ancestor. In horses, eighteen main haplogroups are recognized (A-R). Several haplogroups are unequally distributed around the world, indicating the addition of local wild mares to the domesticated stock. In 2018, genomic comparison of 42 ancient-horse genomes, 20 of which were from Botai, with 46 published ancient and modern-horse genomes yielded surprising results. It

1978-474: The Capriole is also very similar to the low buck done by a horse when it kicks out with both hind legs. Bucking in horses, especially if triggered by fear, pain or excitement, is generally a minor disobedience, unless it is strong enough to unseat the rider, at which point it is a dangerous act. If bucking is a premeditated act of the horse and becomes an undesired habit (such as when a horse learns to buck off

2064-690: The Ice Age were hunted for meat in Europe and across the Eurasian steppes and in North America by early modern humans. Numerous kill sites exist and many cave paintings in Europe indicate what they looked like. Many of these Ice Age subspecies died out during the rapid climate changes associated with the end of the last Ice Age or were hunted out by humans, particularly in North America , where

2150-557: The Maikop culture settlements and burials of c. 3300 BC contain both horse bones and images of horses. A frieze of nineteen horses painted in black and red colors is found in one of the Maikop graves. The widespread appearance of horse bones and images in Maikop sites suggest to some observers that horseback riding began in the Maikop period. Later, images of horses, identified by their short ears, flowing manes, and tails that bushed out at

2236-477: The Pontic–Caspian steppe region of eastern Europe , around 2200 BC. From there, use of horses spread across Eurasia for transportation, agricultural work , and warfare . Scientists have linked the successful spread of domesticated horses to observed genetic changes. They speculate that stronger backs (GSDMC gene) and increased docility (ZFPM1 gene) may have made horses more suitable for riding. The date of

2322-689: The Przewalski's horse , as well as what is now the modern domestic horse, belonged to a single Holarctic species. The true horse migrated from the Americas to Eurasia via Beringia , becoming broadly distributed from North America to central Europe, north and south of Pleistocene ice sheets. It became extinct in Beringia around 14,200 years ago, and in the rest of the Americas around 10,000 years ago. This clade survived in Eurasia, however, and it

2408-609: The Tarpan ( Equus ferus ferus ). The Tarpan became extinct in the late 19th century and Przewalski's horse is endangered ; it became extinct in the wild during the late 1960s, but was re-introduced in the early 1990s to two preserves in Mongolia. Although researchers such as Marija Gimbutas theorized that the horses of the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) were Przewalski's, more recent genetic studies indicate that Przewalski's horse

2494-604: The Upper Paleolithic period in places such as the caves of Lascaux , France, suggesting that wild horses lived in regions outside of the Eurasian steppes before domestication and may have even been hunted by early humans, concentration of remains suggests animals being deliberately captured and contained, an indicator of domestication, at least for food, if not necessarily use as a working animal. Around 3500–3000 BCE, horse bones began to appear more frequently in archaeological sites beyond their center of distribution in

2580-587: The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of a worldwide range of equids , from 53,000-year-old fossils to contemporary horses. Their analysis placed all equids into a single clade , or group with a single common ancestor , consisting of three genetically divergent species: the South American Hippidion , the North American New World stilt-legged horse , and Equus , the true horse. The true horse included prehistoric horses and

2666-494: The American gag). The gag bit normally is used with two sets of reins; one on the bit ring that does not apply gag leverage, and the other on the small ring attached to the cord or rolled leather strap of the gag bridle cheekpiece. This allows for the bit to be used as a normal snaffle, with gag action used only when needed. Polo players, who must ride with the reins in one hand and cannot make instant fine adjustments, often use

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2752-573: The Balkans and the lower Danube valley, some of which had been occupied for 2000 years, were abandoned. Copper mining ceased in the Balkan copper mines, and the cultural traditions associated with the agricultural towns were terminated in the Balkans and the lower Danube valley. This collapse of "Old Europe" has been attributed to the immigration of mounted Indo-European warriors . The collapse could have been caused by intensified warfare, for which there

2838-526: The Botai culture, Botai and Kozhai 1, dated about 3500–3000 BCE. The Botai culture premolars are the earliest reported multiple examples of this dental pathology in any archaeological site, and preceded any skeletal change indicators by 1,000 years. While wear facets more than 3 mm deep were discovered on the lower second premolars of a single stallion from Dereivka in Ukraine , an Eneolithic settlement dated about 4000 BCE, dental material from one of

2924-541: The Eurasian steppes and were seen in central Europe , the middle and lower Danube valley, and the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia . Evidence of horses in these areas had been rare before, and as numbers increased, larger animals also began to appear in horse remains. This expansion in range was contemporary with the Botai culture, where there are indications that horses were corralled and ridden. This does not necessarily mean that horses were first domesticated in

3010-531: The GSDMC gene and the ZFPM1 gene. The GSDMC gene is linked to back problems in people, and scientists speculate that changes may have made horses' backs stronger. The ZFPM1 gene is related to mood regulation, and scientists speculate that this may have made horses more docile and easier to tame and manage. Strength and docility would have made horses more suitable for riding and other uses. Archaeological evidence for

3096-554: The Suvorovo graves. These agricultural cultures had not previously used polished-stone maces, and horse bones were rare or absent in their settlement sites. Probably their horse-head maces came from the Suvorovo immigrants. The Suvorovo people in turn acquired many copper ornaments from the Trypillia and Gumelnitsa towns. After this episode of contact and trade, but still during the period 4200–4000 BCE, about 600 agricultural towns in

3182-410: The ages and sexes of the horses killed by humans; the appearance of horse corrals ; equipment such as bits or other types of horse tack ; horses interred with equipment intended for use by horses, such as chariots ; and depictions of horses used for riding , driving , draught work , or symbols of human power. Few of these categories, taken alone, provide irrefutable evidence of domestication, but

3268-688: The animal bones. Within this three percent, horses were less than 10%, with 90% or more of the equids represented by onagers ( Equus hemionus ) or another ass-like equid that later became extinct, the hydruntine or European wild ass ( Equus hydruntinus ). Onagers were the most common native wild equids of the Near East. They were hunted in Syria , Anatolia , Mesopotamia , Iran , and Central Asia; and domesticated asses ( Equus asinus ) were imported into Mesopotamia, probably from Egypt , but wild horses apparently did not live there. In Northern Caucasus ,

3354-487: The behavior. If ill-fitting equipment is the problem, a refit of the tack causing the discomfort is necessary to not only stop the bucking, but also to prevent further injuries that may arise due to poor fit. Usually a horse gives some warning that it is about to buck by dropping its head, slowing down or stopping, and excessively rounding up its back. With such an advance warning, riders can intervene in early stages by encouraging forward motion or circling. With less warning,

3440-469: The bit striking the vertical front edge of the lower premolars, due to very strong pressure from a human handler. Modern experiments showed that even organic bits of rope or leather can create significant wear facets, and also showed that facets 3mm (.118 in) deep or more do not appear on the premolars of wild horses . However, other researchers disputed both conclusions. Wear facets of 3 mm or more were found on seven horse premolars in two sites of

3526-434: The buck. Raising the head or the application of upward and sideways pressure on the horses head to create discomfort immediately following a buck has been shown to discourage bucking in the future. Certain training aids, such as a gag bit , certain types of martingale or, particularly on ponies, an overcheck , may also discourage bucking. Bucking is sometimes seen during the early stages of horse training , often caused by

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3612-588: The confusion, and thus prevent the behavior. If ill-fitting tack is the problem, then a refit of the tack causing the discomfort is necessary to not only stop the bucking, but also to prevent further injuries that may arise due to the inappropriate fit. Horses that are chronic and consistent buckers cannot be ridden safely and if they cannot be retrained become unsuitable for any type of ordinary riding. There are few options available to such an animal, and thus may become unwanted by many buyers. Thus, humane euthanasia or sale to slaughter may be that animal's fate. In

3698-524: The cumulative evidence becomes increasingly more persuasive. The least ancient, but most persuasive, evidence of domestication comes from sites where horse leg bones and skulls, probably originally attached to hides, were interred with the remains of chariots in at least 16 graves of the Sintashta and Petrovka cultures. These were located in the steppes southeast of the Ural Mountains , between

3784-525: The disks had protruding prongs or studs that would have pressed against the horse's lips when the reins were pulled on the opposite side. Studded cheekpieces were a new and fairly severe kind of control device that appeared simultaneously with chariots. All of the dated chariot graves contained wheel impressions, horse bones, weapons (arrow and javelin points, axes, daggers, or stone mace-heads), human skeletal remains, and cheekpieces. Because they were buried in teams of two with chariots and studded cheekpieces,

3870-792: The dock, began to appear in artistic media in Mesopotamia during the Akkadian period, 2300–2100 BCE. The word for "horse", literally translated as ass of the mountains, first appeared in Sumerian documents during the Third dynasty of Ur , about 2100–2000 BCE. The kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur apparently fed horses to lions for royal entertainment, perhaps indicating that horses were still regarded as more exotic than useful, but King Shulgi , about 2050 BCE, compared himself to "a horse of

3956-466: The domestication of the horse comes from three kinds of sources: 1) changes in the skeletons and teeth of ancient horses; 2) changes in the geographic distribution of ancient horses, particularly the introduction of horses into regions where no wild horses had existed; and 3) archaeological sites containing artifacts, images, or evidence of changes in human behavior connected with horses. Examples include horse remains interred in human graves ; changes in

4042-478: The domestication of the horse depends to some degree upon the definition of "domestication". Some zoologists define "domestication" as human control over breeding, which can be detected in ancient skeletal samples by changes in the size and variability of ancient horse populations. Other researchers look at the broader evidence, including skeletal and dental evidence of working activity; weapons, art, and spiritual artifacts; and lifestyle patterns of human cultures. There

4128-460: The earliest evidence for chariots, suggesting that both horseback riding and chariot use were factors in expansion. Genetic data may also provide clues as to why this particular domestication event had far more widespread impact than other domestication events in Botai, Iberia, SIberia and Anatolia. The genetic lineage that leads to modern domestic horses shows evidence of strong selection for locomotor and behavioural adaptations. Changes relate to

4214-785: The evidence is extremely persuasive that these steppe horses of 2100–1700 BCE were domesticated. Shortly after the period of these burials, the expansion of the domestic horse throughout Europe was little short of explosive. In the space of possibly 500 years, there is evidence of horse-drawn chariots in Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. By another 500 years, the horse-drawn chariot had spread to China. Some researchers do not consider an animal to be "domesticated" until it exhibits physical changes consistent with selective breeding , or at least having been born and raised entirely in captivity. Until that point, they classify captive animals as merely "tamed". Those who hold to this theory of domestication point to

4300-565: The fourth century BCE both horseback riding and mounted archery were practiced along China’s northwest frontier. In 2008, archaeologists announced the discovery of rock art in Somalia 's northern Dhambalin region, which the researchers suggest is one of the earliest known depictions of a hunter on horseback. The rock art is in the Ethiopian-Arabian style, dated to 1000 to 3000 BCE. About 4200-4000 BCE, more than 500 years before

4386-531: The gag bit may be jointed like a snaffle bit or smooth like a Mullen mouth bit. The gag bit works on the horse's lips and poll simultaneously. The pressure on the lips tends to make the horse raise its head, which is useful for a horse that tends to lean on the bit. Gag bits are used mainly for horses that are strong pullers or for horses that need retraining. Gag bits are most commonly seen in polo , eventing (especially for cross-country), show jumping , and hacking, mainly for increased control at times where

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4472-630: The genetics of modern domestic horses. More than 150 scientists collaborated in gathering 264 ancient horse genomes from across Eurasia, dating from 50,000 to 200 B.C.E. In October 2021, results of the analysis were published in Nature . They indicated that domestication of the modern horse's ancestors likely occurred in the Volga-Don region of the Pontic–Caspian steppe grasslands of Western Eurasia . Both Tarpan and Przewalski’s horse were related to different ancestral populations than those underlying

4558-646: The geographic expansion evidenced by the presence of horse bones, new kinds of graves, named after a grave at Suvorovo , appeared north of the Danube delta in the coastal steppes of Ukraine near Izmail . Suvorovo graves were similar to and probably derived from earlier funeral traditions in the steppes around the Dnieper River . Some Suvorovo graves contained polished stone mace-heads shaped like horse heads and horse tooth beads. Earlier steppe graves also had contained polished stone mace-heads, some of them carved in

4644-477: The heads and hooves of a pair of horses were placed in a grave that once contained a chariot. Evidence of chariots in these graves was inferred from the impressions of two spoked wheels set in grave floors 1.2–1.6m apart; in most cases the rest of the vehicle left no trace. In addition, a pair of disk-shaped antler "cheekpieces," an ancient predecessor to a modern bit shank or bit ring , were placed in pairs beside each horse head-and-hoof sacrifice. The inner faces of

4730-447: The highway that swishes its tail", and one image from his reign showed a man apparently riding a horse at full gallop. Horses were imported into Mesopotamia and the lowland Near East in larger numbers after 2000 BCE in connection with the beginning of chariot warfare , replacing the long-established kunga (a hybrid between the now-extinct Syrian wild ass and a domestic donkey ) as the main equid for warfare. A further expansion, into

4816-608: The horse as a means of transport is from chariot burials dated c.  2000 BC . However, an increasing amount of evidence began to support the hypothesis that horses were domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes in approximately 3500 BC. Discoveries in the context of the Botai culture had suggested that Botai settlements in the Akmola Province of Kazakhstan are the location of the earliest domestication of

4902-427: The horse became completely extinct . Classification based on body types and conformation, before the availability of DNA for research, once suggested that there were roughly four basic wild prototypes, thought to have developed with adaptations to their environment before domestication. There were competing theories: some argued that the four prototypes were separate species or subspecies, while others suggested that

4988-415: The horse's mouth normally keep the bit on the "bars" of the mouth, an interdental space where there are no teeth, forward of the premolars. The bit must be manipulated by a human or the horse must move it with its tongue for it to touch the teeth. Wear can be caused by the bit abrading the front corners of the premolars if the horse grasps and releases the bit between its teeth ; other wear can be created by

5074-472: The horse, including social behavior, learning capabilities, fear response, and agreeableness. The DNA used in this study came from horse bones 16,000 to 43,000 years ago, and therefore the precise changes that occurred at the time of domestication have yet to be sequenced. The domestication of stallions and mares can be analyzed separately by looking at those portions of the DNA that are passed on exclusively along

5160-467: The horse. Warmuth et al. (2012) pointed to horses having been domesticated around 3000 BC in what is now Ukraine and Western Kazakhstan . The evidence is disputed by archaeozoologist Williams T. Taylor, who argues that domestication did not take place until around 2000 BC. Genetic evidence indicates that domestication of the modern horse's ancestors likely occurred in an area known as the Volga–Don , in

5246-661: The identified animal bones in Mesolithic and Neolithic camps in the Eurasian steppes, west of the Ural Mountains. Horse bones were rare or absent in Neolithic and Chalcolithic kitchen garbage in western Turkey , Mesopotamia , most of Iran , South and Central Asia , and much of Europe. While horse bones have been identified in Neolithic sites in central Turkey, all equids together totaled less than 3% of

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5332-458: The latest possible date for domestication without excluding the possibility of an unknown period of earlier gene flow between wild and domestic populations (which will occur naturally as long as the domesticated population is kept within the habitat of the wild population). Whether one adopts the narrower zoological definition of domestication or the broader cultural definition that rests on an array of zoological and archaeological evidence affects

5418-716: The lowland Near East and northwestern China , also happened around 2000 BCE. Although Equus bones of uncertain species are found in some Late Neolithic sites in China dated before 2000 BCE, Equus caballus or Equus ferus bones first appeared in multiple sites and in significant numbers in sites of the Qijia and Siba cultures, 2000–1600 BCE, in Gansu and the northwestern provinces of China. Skeletal evidence from sites in Shirenzigou and Xigou in eastern Xinjiang indicate that by

5504-574: The majority of the horse remains found in Botai-culture settlements indeed probably were wild. On the other hand, any domesticated riding horses were probably the same size as their wild cousins and cannot now be distinguished by bone measurements. They also note that the age structure of the horses slaughtered at Botai represents a natural demographic profile for hunted animals, not the pattern expected if they were domesticated and selected for slaughter. However, these arguments were published before

5590-434: The maternal ( mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA) or paternal line ( Y-chromosome or Y-DNA). DNA studies indicate that there may have been multiple domestication events for mares, as the number of female lines required to account for the genetic diversity of the modern horse suggests a minimum of 77 different ancestral mares , divided into 17 distinct lineages. Studies of modern horses showed very little Y chromosome diversity, which

5676-399: The mitochondrial DNA obtained from modern horses as well as from horse bones and teeth from archaeological and palaeological finds consistently shows an increased genetic diversity in the mitochondrial DNA compared to the remaining DNA, showing that a large number of mares has been included into the breeding stock of the originally domesticated horse. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA

5762-531: The modern domestic horse. Genetic evidence also connects Botai horses with Przewalski's horse in Mongolia, which has led to debates over whether Przewalski's horses should be considered a never-domesticated population or feral descendants of domesticated Botai horses. The presence of bit wear is an indicator that a horse was ridden or driven, and the earliest of such evidence from a site in Kazakhstan dates to 3500 BCE. The absence of bit wear on horse teeth

5848-557: The modern domestic horses (DOM2). In addition, researchers were able to map population changes over time as modern domestic horses expanded rapidly across Eurasia and displaced other local populations, from about 2000 BCE onwards. The genetic profile for DOM2 horses is associated with horses buried in Sintashta kurgans with early spoke-wheeled chariots, and with horses in Central Anatolia where two-wheeled vehicles were depicted. DOM2 horses also occur in some areas prior to

5934-792: The most intriguing evidence of early domestication comes from the Botai culture , found in northern Kazakhstan . The Botai culture was a culture of foragers who seem to have adopted horseback riding in order to hunt the abundant wild horses of northern Kazakhstan between 3500 and 3000 BCE. Botai sites had no cattle or sheep bones; the only domesticated animals, in addition to horses, were dogs . Botai settlements in this period contained between 50 and 150 pit houses. Garbage deposits contained tens to hundreds of thousands of discarded animal bones, 65% to 99% of which had come from horses. Also, there has been evidence found of horse milking at these sites, with horse milk fats soaked into pottery shards dating to 3500 BCE. Earlier hunter-gatherers who lived in

6020-434: The overall genetic variation in the remaining genetic material. This indicates that a relatively few stallions were domesticated and that it is unlikely that many male offspring originating from unions between wild stallions and domestic mares were included in early domesticated breeding stock. Genes located in the mitochondrial DNA are passed on along the maternal line from the mother to her offspring. Multiple analyses of

6106-504: The prototypes were physically different manifestations of the same species. However, more recent study indicates that there was only one wild species and all different body types were entirely a result of selective breeding or landrace adaptation after domestication. Either way, the most common theories of prototypes include four base prototypes: Two "wild" groups, that were believed to be never-domesticated, survived into historic times: Przewalski's horse ( Equus ferus przewalski ), and

6192-491: The same region had not hunted wild horses with such success, and lived for millennia in smaller, more shifting settlements, often containing less than 200 wild animal bones. Entire herds of horses were slaughtered by the Botai hunters, apparently in hunting drives. The adoption of horseback riding might explain the emergence of specialized horse-hunting techniques and larger, more permanent settlements. Domesticated horses could have been adopted from neighboring herding societies in

6278-572: The shape of animal heads. Settlements in the steppes contemporary with Suvorovo, such as Sredni Stog II and Dereivka on the Dnieper River, contained 12–52% horse bones. When Suvorovo graves appeared in the Danube delta grasslands, horse-head maces also appeared in some of the indigenous farming towns of the Trypillia and Gumelnitsa cultures in present-day Romania and Moldova , near

6364-575: The site of Csepel-Haros in Hungary , a settlement of the Bell Beaker culture . Use of horses spread across Eurasia for transportation, agricultural work and warfare . Horses and mules in agriculture used a breastplate type harness or a yoke more suitable for oxen , which was not as efficient at utilizing the full strength of the animals as the later-invented padded horse collar that arose several millennia later. A 2005 study analyzed

6450-516: The steppes west of the Ural Mountains, where the Khvalynsk culture had herds of cattle and sheep, and perhaps had domesticated horses, as early as 4800 BCE. Other researchers have argued that all of the Botai horses were wild, and that the horse-hunters of Botai hunted wild horses on foot. As evidence, they note that zoologists have found no skeletal changes in the Botai horses that indicate domestication. Moreover, because they were hunted for food,

6536-702: The steppes, but the horse-hunters of the steppes certainly pursued wild horses more than in any other region. European wild horses were hunted for up to 10% of the animal bones in a handful of Mesolithic and Neolithic settlements scattered across Spain , France , and the marshlands of northern Germany , but in many other parts of Europe, including Greece , the Balkans , the British Isles , and much of central Europe, horse bones do not occur or occur very rarely in Mesolithic, Neolithic or Chalcolithic sites. In contrast, wild horse bones regularly exceeded 40% of

6622-602: The three foundation stallions of the Thoroughbred breed. A study published in 2012 that performed genomic sampling on 300 work horses from local areas as well as a review of previous studies of archaeology, mitochondrial DNA , and Y-DNA suggested that horses were originally domesticated in the western part of the Eurasian steppe. Both domesticated stallions and mares spread out from this area, and then additional wild mares were added from local herds; wild mares were easier to handle than wild stallions. Most other parts of

6708-550: The time frame chosen for the domestication of the horse. The date of 4000 BCE is based on evidence that includes the appearance of dental pathologies associated with bitting , changes in butchering practices, changes in human economies and settlement patterns, the depiction of horses as symbols of power in artifacts , and the appearance of horse bones in human graves. On the other hand, measurable changes in size and increases in variability associated with domestication occurred later, about 2500–2000 BCE, as seen in horse remains found at

6794-443: The uncomfortable new feeling of a piece of saddlery, which will usually reside after habituation . If the behavior stems from the frustration that arises with inconsistent or absent reinforcement or punishment, then special attention from the handler, such as a consistent reinforcement schedule could be implemented. If poor riding is the case, special attention and improvement to the rider’s balance, and commands will help to eliminate

6880-409: The upper Ural and upper Tobol Rivers , a region today divided between southern Russia and northern Kazakhstan . Petrovka was a little later than and probably grew out of Sintashta, and the two complexes together spanned about 2100–1700 BCE. A few of these graves contained the remains of as many as eight sacrificed horses placed in, above, and beside the grave. In all of the dated chariot graves,

6966-543: The wild; and a decrease in average size, thought to reflect penning and restriction in diet. Horse populations that showed this combination of skeletal changes probably were domesticated. Most evidence suggests that horses were increasingly controlled by humans after about 2500 BCE. However, more recently there have been skeletal remains found at a site in Kazakhstan which display the smaller, more slender limbs characteristic of corralled animals, dated to 3500 BCE. Some of

7052-465: The world were ruled out as sites for horse domestication, either due to climate unsuitable for an indigenous wild horse population or no evidence of domestication. Genes located on the Y-chromosome are inherited only from sire to its male offspring and these lines show a very reduced degree of genetic variation (aka genetic homogeneity ) in modern domestic horses, far less than expected based on

7138-706: The worn teeth later produced a radiocarbon date of 700–200 BCE, indicating that this stallion was actually deposited in a pit dug into the older Eneolithic site during the Iron Age . Soil scientists working with Sandra Olsen of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History at the Chalcolithic settlements of Botai and Krasnyi Yar in northern Kazakhstan found layers of horse dung , discarded in unused house pits in both settlements. The collection and disposal of horse dung suggests that horses were confined in corrals or stables . An actual corral, dated to 3500–3000 BCE

7224-556: Was found that modern domestic horses are not closely related to the horses at Botai. Rather, Przewalski’s horses were identified as feral descendants of horses herded at Botai. Evidence suggested that "a massive genomic turnover" had occurred along with the domestication of horses and large-scale human population expansion in the Early Bronze Age. Subsequent research showed that horse lineages from Iberia and Siberia, also associated with early domestication, had little influence on

7310-423: Was identified at Krasnyi Yar by a pattern of post holes for a circular fence , with the soils inside the fence yielding ten times more phosphorus than the soils outside. The phosphorus could represent the remains of manure. The appearance of horse remains in human settlements in regions where they had not previously been present is another indicator of domestication. Although images of horses appear as early as

7396-425: Was originally interpreted as evidence of a single domestication event for a limited number of stallions combined with repeated restocking of wild females into the domesticated herds. However, more recent studies of ancient DNA show that Y chromosome diversity was significantly higher a thousand years ago. The low present diversity may be partially explained by the popularity of Arabian and Turkoman studs, especially

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