Horses have been around for many decades. They have evolved from animals in the workforce to service animals that are able to help with therapy. I became interested in horses at a young age. I grew up being exposed to horses since my family owns a farm in Mexico. Since then, I have seen horses as such perfect animals, they are beautiful and come in all sizes, colors and shapes. In addition to being such beautiful animals, they have been really helpful towards mankind. For example, we see in the movies that they served as a method of transportation and they were also used in battles and the workforce. Slowly through evolution they have become domesticated animals just like dogs and cats. This is what interests me about horses and why I decided to do my research on them.
In Threshold one, we learned about the emergence of the universe and the forces. We are introduced to the Big Bang and how the first subatomic particles emerged after it. We also learned about the forces that were created in our universe, like gravity. This first threshold involved chemistry, including the different elements that were created after the Big Bang. The first threshold relates to horses because they are made up of hydrogen and include many of the subatomic particles that the first threshold talks about. In addition, horses also have mass and therefore they also have gravity. Thus, the chemical makeup of horses resulted from the emergence of the first threshold.
In Threshold two we learn about the emergence of the galaxies and stars. Specifically about the creations of the stars and what they provide for example, light and the raw materials for other forms of complexity in the future (Swimme & Tucker). Horses connect to the second threshold because stars were useful for the transportation that made the migration of humans possible. They served as a guide when moving from one place to the other. For example, horses were introduced to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Later on, the Spaniards and Hernan Cortes brought horses. The introduction of horses made it possible for the Spaniards to conquer land since it was a fast way of transporting themselves. Because of this they were able to conquer land faster than any other group of people (Adams, USDA).
To continue, in the third threshold we were introduced to the afterlife of stars. After the death of a star, the elements generated from it allow for the creation of chemically complex entities such as planets and humans, as well as animals (Swimme & Tucker). Horses relate to this threshold because they are created from the essential elements. In addition, if it wasn’t for the death of certain stars the essential elements that were created wouldn’t exist as well as any living thing, such as horses.
Similarly, in the fourth threshold we learned about the creation of earth and the solar system. We are introduced to planets that are more chemically significant and complex than stars (Swimme & Tucker). This threshold explains the creation of our planet, Earth. Horses relate to this threshold because horses are living things that benefited from the creation of the earth. They have also evolved through time and have become the animals that we now know. In the past horses were used for labor as well as for transportation and now we see that they are slowly becoming pets for many people (Greene, 2008). They are also affected by the sun and just like us, they have a sense of time thanks to the sun.
During the fifth threshold we get introduced to the emergence of life on earth. About 3.8 billion-8 million years ago cells gave life to the complex living things that exist today on earth (Swimme & Tucker). Cells came together to form everything ranging from hawks, dandelions and whales. They all started as unicellular living things billion of years ago and emerged into many patterns of multicellular complexities that gave rise to the organisms that we recognize. Horses were part of this creation that took place billion of years ago. Horses were once unicellular organisms and evolved into multicellular animals. Horses, slowly through evolution, evolved from the small, dog-sized, Eophis to what we know as the modern horse. The early ancestors of the modern horse walked on several spread-out toes, an accommodation that allowed them to walk on moist grounds of primeval forests. As grass species began to flourish their diets shifted from foliage to grasses. This lead to the development of larger and more durable teeth (Villa, 2001). Photosynthesis one of the “deepest tendencies in the universe” (Swimme & Tucker) made the transition of the diets possible. In addition, as steppes began to appear, the horses needed to be capable of reaching greater speeds to outrun predators. This was achieved through the lengthening of limbs and the lifting of some toes from the ground. Throughout the evolution of horses they were transformed from unicellular organisms to multicellular organisms and slowly became the animals that we recognize.
250,000 years ago marks the beginning of the creation of our own specie, the Homo sapiens (Swimme & Tucker). This came to be the sixth threshold. This was the beginning of life as we know it. As humans we began to adapt and change unlike many other organisms on Earth. This sixth threshold also covered the paleolithic era, one of the oldest and longest era until agriculture appeared. Horses were part of human life in the past because they served as a source of transportation as well in some places as food. In modern day, horses are more of a pet than an object that serves. Modern humans use these animals to practice sports and also as a way of therapy to cope with stress. Clearly the role of horses since the paleolithic era has changed and like humans they have been able to adapt to the new changes in their environment. They evolved from animals in the workforce to service animals that are able to give therapy and that are able to perform sports.
About 12,000 years ago the emergence of agriculture and cities occurred.This came to be the seventh threshold. Up until 12,000 years ago humans survived by foraging for food. Everything changed when certain groups of humans began to farm. This new era of farmers caused a growth in population and societies became more diverse. In addition, this era accelerated the process of collective learning. Before the advent of the tractor and automobiles, horses were an integral part of everyday work life as well as a companion. The flexible horse was the farmer’s main asset in this new era of farming. Horses were readily available as a resource for expansion and together with humans they were able to tame the wilderness and work the soil. The 1800’s farmer used horses versatility as a way to make farming easier (Adams, USDA). Horses plowing fields and pulling wagons and carriages became an essential part or the rural economy, which depended on farming. Therefore the loss of a farmer’s horse meant the end of a farm.
300 years ago began the emergence of the modern world, which came to be the eight threshold. This threshold introduces the Modern era of human history. Over 200,000 years, humans have developed a complex and a versatile exchanged network. Threshold eight is what we consider the most recent threshold and we are still crossing it. As society moved to this threshold horses became less important as they were back in the emergence of agriculture. During this modern era, cars began to appear and slowly they began to replace the work that horses did. Horses are now considered more of a pet than a source of transportation or part of the workforce. Horses have been domesticated well enough to be a companion and even serve as therapy for people that need it (Rigby & Grandjean). Currently horses are being used for therapy with children that suffer from autism and in the future they are going to be able to help all sorts of people with disorders. Horses even have the potential to replace service dogs in the future.It is possible that in the future horses will replace dogs as service dogs.
Horses have existed for a long period of time and I believe that they will continue to exist in the future. For the future of horses, I see them being domesticated even more and becoming a pet that almost everyone will have. In addition, they will continue to serve as service animals for people that need therapy. They will evolve more and more and who knows maybe they become tiny animals just like dogs that one can have at houses. There is a bright future for the horses that we now know of.
In conclusion, horses are wonderful animals that have around for many centuries. I was fascinated with horses before knowing about the history of horses but now that I know more about them I am even more interested in them. Horses have been important throughout history from helping during the agricultural era to now; serving with therapy. Horses are here to stay and they will continue to contribute to society either in the work field or as service animals.