PART I Domesticated Mammals

PART I Domesticated Mammals 1 Horse (Equus caballus) 1.1 Domestication, Changes in horses arose from wild stock distributed over a the Animals, their Environment and moderately extensive geographical region, large Management enough to have contained considerable pre-existing At the end of the Ice Age, wild horses existed in haplotype diversity (Lister et al., 1998; Lister, 2001). Europe and north Asia, from Spain in the west to Several distinct horse populations were involved in the Bering Strait in the east. The southern boundary the domestication of the horse (Vilà et al., 2001; was the huge Asiatic mountain chains. Wild horses Jansen et al., 2002). Apparently, domestic horses did not exist in America, Africa, south Asia or derive from several wild horse genepools over a large Australia. They were originally inhabitants of tem- geographic area, and possibly over a long period. perate, well-watered grasslands. The mitochondrial genomes of modern horse The horse was the last of the five most common breeds shared a common ancestor around 93,000 livestock animals to be domesticated, which may years ago, and no later than 38,000 years ago. have happened about 2500 bc (Mason, 1984). There seems to be a significant population expan- However, Anthony (1986) and Budiansky (1997) sion beginning 6000–8000 years ago, with an claimed that horses might have been kept in the ongoing exponential growth until the present, simi- Ukraine in 4000 bc, first for meat and later for lar to other domestic animal species. A large sample riding. Three independent lines of evidence dem- of wild horse diversity was incorporated into the onstrate domestication in the Eneolithic Botai domestic population before the beginning of Culture of Kazakhstan, dating to about 3500 bc. domestication about 5000 years ago (Lippold Pathological characteristics indicate that some et al., 2011; Warmuth et al., 2012). Botai horses were bridled and perhaps ridden, and At the Paleolithic site of Schöningen, Germany, archaeological remains of processed milk indicate numerous bones of butchered horses were depos- that mares were milked (Outram et al., 2009). They ited c.300,000 years ago, and were later discovered were brought south of the Caucasus by mounted in organic sediments at a former lake shore. The Aryans, and were soon in widespread use for light large horse Equus mosbachensis dominates (Conard chariots as far afield as Greece and Egypt (1570 et al., 2015; Schoch et al., 2015; Van Kolfschoten bc), India and China (1300 bc). At this date, most et al., 2015). More than 200 archaeological sites horses were small, and few were ridden (Drower, from the beginning of the Holocene (9600 years 1969). However, it cannot have been long before ago) to the end of the Atlantic Period (3750 years the early farmers found that horses could be loaded ago) have been found in Europe with records of and ridden, and even pull carts (Clutton-Brock, wild horses. Domestic horses represent a genetic 1999). The ancestors were wild horses, Equus paradox: although they have the greatest number ferus, and among them the tarpan, E. ferus gmelini of maternal lineages of all domestic species, their (Zeuner, 1963; Clutton-Brock, 1999). Although paternal lineages are extremely homogeneous on some authors (Kowalski, 1967) claim that the the Y-chromosome (Cieslak et al., 2010; Sommer Przewalski horse, E. ferus Przewalski, is linked et al., 2011; Kysely and Peske, 2016; Martin et al., directly to the ancestors of the domestic European 2016). horses, this seems unlikely (Clutton-Brock, 1999). The first domesticated horses might have been There are thus only slight differences between sci- the size of large ponies, with upstanding manes. entists regarding the origin of horses. Domestic According to archaeological findings, the first © I. Ekesbo and S. Gunnarsson 2018. Farm Animal Behaviour, 2nd Edition 3 (I. Ekesbo and S. Gunnarsson) horses in the north were smaller and sturdier than used mare’s milk for consumption. The consump- those in the south, which were larger and more tion of horse meat was common in the early domes- slender limbed. Most domestic horses in the ancient tication period, but diminished during the Roman world were less than 145 cm in withers height, in age and was discontinued during the transition to Eastern Europe about 135 cm and in Western the Christian age. However, it still occurs; for Europe 125–130 cm. The great majority were less example, in Iceland and Hungary. Horse meat is than 125 cm. At the onset of domestication, early eaten as ‘salt meat’ in many countries. domestic horses showed less change in size and The horse was, over thousands of years and general morphology from their wild counterparts until the 1950s, important to humans as a draught than did other species of livestock, e.g. cattle animal in agriculture and forestry (Figs 1.1 and (Clutton-Brock, 1999). 1.2). Several breeds could accomplish an impres- All horse colour phenotypes that seem to be dis- sive traction force. A very strong bond often devel- tinguishable in cave paintings have now been found oped between a single horse and his owner. Since to exist in prehistoric horse populations, suggesting World War II, horses have played an increasing that cave paintings of this species represent remark- role in sports and recreation for a great number of ably realistic depictions of the animals shown people. Riding and looking after a horse has (Pruvost et al., 2011). taught many children and young people to respect The horse represents the domestic animal that animal behaviour and to take responsibility for an has most impacted human history, providing us animal (Fig. 1.3). with rapid transportation, which has changed con- The housing and management of the horse has siderably the speed and magnitude of the circula- not undergone a dramatic change, as is the case tion of goods and people, as well as their cultures with cattle, swine and poultry. The way horses are and diseases (Librado et al., 2016). kept in different countries is based mainly on tradi- During the mutual history of horse and humans, tional practice. Horses are kept socially isolated the horse has had a very high-ranking status, being from conspecifics, maybe more than any other an aristocrat of livestock, irrespective of culture, domestic animal, and humans therefore are an age and people. In the first place, humans exploited important part of the horse’s social environment. the horse’s speed and strength for riding and draught. The behaviour, manner and treatment of a horse by In addition, some nomadic people in Central Asia humans influence its social life to a very great extent. Fig. 1.1. The horse, for thousands of years up until the 1950s, has been important to humans as a draught animal in agriculture and forestry, and it has influenced the phenotype. (Image courtesy of photo archive HMH Department.) 4 Chapter 1 Fig. 1.2. Until the 1950s, horses played an important role in agriculture. Here, a man is ploughing in 1930. (Image courtesy of photo archive HMH Department.) Unsuitable housing or keeping a horse isolated The horse is one of the most differentiated of all indoors day after day is thus detrimental and will domesticated animals. The horses of the 2000s vary often result in abnormal behaviour. in size from 71 to 76 cm in withers height of the The skeleton of a horse’s extremities indicates its smallest breed, Falabella, to about 190 cm in height specialization in running fast. In the horse, three of of the largest breed, Shire. There are more than 680 the original four toes (Budiansky, 1997) are regres- breeds in the world, and the number of horses was sive. The hoof represents the third toe. The forelegs estimated at 62 million in the early 2000s (Hall, 2005). and hind legs are equipped with tendon arrangements There is no evidence that any single behaviour neces- that make it possible for the horse to rest, and even sary for survival has disappeared during the domes- sleep, standing. In the large intestine, and especially tication process. Thus, when domesticated horses in the caecum, cellulose fermentation takes place. are kept in confined areas, e.g. paddocks, they try to In the upper and lower jaw, there are, on both use the grounds in the same way as wild horses – to sides, three front and six back teeth: 36 teeth in total. use certain surfaces for defecation and urinating, The permanent set of teeth is complete at 5 years of others for grazing and yet others for rolling on the age (Sisson and Grossman, 1948). Between the front ground or other similar body care (Fraser, 1992). and back teeth there is a gap, the diastema, where At 3–5 years of age, the horse is full-grown, and the bit of the bridle is applied when the horse is it can usually live to be 20–30 years old. bridled. It is possible to judge the age of a horse by The male horse is described as a ‘stallion’, the means of the teeth’s appearance and the bite. female as a ‘mare’ and the offspring as a ‘foal’. The Horse (Equus caballus) 5 Fig. 1.3. Since World War II, horses have played an increasing role in sports and recreation. (Image courtesy of Gitte Häggander-Ekesbo.) expression ‘colt’ is used generally for a foal that is manipulating devices in order to get feed (Winskill more than about 6 months old. ‘Colt’ is sometimes et al., 1996). However, the most conspicuous exam- used for young males and ‘filly’ for young females. ple of learning in horses is the different behaviours taught by humans; from lifting the hoof to obeying a rider’s, coachman’s or driver’s many different 1.2 Innate or Learned Behaviour signals.

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