#extinct horses

[danbensen]

The Little Horse with a Big Nose by Eurwentala

I have a thing with fossil horses at the moment. Hippidion principale, the extinct South American equid with a remarkable nose. The bony anatomy of the snout was different from all other mammals I know, with retracted sides but a long, thin bony spike on the top. It's not technically a trunk, like the noses of saiga antelopes, mooses, or tapirs, but was perhaps functionally somewhat similar. Hippidion was widely distributed in South America and only went extinct about 8000 years ago, after coexisting with people for a few millenia. It's so recent, ancient dna analyses have been made. It turns out Hippidion was the last representative of an old evolutionary branch outside all living equids. It's a shame it survived so late just to go extinct before modern times. There's some evidence that people hunted and ate these weird little horses.

[pourpasserlamelancholie]

[equitationstar]

Extinct Horse Breeds - (3/?) The Norfolk Trotter

In 1542, King Henry VIII required the wealthy to keep a specified number of trotting-horse stallions. The breed was well established in Norfolk, and later became known as the Norfolk Trotter. The most influential sire in its history the half-bred stallion Shales (foaled 1755), also known as "Old Shales". Shales' Thoroughbred sire, Blaze (foaled 1733), was a son of the great racehorse Flying Childers (a descendant of the Darley Arabian, one of the three foundation sires of the Thoroughbred). The Norfolk Trotter became the all-around travel horse in England at this time. In Yorkshire, the same breed was known as the Yorkshire Trotter. Both breeds were also known as roadsters. It is common to see the term Norfolk/Yorkshire Roadster/Trotter in breed-history books; regardless of the name, all are the same breed of horse. They were used under saddle as the quickest means of travel in areas where there were no established roads. The breed was known for its ability to carry a heavy man for great distances at speeds up to 16-17 mph. Trotting races (usually under saddle), were very popular in the early part of the nineteenth century and Norfolk Trotters excelled in them. A Norfolk Trotter stallion, Bellfounder was imported to America in 1822, and he proved a major influence in the founding of the Standardbred by becoming the damsire of Hambletonian 10. Norfolk Trotters also strongly influenced today's modern Hackney horse.

[equitationstar]

Extinct Horse Breeds - (2/?) The Old English Black Horse

During the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the conquerors took some of the Great Horses from Europe across the English Channel and crossed them on native mares. Eventually, a distinct type evolved that was known as the Old English Black Horse. Despite the name, the breed had not been a color breed. For a long period of time, bays and browns were more commonplace than blacks. There were also roans, grays, and chestnuts among them. The color markings were not unlike those of Clydesdale horses, with the desired pattern being four white stocking and a well-defined bald face. Large Dutch horses (possibly of Brabant and Friesian descent) were imported by William III when he discovered that the cart horses of his era were not strong enough for the task of draining the Lincolnshire Fens. These horses became known as the Lincolnshire Blacks. Eventually, the Old English Black Horse became extinct as a distinct breed and its bloodlines merged into other breeds. According to Hall and Clutton-Brock, Robert Bakewell developed the Old English Black Horse into the Black Horse of Leicestershire, a forerunner of the Shire Horse of the Midlands. The Old English Black Horse heavily influenced the bloodlines of the Clydesdale and Shire, and these breeds today have many features inherited from their ancestors.

[equitationstar]

Extinct Horse Breeds (1/?) - Anglo-Norman horse

The Anglo-Norman horse was a warmblood horse breed developed in Lower Normandy in northern France. A major center of horse breeding, the area had numerous regional types that were bred to one another and then crossed with Thoroughbreds to form the Anglo-Norman. Various body types developed within the Anglo-Norman breed, two of which were split off to form the Norman Cob and French Trotter. The remaining types were eventually standardized, although there remained some criticism of the "hybrid" nature of the breed's conformation. However, it was successful as an international sport horse, especially in the sport of show jumping. The Anglo-Norman also contributed to the development of several other breeds in Europe and Asia.

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