The Evolution of Horses

Omar Moreno DEM 1F

Horses evolved from when they first spawned in North America 55-45 million years ago.
There are specific traits that changed over time, such as their skull size, their limb size and their
teeth size. These changes were due to the change in their environment; from thick forest during
the time of Hyracotherium to grassy plains during the time of Equus in the present day. The
change in their environment also led to changes in the horses' diets, thus leading to dental
changes. Additionally the changes in the horses' environment also led to change in their limb
size, as they needed to be taller to see over the grass, rather than shorter to avoid predators.
Seeing as they were bigger, the horses gave up their flexibility for endurance. (UCLA, 2014)
The earliest horse, Hyracotherium, lived in thick forest with subtropical climate. This is
evidenced by the miniature size of their limbs; they were the size of house cats. Their small size
was advantageous because it gave them increased mobility and agility. They could easily hide or
climb trees to evade predators. Hyracotherium were also digitigrade, meaning that only the
middle phalange touched the ground, and the other two being raised. This also contributed to
their mobility, as it allowed them to move in different directions. Looking at the skull, their eye
sockets were disproportionately big and aimed forward. This allowed them to have better
eyesight in the darkness of the forest, and allow them to see and avoid obstacles directly in front
of them when running away from predators. Their diet in the forest would have consisted of
fruits and other foods loaded with nutrients. Thus, their jaw is smaller, as they can get what they
need from little food.
Before the Miocene, the diet of horses consisted mainly of fruits, berries, nuts and other
nutrient rich foods. Once grasslands began to develop, however, horses of the time,

Merychippus, had to adapt and consume grass. Grass has very little nutrients, is hard to digest,
and leads to tooth damage very quickly. The skulls of the horses need to be bigger to consume
more grass to satisfy the horses' needs; bigger skulls are more efficient. Additionally,
Merychippus were lophodunts, meaning their teeth were flat, the ideal shape for chewing on
grass. (UCLA, 2014)
Hyracotherium's limbs were smaller and more agile, being digitigrade allowed them to
move in different directions at a faster rate, very useful in forests. The difference in limb between
Hyracotherium and Mesohippus is not very pronounced, as they lived in similar environments.
Limb shape begins to really change in the Miocene with Merychippus, where the middle
phalange, not only is it the only one to touch the ground, but is copiously bigger than the other
two. As the size of the horse also increased, the phalanges were more prone to injury from
evading predators. With Early Equus, the hoof appears and solves the problem of preventing
injury due to the increased size of the horse; Early Equus was digitigrade. By the time Early
Equus emerged, the forest was completely replaced by grassland, thus the Early Equus was
definitely taller than the other horses that came before it. This allowed it to see over the tall grass
to spot predators very easily. The modern Equus has very similar limbs. (UCLA, 2014)
The transition from Hyracotherium to Equus led to increased body size and led to horses
going from digitigrade to unguligrade. With this, the horse gave up agility for endurance, as they
have trouble changing direction, but can move forward at high speeds for longer periods of time.
Additionally, the hoof protects the phalanges from damage due to prolonged use. (UCLA, 2014)
With this, they are able to outrun predators.
Horses' evolution, favoring traits that lead to survival, such as tooth and limb size, was
spurred by the change in environment and led to a trade-off between agility and endurance.

References
Life Science Core, UCLA. 2008-14. Life Science 1 Evolution Ecology and Biodiversity
Demonstration Manual. Edition 10.1