The horse (two-part nomenclature: Equus caballus) is a species of mammal in the Equidae family, the Perissodactyla (hooves). This species was described by Linnaeus in 1758., and is one of the eight extant subspecies to this day of the Equidae family. Horses have evolved from 45 to 55 million years from a small creature with many toes to become a large animal with a toe like today.
Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 – 4500 BC, and it is believed that horses were popularly bred in Europe around 3000 BC – 2000 BC.War horses were widely used in wars, especially ancient wars.
Depending on breed, management and environment, feed, water etc. horses today have a lifespan of about 25 to 30 years. The oldest living horse can be verified as “Old Billy”, a horse lived in the 19th century with a life expectancy of 62 years. Currently, Sugar Puff, the horse listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest living pony in the world, died on May 25, 2007 at the age of 56.
