Skip to main content
Scientific American
  • Cart 0
  • Forgot password?Loading
    Not yet registered?
  • |Newsletters
Advanced Search
  • Coronavirus
  • Health
  • Mind & Brain
  • Environment
  • Technology
  • Space & Physics
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Store
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • Cart0
  • Sign In
  • Newsletters
      • Share
      • Latest

      A Visual History of Ancient Miniature Horses [Slide Show]

      Eight equines that paved the way for the massive modern horse

      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Reddit
      • Share on LinkedIn
      • Share via Email
      • Print
      A Visual History of Ancient Miniature Horses [Slide Show]
      Slideshow (8) images
      View
      Credits: Wikimedia Commons/Heinrich Harder

      A Visual History of Ancient Miniature Horses [Slide Show]

        • Share
      • Equus ferus caballus The modern pony has been bred to perform all sorts of functions—from pulling loads to looking pretty. They may have been domesticated from a short, stout Northern European wild Equus ferus ... Wikimedia Commons/Confuslefu
      • Hippidion Hippidion , or "little horse," genus was one of the ancient genera that lived into the current Holocene epoch, existing in South America two million to about 10,000 years ago... Wikimedia Commons/Robert Bruce Horsfall
      • Hypohippus Strutting through the ancient western states of Colorado, Montana and Nebraska some 17 million to 11 million years ago, Hypohippus was a three-toed early equine. As its name "low horse" indicates, it was also not much bigger than a pony... Wikimedia Commons/Heinrich Harder
      • Hipparion Galloping across four continents for nearly 12 million years (23 million to 781,000 years ago), the Hipparion genus was by all accounts extremely successful. Termed "pony" in Greek, these horses were indeed close to modern-day pony size, weighing between 63 and 119 kilograms and standing about 1.4 meters at the shoulder... Wikimedia Commons/Heinrich Harder
      • Advertisement
      • Mesohippus This early horse relative lived in North America about 40 million to 30 million years ago. Mesohippus (or "middle horse") was about as tall as Hyracotherium but had developed a larger brain that more closely resembled that of a modern horse... Wikimedia Commons/Heinrich Harder
      • Orohippus The Orohippus —or "mountain horse" genus also emerged during the Eocene about 50 million years ago. These lean-legged horse ancestors were about the same size as Hyracotherium ...
      • Hyracotherium This genus of small early horse roamed the early woodlands of Asia, Europe and North America some 55 million to 45 million years ago. It was already larger than Sifrhippus , weighing about 22.7 kilograms... Wikimedia Commons/Heinrich Harder
      • Sifrhippus The Sifrhippus sandrae is one of the earliest-known North American horse relatives. It lived during the Eocene epoch, some 55.6 million years ago. It was also one of the smallest. When it trotted onto the scene, it weighed just 5.6 kilograms... Danielle Byerley/Florida Museum of Natural History
      • Advertisement
      • Previous
      • Next
      of
      • View all
      • Link copied!
      • Equus ferus caballus
      • Hippidion
      • Hypohippus
      • Hipparion
      • Mesohippus
      • Orohippus
      • Hyracotherium
      • Sifrhippus
      Advertisement
      Advertisement

      Newsletter

      Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter.

      Sign Up

      Support Science Journalism

      Discover world-changing science. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners.

      Subscribe Now!Support Science Journalism

      Follow us

      • instagram
      • soundcloud
      • youtube
      • twitter
      • facebook
      • rss

      Scientific american arabic

      العربية
      • Return & Refund Policy
      • About
      • Press Room
      • FAQs
      • Contact Us
      • Site Map
      • Advertise
      • SA Custom Media
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • California Consumer Privacy Statement
      • Use of cookies/Do not sell my data
      • International Editions
      Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

      © 2022 Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.

      All Rights Reserved.

      Scroll To Top

      Support science journalism.

      Scientific American paper issue and on tablet

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Knowledge awaits.

      Already a subscriber? Sign in.

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.

      Create Account

      See Subscription Options

      Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription.

      You may cancel at any time.

      Sign in.