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The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER
An International Bestseller
A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Book
An Amazon Best Book
From New York Times bestselling author of The Mosquito, the incredible story of how the horse shaped human history
The Horse is an epic history unlike any other. Its story begins more than 5,500 years ago on the windswept grasslands of the Eurasian Steppe. When one human tamed one horse, an unbreakable bond was forged and the future of humanity was instantly rewritten, placing the reins of destiny firmly in human hands.
Since that pivotal day, the horse has carried the fate of civilizations on its powerful back. For millennia it was the primary mode of transportation, an essential farming machine, a steadfast companion, and a formidable weapon of war. Possessing a unique combination of size, speed, strength, and stamina, the horse dominated every facet of human life and shaped the very scope of human ambition. And we still live among its galloping shadows.
From the thundering cavalry charges of Alexander the Great to the streets of New York during the Great Manure Crisis of 1894 and beyond, horses have shaped both the grand arc of history and our everyday lives. Horses revolutionized the way we hunted, traded, traveled, farmed, fought, worshipped, and interacted. They fundamentally reshaped the human genome and the world's linguistic map. They determined international borders, molded cultures, fueled economies, and built global superpowers. They decided the destinies of conquerors and empires. They were vectors of lethal disease, and contributed to lifesaving medical innovations. Horses even inspired architecture, invention, furniture, and fashion.
Driven by fascinating revelations and fast-paced storytelling, The Horse is a riveting narrative of this noble animal's unrivaled and enduring reign across human history. To know the horse is to understand the world.
An International Bestseller
A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read Book
An Amazon Best Book
From New York Times bestselling author of The Mosquito, the incredible story of how the horse shaped human history
The Horse is an epic history unlike any other. Its story begins more than 5,500 years ago on the windswept grasslands of the Eurasian Steppe. When one human tamed one horse, an unbreakable bond was forged and the future of humanity was instantly rewritten, placing the reins of destiny firmly in human hands.
Since that pivotal day, the horse has carried the fate of civilizations on its powerful back. For millennia it was the primary mode of transportation, an essential farming machine, a steadfast companion, and a formidable weapon of war. Possessing a unique combination of size, speed, strength, and stamina, the horse dominated every facet of human life and shaped the very scope of human ambition. And we still live among its galloping shadows.
From the thundering cavalry charges of Alexander the Great to the streets of New York during the Great Manure Crisis of 1894 and beyond, horses have shaped both the grand arc of history and our everyday lives. Horses revolutionized the way we hunted, traded, traveled, farmed, fought, worshipped, and interacted. They fundamentally reshaped the human genome and the world's linguistic map. They determined international borders, molded cultures, fueled economies, and built global superpowers. They decided the destinies of conquerors and empires. They were vectors of lethal disease, and contributed to lifesaving medical innovations. Horses even inspired architecture, invention, furniture, and fashion.
Driven by fascinating revelations and fast-paced storytelling, The Horse is a riveting narrative of this noble animal's unrivaled and enduring reign across human history. To know the horse is to understand the world.
544 pages, Hardcover
First published July 30, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 31, 2024
A kingdom for a horse.....book? Listen, I didn't see myself reading a book called The Horse by Timothy Winegard. Yet, here we are and I enjoyed it!
Winegard looks at the entirety of the existence of the horse and I mean all of its existence. Winegard begins with what would be considered the first horse or at least a horse ancestor and then examines the evolutionary mechanics which brought us to today's wonderful animal. The book is strongest in parts like this one. When the full attention is on the horse, Winegard's book is truly riveting and makes you wonder just how much we take the horse for granted as humans. Did you know horses were used to make vaccines? Yeah, me either!
My critique of the narrative would be the times where the horse falls to the background. Winegard is an excellent writer so when he digs into a famous battle, it's never a bad time. However, I found myself wanting the spotlight back on the title of the book or to at least make a more concerted effort to break down how vital horses were during specific battles. Also, at over 450 pages it feels like a good amount could be cut to make this a slimmer tome. That said, it's still a good time and I recommend it.
(This book was provided as an advanced copy by the publisher.)
Winegard looks at the entirety of the existence of the horse and I mean all of its existence. Winegard begins with what would be considered the first horse or at least a horse ancestor and then examines the evolutionary mechanics which brought us to today's wonderful animal. The book is strongest in parts like this one. When the full attention is on the horse, Winegard's book is truly riveting and makes you wonder just how much we take the horse for granted as humans. Did you know horses were used to make vaccines? Yeah, me either!
My critique of the narrative would be the times where the horse falls to the background. Winegard is an excellent writer so when he digs into a famous battle, it's never a bad time. However, I found myself wanting the spotlight back on the title of the book or to at least make a more concerted effort to break down how vital horses were during specific battles. Also, at over 450 pages it feels like a good amount could be cut to make this a slimmer tome. That said, it's still a good time and I recommend it.
(This book was provided as an advanced copy by the publisher.)
August 27, 2024
Truly fascinating!
September 24, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC.
I have never been a horse girl growing up, I'd say that I have a healthy dose of fear and respect for the absolute units that they are. I picked this up on a whim because I like to read nonfiction about very niche subjects. I balked at the page count (500 is a lot for me nowadays) and worried about how I'd get through it. Imagine my surprise at finding the history of the horse and its influence on civilization really engaging! Especially with the BC empires beyond Egypt and Greece, I don't know nearly enough on those, and this book devoted a whole section to how they expanded and fell along with how domesticated horses transformed their military strategies. Mind you, this is still a dense history book, and I was starting to get tired by the World Wars section. Otherwise, it's a fascinating deep dive into how much human history depended on our connection to the horse. It was well researched and explained the events really well for the average reader.
I have never been a horse girl growing up, I'd say that I have a healthy dose of fear and respect for the absolute units that they are. I picked this up on a whim because I like to read nonfiction about very niche subjects. I balked at the page count (500 is a lot for me nowadays) and worried about how I'd get through it. Imagine my surprise at finding the history of the horse and its influence on civilization really engaging! Especially with the BC empires beyond Egypt and Greece, I don't know nearly enough on those, and this book devoted a whole section to how they expanded and fell along with how domesticated horses transformed their military strategies. Mind you, this is still a dense history book, and I was starting to get tired by the World Wars section. Otherwise, it's a fascinating deep dive into how much human history depended on our connection to the horse. It was well researched and explained the events really well for the average reader.
August 19, 2024
The Horse is a survey-level history of, well, horses, from their earliest evolution to the present day. It's in a similar vein to human histories like Sapiens or The Silk Roads. The larger arc is familiar to anyone who's read those or similar, but with, of course, the singular focus on how horses have shaped history. There's a convincing body of evidence to support the argument that horses are the single most transformational thing to happen to humans....but a similar book might be written about any number of advancements (the author himself references Guns, Germs, and Steel in talking about the Columbian Exchange - but argues that horses were MORE crucial in subjugating indigenous peoples than any of those). On the whole, though, horses are an interesting window into world history (especially if you're a horse person).
The book itself is fairly long and drags in spots. It frequently felt repetitive or unnecessarily discursive. One gripe that is probably a personal dislike is the excessive use of modifiers - it often felt like every single noun had the most extreme adjective available applied to it, to no practical purpose (there is no reason to refer to the Nazi regime as sadistic, for example; they are essentially synonymous at this point. Multiply x thousands and you get my point).
Overall, though, a good read for anyone who wants to spend time on the big picture of horses + people. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
The book itself is fairly long and drags in spots. It frequently felt repetitive or unnecessarily discursive. One gripe that is probably a personal dislike is the excessive use of modifiers - it often felt like every single noun had the most extreme adjective available applied to it, to no practical purpose (there is no reason to refer to the Nazi regime as sadistic, for example; they are essentially synonymous at this point. Multiply x thousands and you get my point).
Overall, though, a good read for anyone who wants to spend time on the big picture of horses + people. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
September 17, 2024
Deserving of the title "A Brief History of Humankind", someone looking for a more refined book about horses may balk (shy, rear?) at my 5-star rating, however, in succinctly, effectively, and factually relating the story of the horse with the History of Humanity, this book is a clever and fact-filled charge through basically the entire History of the human race. A wonderful History book, a brief outline of all the big ticket items. A great summary. Loved it!
September 5, 2024
The non-fiction I've been reading this year has been amazing. This book is for equestrians & history buffs. It will engage you & teach things you never knew about horses & how they are the key to our modern world. Yes I said modern world.
September 9, 2024
3.5 stars
August 31, 2024
There is a lot of history in this book, but do not expect it to be a history of the Horse. This book is about the Infulence of the horse on Human History (pg 178). So at its core, its a human history were the horse is involved.
August 22, 2024
I was genuinely sad to finish The Horse. Winegard's research is without question mong the best I've encountered. I love horses. Parts were excruciating to read but part of the rich equine heritage.
July 11, 2024
The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity, by Timothy C. Winegard, is a largely excellent history (biological, social, cultural, military, ecological) of the horse, driving home the huge impact this creature has had on us humans. An impact, Winegard would argue, far greater than what most people would credit.
Early chapters cover the evolutionary history of the horse from its origin in N. America as a fox-sized creature and placing its evolution into the larger context of changing in the Earth’s ecosystems and climate, such as the arrival of grass into the system. Chapter three brings humans into the fold, particularly in our role as hunters of horses in the Paleolithic period, which along with a changing climate and shifting environments left the horse on the brink of extinction. Luckily, as Winegard describes in the fourth chapter, humans realized that horses could be good for something more than as a food source.
As he did with the evolutionary history, Winegard puts the domestication history in a larger context of other elements such as the Agricultural revolution and the domestication of other animals such as dogs (as well as covering why some animals, such as Zebras, never were domesticated). Experts place the most likely point of first domestication on the Eurasian steppe, particularly the archaeological site of Botai in Kazakhstan, where excavators have found corrals, horse manure, thousands of horse bones, evidence of horse milk being drunk, and even a grave with a small family buried with fourteen horses. One expert Winegard quotes calls this moment “an absolute lightning strike in human history, leading to incredible, widespread, and lasting social transformations,” all of which Winegard spends the rest of the book to delve into.
And so we get the impact of horses on the spread of particularly languages (Indo-European), migration (recent DNA findings have helped greatly with tracing large movements of particular populations),trade, governance (the rise of patriarchies, empires, wars of conquest), the military, and more. Within these discussions, Winegrad discusses the ancient Assyrians, Scythians, Egyptians, Alexander the Great, the Persian Empire, and many more. Beyond Alexander, we get a back and forth description of the two great power rising in the East and West—China and Rome, and how events in the former (the Mongols being driven out) greatly affected the end of the latter.
We eventually arrive at the horse’s reintroduction into its land of origin, although sadly through the terrible vector of imperialism and genocide/near-genocide, with horses arriving via Columbus’ second trip to the New World in 1493. The toll on native inhabitants of course was horrific, somewhat via violence as the Europeans used horses and other tools to murder and enslave the natives, but far more effective in killing them off were the several diseases the Europeans brought with them. Winegard cites evidence that “roughly 95 percent of the indigenous residents of the Americas … had been erased from the planet in a mere 250 years.” That’s not including the “between twelve and fifteen million human beings eventually delivered from Africa . . . Into the shackled clutches of slavery in the Americas.” To make the loss not just in human life but also human civilization more clear, Winegard spends some time detailing the varied achievements of the Meso-American empires like the Incas and Aztecs.
In one of life’s ironies, those same horses that the Spanish and others used to subjugate the native populations were turned against them, particular by the two great horse cultures that arose in America: the Comanche and Lakota, “imperial indigenous powers [based] on the profitable marriage between horses and the industrial harvesting of bison.” While the horse allowed these groups to rise to power and, for a brief time, rival the imperialistic armies that sought to wipe them out, Winegard does a nice job of exploring how the introduction of the horse into native culture was a two-edged sword, distorting traditional boundaries and cultures, as well as throwing the ecological balance on the plains out of whack. Eventually, of course, the flowering of native horse culture was brief, “no more than two hundred years” until “the last of the horse nations … joined the Apache, Comanche, Shoshone, and Crow on reservations under the paternalistic watch of the US Bureau Indian Affairs.”
From there we shift into the Age of the Horse, the early 1900s, when the “total US horse population peaked in 1915 at twenty-five million.” By then, horses were
pulling omnibuses, railcars, wagons, and arts … on busy commercial streets … shuttled goods and passengers to and from railway stations and ports … hauled building materials to, and remove debris from, construction sites … as Cities reverberated with the deafening sounds of horse-related occupations and infrastructure, including blacksmiths, farriers, wheelwrights, tanners, drivers, carters, breeders, breakers, knickers, teamsters, hostlers, veterinarians, groomers, saddles, stables, markets, canneries, rendering plants, and carriage, coach, and cab makers.
As the century progressed, however, mechanization at first slowly then ever more quickly made the horse obsolete. A mere 15 years after that peak in 1915, horse populations ”in urban American shrank by more than 90 percent,” while “the farm horse also began its slow trot to redundancy as tractors” began moving into mass adoption. Sadly, one of the last gasps of the horse as a mainstream tool came in the World Wars in heartbreaking fashion as hundreds of thousands died in the conflicts, some through being shot but most (75-80%) “euthanized for shellshock, burns, lameness … trench foot, blindness, blisters, and respiratory distress caused by poison gas.”
While I was well aware of the use of horses in WWI, I had no idea of the key role they played for the German military in WWII, as Winegard details in one of the more fascinating sections of the book. In direct contrast to the propagandist images of the German mechanized divisions (the famed Panzers) rolling across territory, it turned out that “by 1944, more than 90 percent of the German military relied on hooves for transport.” Italy’s military also had a heavy reliance on horses even as the US war economy was churning out tanks, planes, personnel carriers, Jeeps, and more. One good story that came out of the horror of that war was the rescue of the Lipizzaner breed from a lab where they were part of a eugenics breeding program.
Finally, Winegard moves quickly into the 20th and 21st centuries, discussing the explosive growth of feral mustangs and the attempts to deal with the issue, the rise and fall of horse meat as an industry, horse racing, equestrian Olympic sports, and other modern day uses, such as in therapy.
The Horse is a deeply informative work and one that does an excellent job of not focusing so intensely on its subject that one loses sight of what is happening in the word/society outside that focus. Winegard does a great job of zooming out to present us a wider context and then zooming in to showing how the horse fits within that context. My only quibble was that at times some of the military recaps felt a bit overly-detailed; I’m not sure I needed such a full coverage of flanking moves and the like. But this happened only rarely and hardly detracted from the reading experience. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Horse and came away knowing more than I did, which is just what you want in the nonfiction work. Strongly recommended.
Early chapters cover the evolutionary history of the horse from its origin in N. America as a fox-sized creature and placing its evolution into the larger context of changing in the Earth’s ecosystems and climate, such as the arrival of grass into the system. Chapter three brings humans into the fold, particularly in our role as hunters of horses in the Paleolithic period, which along with a changing climate and shifting environments left the horse on the brink of extinction. Luckily, as Winegard describes in the fourth chapter, humans realized that horses could be good for something more than as a food source.
As he did with the evolutionary history, Winegard puts the domestication history in a larger context of other elements such as the Agricultural revolution and the domestication of other animals such as dogs (as well as covering why some animals, such as Zebras, never were domesticated). Experts place the most likely point of first domestication on the Eurasian steppe, particularly the archaeological site of Botai in Kazakhstan, where excavators have found corrals, horse manure, thousands of horse bones, evidence of horse milk being drunk, and even a grave with a small family buried with fourteen horses. One expert Winegard quotes calls this moment “an absolute lightning strike in human history, leading to incredible, widespread, and lasting social transformations,” all of which Winegard spends the rest of the book to delve into.
And so we get the impact of horses on the spread of particularly languages (Indo-European), migration (recent DNA findings have helped greatly with tracing large movements of particular populations),trade, governance (the rise of patriarchies, empires, wars of conquest), the military, and more. Within these discussions, Winegrad discusses the ancient Assyrians, Scythians, Egyptians, Alexander the Great, the Persian Empire, and many more. Beyond Alexander, we get a back and forth description of the two great power rising in the East and West—China and Rome, and how events in the former (the Mongols being driven out) greatly affected the end of the latter.
We eventually arrive at the horse’s reintroduction into its land of origin, although sadly through the terrible vector of imperialism and genocide/near-genocide, with horses arriving via Columbus’ second trip to the New World in 1493. The toll on native inhabitants of course was horrific, somewhat via violence as the Europeans used horses and other tools to murder and enslave the natives, but far more effective in killing them off were the several diseases the Europeans brought with them. Winegard cites evidence that “roughly 95 percent of the indigenous residents of the Americas … had been erased from the planet in a mere 250 years.” That’s not including the “between twelve and fifteen million human beings eventually delivered from Africa . . . Into the shackled clutches of slavery in the Americas.” To make the loss not just in human life but also human civilization more clear, Winegard spends some time detailing the varied achievements of the Meso-American empires like the Incas and Aztecs.
In one of life’s ironies, those same horses that the Spanish and others used to subjugate the native populations were turned against them, particular by the two great horse cultures that arose in America: the Comanche and Lakota, “imperial indigenous powers [based] on the profitable marriage between horses and the industrial harvesting of bison.” While the horse allowed these groups to rise to power and, for a brief time, rival the imperialistic armies that sought to wipe them out, Winegard does a nice job of exploring how the introduction of the horse into native culture was a two-edged sword, distorting traditional boundaries and cultures, as well as throwing the ecological balance on the plains out of whack. Eventually, of course, the flowering of native horse culture was brief, “no more than two hundred years” until “the last of the horse nations … joined the Apache, Comanche, Shoshone, and Crow on reservations under the paternalistic watch of the US Bureau Indian Affairs.”
From there we shift into the Age of the Horse, the early 1900s, when the “total US horse population peaked in 1915 at twenty-five million.” By then, horses were
pulling omnibuses, railcars, wagons, and arts … on busy commercial streets … shuttled goods and passengers to and from railway stations and ports … hauled building materials to, and remove debris from, construction sites … as Cities reverberated with the deafening sounds of horse-related occupations and infrastructure, including blacksmiths, farriers, wheelwrights, tanners, drivers, carters, breeders, breakers, knickers, teamsters, hostlers, veterinarians, groomers, saddles, stables, markets, canneries, rendering plants, and carriage, coach, and cab makers.
As the century progressed, however, mechanization at first slowly then ever more quickly made the horse obsolete. A mere 15 years after that peak in 1915, horse populations ”in urban American shrank by more than 90 percent,” while “the farm horse also began its slow trot to redundancy as tractors” began moving into mass adoption. Sadly, one of the last gasps of the horse as a mainstream tool came in the World Wars in heartbreaking fashion as hundreds of thousands died in the conflicts, some through being shot but most (75-80%) “euthanized for shellshock, burns, lameness … trench foot, blindness, blisters, and respiratory distress caused by poison gas.”
While I was well aware of the use of horses in WWI, I had no idea of the key role they played for the German military in WWII, as Winegard details in one of the more fascinating sections of the book. In direct contrast to the propagandist images of the German mechanized divisions (the famed Panzers) rolling across territory, it turned out that “by 1944, more than 90 percent of the German military relied on hooves for transport.” Italy’s military also had a heavy reliance on horses even as the US war economy was churning out tanks, planes, personnel carriers, Jeeps, and more. One good story that came out of the horror of that war was the rescue of the Lipizzaner breed from a lab where they were part of a eugenics breeding program.
Finally, Winegard moves quickly into the 20th and 21st centuries, discussing the explosive growth of feral mustangs and the attempts to deal with the issue, the rise and fall of horse meat as an industry, horse racing, equestrian Olympic sports, and other modern day uses, such as in therapy.
The Horse is a deeply informative work and one that does an excellent job of not focusing so intensely on its subject that one loses sight of what is happening in the word/society outside that focus. Winegard does a great job of zooming out to present us a wider context and then zooming in to showing how the horse fits within that context. My only quibble was that at times some of the military recaps felt a bit overly-detailed; I’m not sure I needed such a full coverage of flanking moves and the like. But this happened only rarely and hardly detracted from the reading experience. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Horse and came away knowing more than I did, which is just what you want in the nonfiction work. Strongly recommended.
Read
September 20, 2024The following reviews have been shared by Text Publishing - publisher of The Horse:
‘They say that dogs are humankind’s best friend, but as Timothy Winegard makes clear in this sweeping book, it’s the horse that truly deserves the title—and not just that one. Horses were revolutionary political allies, tireless explorers, and our deadliest weapons of war as well. And if we’ve come so far, it’s only because the horse has carried us here, and this book masterfully maps each stage in that 5500-year epic journey.’
Sam Kean, author of The Icepick Surgeon and The Disappearing Spoon
‘Fascinating, offering a fresh perspective on how crucial horses were in human development…Interesting, charming and entertaining.’
Star Observer
‘An invaluable addition…Warrants a permanent place in the bookcase of those who happen to be interested in the history of the horse.’
Age/SMH
‘Horse lovers should absolutely find this book, but historians and lovers of culture will like it, too. The Horse is perfect for someone with a need for steed.’
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
‘The hype is warranted…A sublime history.’
David Astle, ABC Melbourne ‘Evenings’
‘From Greece and Rome and early science to the modern attitudes, therapeutic uses, politics, and pleasure of equines in general, Winegard speaks directly to the heart of horse lovers.’
Guam Daily Post
‘An engrossing, stimulating read.’
Country Life Magazine
‘A fast-paced and fascinating book with an epic sweep.’
Epoch Times
‘A thoroughbred portrait of how human triumph and disaster rode for so long on the back of a horse.’
NZ Listener
‘They say that dogs are humankind’s best friend, but as Timothy Winegard makes clear in this sweeping book, it’s the horse that truly deserves the title—and not just that one. Horses were revolutionary political allies, tireless explorers, and our deadliest weapons of war as well. And if we’ve come so far, it’s only because the horse has carried us here, and this book masterfully maps each stage in that 5500-year epic journey.’
Sam Kean, author of The Icepick Surgeon and The Disappearing Spoon
‘Fascinating, offering a fresh perspective on how crucial horses were in human development…Interesting, charming and entertaining.’
Star Observer
‘An invaluable addition…Warrants a permanent place in the bookcase of those who happen to be interested in the history of the horse.’
Age/SMH
‘Horse lovers should absolutely find this book, but historians and lovers of culture will like it, too. The Horse is perfect for someone with a need for steed.’
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
‘The hype is warranted…A sublime history.’
David Astle, ABC Melbourne ‘Evenings’
‘From Greece and Rome and early science to the modern attitudes, therapeutic uses, politics, and pleasure of equines in general, Winegard speaks directly to the heart of horse lovers.’
Guam Daily Post
‘An engrossing, stimulating read.’
Country Life Magazine
‘A fast-paced and fascinating book with an epic sweep.’
Epoch Times
‘A thoroughbred portrait of how human triumph and disaster rode for so long on the back of a horse.’
NZ Listener
October 3, 2024
DNF.
Author is evidently a graduate of a community college creative writing course: “Don’t clearly say with 12 words what can be said with 20”.
Author is evidently a graduate of a community college creative writing course: “Don’t clearly say with 12 words what can be said with 20”.
July 18, 2024
This impeccably researched book is fast paced and incredibly gripping. Winegard's prose give so much insight into how the horse has shaped the very fabric of human history. The book is easily accessible and has a lovely narrative quality. From how the horse precipitated the spread of Indo-European languages, to the downfall of the Plains indigenous tribes, to the the Great Manure Crisis, every page carries a story that will change the way you see this majestic creature and its impact on our every day lives. This is a must read.
September 4, 2024
I only read two chapters. I don't know if I will continue. He could have told an even more exciting story... and more accurate in these chapters. The first chapter is about evolution and the second about domestication. Genetics has contributed a lot to what we know about these aspects of the horse. The image at the end of chapter 1 was published by Bruce McFadden who has really done a great job at discovering and explaining the fossil record. The image has a lot of information that is ignored and Prof McFadden is not acknowledged. So that made me suspicious that his research was spotty. The second chapter was on domestication and he goes on-and-on about domestication of plants and livestock, mentions pre-adaptation theory, Jared Diamond's discussion of why so few species were domesticated, but seems to include the horse in passing. There is very little about horse domestication in this chapter. He has a few nice quotes from molecular-paleobiologist, Ludovic Orlando, about how horse numbers grew dramatically after domestication. But if he talked to Orlando he missed the greatest story. Orlando has been looking at ancient DNA.... DNA from horses that lived 500 years ago, 1000 years ago , 3000 years ago.... 40,000 years ago, and even one from 700,000 years ago. He determined that the first horses known to be domesticated, in Botai about 5500 years ago, were not the ancestors of the modern domestic horse. They were Przewalski horses. That experiment in domestication did not outlast that civilization; the horses apparently returned to the Steppes and all modern Przewalski horses are all descended from those ancient domestic horses. Orlando's work continues to search for evidence of the where the ancestors of our domestic horse were tamed and domesticated. There were multiple species of horse in the Eurasia, only one of which made major contributions to the modern domestic horse. And it wasn't the Iberian, Siberian or Przewalskii horse.
He missed talking with Barbara Wallner in Vienna who has been studying the Y chromosome of horses. She originally demonstrated that most horse breeds have little genetic diversity in the Y chromosome. She subsequently worked with Orlando on ancient DNA and, together, they determined that there were lots of stallions that contributed to the original domestication of the horse, but about 1200 years ago stallions were being imported from the Middle East to "upgrade" the Northern European horse. The males were so popular it appears they were used widely and almost wiped out the existance of the other Y chromosomes. Most breeds of modern horse have a Y chromosome genetics descended from a single stallion, probably from the Mediterranean, and it is called the "Crown Haplotype". This is an exciting story. Transcontinental trade was clearly strong 1200 yeara ago, and so was the practice of selective breeding. Today, the remnant Y chromosome genetics can only be found among pony breeds, Norwegian Fjord horses, and many of the Asian horse populations that did not seek the phenotype associated with the horses of the MIddle East.
And more.... so in two chapters I find the depth of discussion absent and his consultation with experts cursory. He did talk with experts in the field and they would certainly have pointed him in their direction. So... why not tell the better story?
Its such a great and exciting story and I am really disappointed that its not being shared in a book that will be read so widely. The author is a historian so, perhaps the subsequent chapters will be credible. But my confidence is low. And I find the writing over done. Small points are discussed at length, and without proper attribution. Interesting questions remain under discussion and study, and it would have been more interesting if he developed that aspect. The anecdotes about Marsh and Huxley are interesting, but the controversies did not end there. Many new questions arose. What was the evidence that man and horse overlapped in America? Answer, horse bones were found in Canada with evidence of human butchering! That would have been interesting.
I've got other books I want to read now. I may come back, and hopefully, I will enjoy the subsequent chapters more. But to me, it seems like he collected series of anecdotes and strung them together.
He missed talking with Barbara Wallner in Vienna who has been studying the Y chromosome of horses. She originally demonstrated that most horse breeds have little genetic diversity in the Y chromosome. She subsequently worked with Orlando on ancient DNA and, together, they determined that there were lots of stallions that contributed to the original domestication of the horse, but about 1200 years ago stallions were being imported from the Middle East to "upgrade" the Northern European horse. The males were so popular it appears they were used widely and almost wiped out the existance of the other Y chromosomes. Most breeds of modern horse have a Y chromosome genetics descended from a single stallion, probably from the Mediterranean, and it is called the "Crown Haplotype". This is an exciting story. Transcontinental trade was clearly strong 1200 yeara ago, and so was the practice of selective breeding. Today, the remnant Y chromosome genetics can only be found among pony breeds, Norwegian Fjord horses, and many of the Asian horse populations that did not seek the phenotype associated with the horses of the MIddle East.
And more.... so in two chapters I find the depth of discussion absent and his consultation with experts cursory. He did talk with experts in the field and they would certainly have pointed him in their direction. So... why not tell the better story?
Its such a great and exciting story and I am really disappointed that its not being shared in a book that will be read so widely. The author is a historian so, perhaps the subsequent chapters will be credible. But my confidence is low. And I find the writing over done. Small points are discussed at length, and without proper attribution. Interesting questions remain under discussion and study, and it would have been more interesting if he developed that aspect. The anecdotes about Marsh and Huxley are interesting, but the controversies did not end there. Many new questions arose. What was the evidence that man and horse overlapped in America? Answer, horse bones were found in Canada with evidence of human butchering! That would have been interesting.
I've got other books I want to read now. I may come back, and hopefully, I will enjoy the subsequent chapters more. But to me, it seems like he collected series of anecdotes and strung them together.
August 4, 2024
Timothy Winegard convinces me that it was not just the triumvirate of guns, germs and steel that determined the course of world history. Horses were just as important.
This is such a lively book that you will not want to drop the reins of Winegard’s galloping narrative. He starts his journey way back in history—evolutionary as well as human—and rapidly traverses the varying terrains of the world to tell a story that is dense with memorable characters, action, heroism (equine and human), violence, and horror (most vivid in his account of the Spanish importation of horses to their colonies in North and South America).
To tell this story, Winegard draws upon a huge literature and an arena’s worth of perspectives, dating from the earliest written records and archaeological finds to recent work, both popular and scholarly. If there are books or articles about horses that Winegard has not consulted, they probably are not worth knowing about. And I would be surprised if there are facts, statistics, people, and events connected with horses that he has overlooked and/or failed to mention in writing in this book.
Winegard’s narrative also includes seemingly every turn of phrase or metaphor (often with a discussion of its origins) associated with horses: straight from the horse’s mouth, eating like a horse; horse sense; horsing around; horseplay; champing at the bit; hold your horses; behold a pale horse; riders on the storm; my kingdom for a horse; dark horse; unbridled; trotting along; etc.
I did not know much about horses before I read this book. When I learned of it, I wanted to read it because I think horses are magnificent animals, and I felt I needed to know more about them.
Winegard shows us how humans throughout history have taken advantage of the beauty, strength, speed, stamina, and intelligence of horses. I think it is great that Winegard shows us the central role of the horse in the human story, that in effect he has written a work of history from the viewpoint of the horse. I needed to know this. Maybe you need to know it too.
Thank you PENGUIN | Dutton for providing an advance copy in galley form for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This is such a lively book that you will not want to drop the reins of Winegard’s galloping narrative. He starts his journey way back in history—evolutionary as well as human—and rapidly traverses the varying terrains of the world to tell a story that is dense with memorable characters, action, heroism (equine and human), violence, and horror (most vivid in his account of the Spanish importation of horses to their colonies in North and South America).
To tell this story, Winegard draws upon a huge literature and an arena’s worth of perspectives, dating from the earliest written records and archaeological finds to recent work, both popular and scholarly. If there are books or articles about horses that Winegard has not consulted, they probably are not worth knowing about. And I would be surprised if there are facts, statistics, people, and events connected with horses that he has overlooked and/or failed to mention in writing in this book.
Winegard’s narrative also includes seemingly every turn of phrase or metaphor (often with a discussion of its origins) associated with horses: straight from the horse’s mouth, eating like a horse; horse sense; horsing around; horseplay; champing at the bit; hold your horses; behold a pale horse; riders on the storm; my kingdom for a horse; dark horse; unbridled; trotting along; etc.
I did not know much about horses before I read this book. When I learned of it, I wanted to read it because I think horses are magnificent animals, and I felt I needed to know more about them.
Winegard shows us how humans throughout history have taken advantage of the beauty, strength, speed, stamina, and intelligence of horses. I think it is great that Winegard shows us the central role of the horse in the human story, that in effect he has written a work of history from the viewpoint of the horse. I needed to know this. Maybe you need to know it too.
Thank you PENGUIN | Dutton for providing an advance copy in galley form for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
September 23, 2024
very much enjoyed this book and the gathering of two of my most favourite subjects: history and horses. Amazing amount of facts; yes a little academic to be considered light reading. Bonus, Winegard is a fellow Ontarian Canadian so that made the reading more interesting as he offered statistics for Toronto that are often not included in history books.
Equines possess the rare combination of size, speed, strength and stamina so they became very useful as a weapon of war, a prime economic mover and an agricultural powerhouse (p459). Amazingly as Winegard shares the amount of money spent on providing birth control and euthanasia for wild horses in the U.S. and Canada but then also shares the annual economic impact of the estimated 7.25 million horses in the U.S. of $122 billion supporting 1.74 million full-time jobs (breeding, showing, racing, competition, farming ranching, police, military, therapy, Olympics, Indigenous and Amish communities). Great photographs throughout also.
He finished with a brief notation about the wild horses of Sable Island. I wish he had included something about the unique Icelandic horses with their extra gait, as I spent an hour and a half riding one of those this summer.
Favourite lines: The combination of size and speed as evolved by horses, is a rarity in the animal kingdom (p43) "There is a direct correlation between horseback riding and the origin and widespread adoption of pants...prior to the horse-fabricated stitching of pants, people wore gowns, robes, skirts, togas, tunics, leggings, and kilts" (p117) "mentally substitute horses for every aspect of our current motorized and mechanical farming, manufacturing, transport, distribution, services, war, and trade" (p375) "The motorized solutions that saved us from horse pollution in the twentieth century are now imperiling us with their own pollution in the twenty-first century" (p393)
Equines possess the rare combination of size, speed, strength and stamina so they became very useful as a weapon of war, a prime economic mover and an agricultural powerhouse (p459). Amazingly as Winegard shares the amount of money spent on providing birth control and euthanasia for wild horses in the U.S. and Canada but then also shares the annual economic impact of the estimated 7.25 million horses in the U.S. of $122 billion supporting 1.74 million full-time jobs (breeding, showing, racing, competition, farming ranching, police, military, therapy, Olympics, Indigenous and Amish communities). Great photographs throughout also.
He finished with a brief notation about the wild horses of Sable Island. I wish he had included something about the unique Icelandic horses with their extra gait, as I spent an hour and a half riding one of those this summer.
Favourite lines: The combination of size and speed as evolved by horses, is a rarity in the animal kingdom (p43) "There is a direct correlation between horseback riding and the origin and widespread adoption of pants...prior to the horse-fabricated stitching of pants, people wore gowns, robes, skirts, togas, tunics, leggings, and kilts" (p117) "mentally substitute horses for every aspect of our current motorized and mechanical farming, manufacturing, transport, distribution, services, war, and trade" (p375) "The motorized solutions that saved us from horse pollution in the twentieth century are now imperiling us with their own pollution in the twenty-first century" (p393)
November 14, 2024
This book is nothing less than a history of the horse - or more accurately a history of man and the horse working together and how that partnership changed the world. Where did they come from? When were they first domesticated? Why do they seem to work so well - indeed prosper - with people while other animals do not? BTW why not Zebras? How were they put to use in war? In agriculture and industry? I could go on. I suspect that most readers will not know as much about horses as Professor Winegard does - and he is a good writer on top of that knowledge. Winegard also seems to be fully up on new trends in history, including those incorporating historical DNA analysis and the diffusion of languages into already grand narratives of how civilization developed.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and even think I learned something. On top of this Winegard is skilled at dropping names, punning, and unleashing fascinating bits of trivia. Think about all of the phrases ultimately tied to horses have made it into the general language and what they actually mean (“chomping at the bit” “running roughshod”). I did not even know the horse-based origins of the battle of Armageddon.
I am still processing this wonderful book and recommend it. It is a bit long, so allow some time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and even think I learned something. On top of this Winegard is skilled at dropping names, punning, and unleashing fascinating bits of trivia. Think about all of the phrases ultimately tied to horses have made it into the general language and what they actually mean (“chomping at the bit” “running roughshod”). I did not even know the horse-based origins of the battle of Armageddon.
I am still processing this wonderful book and recommend it. It is a bit long, so allow some time.
August 18, 2024
During the first half, I was wishing it had been abridged - much too much detail on ancient times, except if you are a history nerd who wants every scrap of knowledge. About half-way through, the information became more interesting with the last 1/4th or so being very interesting. The book brings up things most of us don't think about, such as, with all those horses in big cities for over 100 years (about 1780 to 1910) the amount of crap and urine a horse puts out makes for overwhelming odors and disease that is not easily eliminated. I didn't realize that Hitler's troops depended on a majority of horse power rather than machine power. I did know that horses were used in WWI and, in both wars, the fate of the horse was horrendous. The beginnings of an ASPCA type movement was started in the UK in the 1800's to protect the horse. Nearly going extinct in the past, domesticating horses saved them and spawned all sorts of inventions and measurements we use today. From ancient times to the Olympics, to sports, to wild herds, this book covers it all. Glad I stuck with it.
July 20, 2024
The horse, a galloping history of humanity by Timothy C Winegard, this was a great book on the history of horses from their contributions to the military uses civil and societal needs of our equine friends The author talks about the different types of horses their sizes in the part they played in human history it is not told and chronological order nor is it a complete history but it does tell the most valuable leaps and bounds that the horse helped contribute I found this book so interesting I know it wasn’t in the book but I also love the fact that those itty-bitty Shetland ponies are even in very rare cases used as sing I horses for the blind… I love that. Either way this is an awesome awesome book I love individual stories from history and they have those and so much more. Although I found the author seem to focus a lot of the book on horses and the military, it wasn’t so much that I didn’t enjoy the book. He also wrote about horses in literature , The international impact they’ve had there’s just a lot in the book and I found it all so totally entertaining.#PenguinGroupDutton, #NetGalley, #TimothyCWinegard, #TheHorse,
September 30, 2024
Written by local professor and hockey coach Timothy Winegard, this follows his highly successful book "The Mosquito: A Human History of our Deadliest Predator." I have not read any of Winegard's other books, so I may have to dig back to his earlier work. If they are like these two, they are in-depth (long), highly researched, witty, and informative. I found "The Mosquito" more attention-grabbing than "The Horse." Maybe it is simply that I am more familiar with horses as they were part of my childhood and remain a part of my life through our daughter. Though, thinking that through, I would have to say I am also highly familiar with mosquitoes - just not by choice. The story of the mosquitoes influence on world history was less obvious. The impact of the horse more obvious thought still interesting and eye-opening as readers travel through history with the animal as the central figure.
August 12, 2024
Winegard starts with pre-history tracing the evolution of the animal that ultimately became the horse, and then starts in the long and varied history of horse and human. He reports on the millennia that the horse was the primary mode of transportation, an essential farming machine, a steadfast companion, and a formidable weapon of war.
Why I started this book: Looking for a solid history during this miserable heat.
Why I finished it: Good history but the heat made me too cranky to enjoy it. I won't bother you with my nitpicks but I will thank Winegard to helping me find the reference that I read years ago about the city pollution that horses created and that cars solved in A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next.
Why I started this book: Looking for a solid history during this miserable heat.
Why I finished it: Good history but the heat made me too cranky to enjoy it. I won't bother you with my nitpicks but I will thank Winegard to helping me find the reference that I read years ago about the city pollution that horses created and that cars solved in A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next.
May 14, 2024
I will agree that that horse is a pivotal “prong” in revolutionising the world - in the same way that fire, or agriculture or any other “technology” changed our way of interacting with the natural world.
This is interesting and I enjoyed reading it - and, I know people I would recommend it to.
If you - or anyone you know - is interested in this kind of very academic non-fiction, then I do recommend it.
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
This is interesting and I enjoyed reading it - and, I know people I would recommend it to.
If you - or anyone you know - is interested in this kind of very academic non-fiction, then I do recommend it.
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
August 18, 2024
This is a very good single topic history covering a chorologic anthropological and historical study of the horse. All chapters are very inclusive of the particular period discussed. As most single topic books always seem to be published concurrently, I am also going through two others covering the same ground (Hoof Beats by William T Taylor and Raiders, Rulers, and Traders by David Chaffetz): though the latter two were recently written up by the NYT, I find Winegard's version to be superior in that he is both more thorough and a superior writer on the subject.
June 19, 2024
Don't let the name fool you. This book is about much more than just the history of the horse. The author looks at the history of humanity as it evolved due to the evolution of the horse. It runs the gamut from when humans became modern humans and discusses wars, pandemics, colonization, destructions, the agricultural revolution, the mechanical revolution, the renaissance, everything. For everyone who loves horses or world history, this book covers it all.
September 10, 2024
Not my usual book, but such an interesting read. Growing up I was afraid of horses but now realize maybe people are who to actually fear. The animal war memorial part was so sad and made me cry! I learned so many horse facts, and the child in me is a little more healed to know they are vegetarians and wouldn’t have eaten me anyway.
October 16, 2024
The first half of the book -- all the way up to the section on Alexander the Great -- was five stars. Fascinating. My jaw dropped practically every page.
The second half was also good, but by this time the horse population was well established, and the horse lore wasn't as riveting, at least to me.
The second half was also good, but by this time the horse population was well established, and the horse lore wasn't as riveting, at least to me.
April 22, 2024
The absolutely amazing story of the horse, from it’s evolution in North America through it’s domestication by man, as a weapon of war and engine of Empire to modern times, this really shows the history of the horse is also the history of humanity.
September 16, 2024
Very readable. Begins with evolution of horses and closes with today's use of horses including a therapy. B&W illustrations. Particularly new to me was the use of horses in WW2 and how Hitler's reliance on them helped to bring him down.
October 2, 2024
The Mosquito is still probably my favorite Winegard book, but this takes a worthy place next to it on my bookshelf. Such an interesting, deeply researched, beautifully sourced history. It's not a beach read - it's big and dense - but it's worth the time and work.
October 4, 2024
I love horses but this book was far too scientific (BORING) to get through.
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