Where does the thoroughbred come from - Essay Example

This paper will also show how the creation of British “Classic” races late in the eighteenth century and early in the nineteenth century changed the nature of racing and thus changed the way Thoroughbreds were being bred. Ths paper will also detail the distinctive physical appearance of the Thoroughbred which is the result of several centuries of selective breeding. The paper will also detail the history of how the breed first emerged in other countries and on other continents and how it prospers today as the hub of two multibillion dollar international industries, agribusiness and legalized gambling.

This paper will also describe the way the Thoroughbred’s speed and stamina have created other breeds such as the Standardbred and The Hackney Horse. It will also discuss how the Thoroughbred has been utilized to improve other breeds of horses, such as the Quarter-Horse, the Morgan and the Irish Draught Horse. Paleontologists have traced back the origin and development of the horse about fifty million years. The species evolved from a four-toed, flat-footed herbivore known as Eohoppus, who stood only two feet high.

The most ancient discoveries of the species were found in North America. Researchers believe that the horse disappeared from that continent by 10,000 B.C. and would not return until European settlers imported horses beginning in the sixteenth century. The assumption is that the Eohopppus was able to move from North America to Europe and Asia utilizing the land bridges between the continents which existed in the Ice Age. From the Eohoppus, or “Dawn Horse”, the species evolved into its present form as a grazing animal with solid hooves and strong, long teeth.

It was more than four thousand years ago when man was first able to tame and domesticate the horse. Originally, they raised the species for its meat and its milk. But with the development of the chariot and then the saddle, the horse became a main source for transportation, both