Synopsis
Horses have a shared history with man going back millennia to their domestication around 4000 B.C. Yet only in very recent years have scientists begun to turn the tools of modem science on this remarkable animal that has been so wrapped up in human dreams and legends. Now modern scientific research is beginning to explain long-standing mysteries about the true nature of the horse. How well can horses really see? What causes breakdowns in racehorses? How intelligent are they compared to other animals, and are some breeds smarter than others? Does nature or nurture matter more in creating a great sport horse? What causes cribbing and other vices? In this beautifully illustrated, compelling narrative, Budiansky tells the story of the origins, behavior, intelligence and language of the horse.
For the first time, horse lovers will have access to cutting-edge research on topics of interest including new information on horse vision, horse biology and movement. Introducing the latest archeological findings, Budiansky presents a fascinating discussion of how the horse evolved as well as a dramatic and provocative history of man's use and abuse of the horse from prehistoric times to today. In a revealing chapter on horse intelligence, he debunks the commonly held belief that horses are stupid and also presents compelling new scientific information on horse language which will greatly benefit the horse rider and trainer. Finally, drawing together the latest research on horse physiology, genetics and biomechanics, Budiansky asks the million dollar question — what makes for a winning racehorse? Anyone who loves horses will find this an invaluable resource as well as a fascinatingread.
Publishers Weekly
Throughout its 6000 years of domesti-cation, the horse has been viewed-not always to its benefit-through the distorting lens of human perception. "I would argue that at this late date in the shared history of man and horse," says Budiansky (Covenant of the Wild; Nature's Keepers: The New Science of Nature Management), "it is only the objective tools of science that can sort out what millenniums of tradition, lore, and wishful thinking have sometimes muddled." To do that sorting, he uses the tools of a wide range of scientific disciplines, from archaeology to neurophysiology, to biomechanics. Along the way, he debunks long-held misconceptions about the familiar equine, which, he points out, would probably died out early in the Old World (as it did in the New) if it had not been domesticated by early dwellers of the Ukraine. However romantic the lore that Budiansky disproves (the feral horses of Assateague are not, in fact, descendents of castaways from Spanish galleons), the rigorously researched facts and keen observations that he replaces them with are equally enthralling. Many graphs and line drawings illustrate such topics as equine intelligence and gaits. Whether a "horse person" or a generalist with an interest in natural history, the reader is sure to learn much from this intelligent, stimulating treatise.