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Horses were first tamed at least 5,500 years ago, by peoples who not only rode them but milked them as well. Archaeological research has shown that the domestication of horses began at least 1,000 years earlier than thought, among the Botai culture that thrived in what is now Kazakhstan between 3700BC and 3100BC. A British-led team of scientists has discovered three lines of evidence that point to an equestrian tradition among the Botai, who lived in a region where wild horses are known to have been abundant. The findings, published in the journal Science, also show that the animals were...

To Hell with AP.

Chinese archaeologists probe origin of domestic horses through DNA www.chinaview.cn 2006-04-01 15:55:19 BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists are studying the DNA samples extracted from the bones of horses unearthed from ancient sites to probe the origin of domestic horses in China. It's still a mystery to archaeologists when and where horses were first tamed in China, said Cai Dawei, a researcher with the center of archaeological research for China's border area under the Jilin University in Northwest China. The DNA research will offer valuable clues on the study of migration, spread and domestication of horses, Cai said. A...

Scientists have traced the origin of the 'speed gene' in Thoroughbred racehorses back to a single British mare that lived in the United Kingdom around 300 years ago, according to findings published today in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The origin of the 'speed gene' (C type myostatin gene variant) was revealed by analysing DNA from hundreds of horses, including DNA extracted from the skeletal remains of 12 celebrated Thoroughbred stallions born between 1764 and 1930. "Changes in racing since the foundation of the Thoroughbred have shaped the distribution of 'speed gene' types over time and in different racing regions,"...

While you were preparing for Thanksgiving and President Obama was sparing the life of a couple of photo op turkeys, he also approved legislation that will result in the domestic slaughter of thousands of horses every year for human food. For the past half-decade the relatives of Flicka, Black Beauty and Seabiscuit have been spared the domestic livestock disassembly line -- the quick blow to the head, bleeding, eviscerating, slicing, grinding, packaging and cooking that comes with being edible around hungry Americans or shipped abroad as a delicacy for foreign palates.

There was a time when the saying “a man without a horse” was widely understood.  Its meaning may not be as quickly grasped as it once was.  However, the phrase certainly is applicable even in this age where many folks do not or have never owned a horse.  “A man without a horse” is one who is incomplete.  He is lacking.  Perhaps, a similar situation today would be a man without a car, a job, or his spouse.  Figuratively a man’s horse is that which gives him the desire to go forward and conquer in life and when it is...

Cowboy Mounted Shooting has a style of its own. Unlike any other Western equestrian sport, this one combines, fashion, leather and guns. No gender in the sport shows it off better than the girls. Meet some of the Girls of Mounted Shooting. Photos by Ken Amorosano, Lucinda Wood, James Cook and John Beckett Growing up, I was frequently told that I could do or be anything. I never heard there was a ceiling beyond which I could not reach. The American Dream was an open door to me, as it was to all Americans. We foster an ideal in this...

Ahead by a whisker: Stubborn stallion Alfie is Britain's most moustachioed horse... after refusing trim for 5 YEARS This is Alfie, Britain's most moustachioed horse - and he's so proud of his title he refuses to let stable hands meddle with his facial hair. The 15-year-old shire cross sports an astonishing seven-inch-long golden moustache.

On July 10, at 6:39 ET, the BBC ran a story with a headline that stated, "Pony 'beaten' into Hampshire lake dies".I am sure millions around the world had the same reaction as I did when I first read the accounts as reported by the BBC. We really do owe a debt of gratitude to the nameless reporter who informed us of this heinous act. Well, that is what many must have thought as they read the story first thing Monday Morning before they headed off to work. Then again, what if the reporter was telling a tale that...

A knight in shining armor isn’t always the key to a woman’s heart. Case in point: Jan Rudnicki, a 40-year-old Polish man who hopped onto a horse and plowed into a female’s house in hopes of sweeping her off her feet. According to the Croatian Times, a drunk and shirtless Rudnicki jumped on the equine, who galloped right through Gosia Domoslawska’s front door. As we all know, these sort of advances aren’t well received in instances of unrequited love, so an uninterested Domoslawska called authorities after Rudnicki stormed through her place. The faux savior could spend up to five years...

Animal-Welfare Groups Are Joining Ranchers in a Push to Revive an Industry That Died in 2007 Less than four years after the last equine slaughterhouses in the U.S. closed down, an unlikely coalition of ranchers, horse owners and animal-welfare groups is trying to bring them back. The group, gathering in Las Vegas this week for a conference called Summit of the Horse, aims to map out a strategy for reviving an industry that slaughtered as many as 100,000 horses a year in the U.S. before it was effectively shut down by congressional action in 2007. Advocates say the slaughterhouses could...

BAR staff at the Humpty Doo Hotel got a surprise on New Year's Eve when a patron rode a horse into the pub and ordered a beer. Riding bareback and wearing no more than shorts and a pair of thongs, Trevor Yeend steered horse Elvis through the crowd and went straight for the bar. The 48-year-old jockey said it was easier to ride to the bar than walk. "I think people were a bit stunned," he said. "But it was just another night at the Humpty Doo pub I guess." Newsbreaker Dave Grant snapped a photo of Mr Yeend and...

In the Galilee region of Northern Israel, a tourist captured this video footage of three horses galloping down the road in the opposite lane in front of them. The scene soon took a bizarre turn however, when a car came towards the horses. The two smaller horses swerved to avoid the vehicle, but the third horse decided to try his equestrian skills by jumping over the car instead. Unfortunately he was a tad bit low on his jump, because the horse leaped straight at the car putting his front legs through the windshield before jumping out and over the roof....

In the Galilee region of Northern Israel, a tourist captured this video footage of three horses galloping down the road in the opposite lane in front of them. The scene soon took a bizarre turn however, when a car came towards the horses. The two smaller horses swerved to avoid the vehicle, but the third horse decided to try his equestrian skills by jumping over the car instead. Unfortunately he was a tad bit low on his jump, because the horse leaped straight at the car putting his front legs through the windshield before jumping out and over the roof....

As a blind Muslim woman, Mona Ramouni has had to make do without a guide dog her whole life. The 28-year-old's strictly religious parents would not allow a dog in the house, considering the animal unclean. But then Miss Ramouni stumbled across a website article about miniature guide horses in April 2008. 'It was something that I never thought about for myself,' she said. The psychology student used three years of savings from her job at a Braille proofreading company to pay for a horse to be trained to act as her guide. Since welcoming three-year-old guide horse Cali into...

Back in 2004, when academics unearthed skeletons found at a house in the ancient Roman town that was covered in ashes in 79 AD, they thought it belonged to an extinct breed of horse... What happened really was that there seems to have been a mix-up in the lab, which led to horse DNA being combined with donkey DNA, creating an artificial hybrid that actually never existed. Six years ago, the skeletons of equids having belonged to a rich Roman household in Pompeii were analyzed. There were found in the stables of a probably wealthy politician, and all five of...

HAMILTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A teen's spirit week stunt has landed him in hot water. Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School Senior Dan Depaolis, dressed in medieval garb, rode a horse into the school's parking lot as part of spirit week. What he, and his parents, thought was a good-natured stunt, the school deemed dangerous. Depaolis was suspended from school for two days. The vice principal allegedly suspended the 17-year-old even after the boy’s father explained that the horse was brought in on a trailer and that no one was in danger. The father tells FOX25 the school compared the...

HAMILTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A teen's spirit week stunt has landed him in hot water. Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School Senior Dan Depaolis, dressed in medieval garb, rode a horse into the school's parking lot as part of spirit week. What he, and his parents, thought was a good-natured stunt, the school deemed dangerous. Depaolis was suspended from school for two days. The vice principal allegedly suspended the 17-year-old even after the boy’s father explained that the horse was brought in on a trailer and that no one was in danger. The father tells FOX25 the school compared the...

Visions of Judgment: The Horsemen of Revelation The "four horsemen of the Apocalypse"— this latter term being the Greek name for the book of Revelation—have intrigued Bible readers for centuries. What do they represent? The implications for mankind are staggering. In this first article of a series, we introduce the overall prophecy and look in detail at the first horseman. By Darris McNeely Few sights are as stirring as a scene of horsemen galloping across a landscape. Moviemakers use such scenes to add drama, mystery and power to their stories.In Revelation 6, Christ uses four horsemen to represent the first...

This is a first, and it's not something to be proud of, but I have to be honest: I didn't actually ingest this week's "I'm Eating What?!?" products. Yes, the whole aim of this column is to chomp down on unusual things, swallow, research and report. But when something smells so gawd-awful that it makes me want to wretch -- no gig is worth that. (My friend and fellow taster, a particularly vociferous bacon-lover, even pulled the Jew card as an excuse for not trying the products, claiming they weren't kosher. Girl, puuuuhhhlleeease.) However, we are pleased to report that...