-
Jan 1, 1300
Eohippus
The early ancestors of the horse lived in North America and crossed to Europe on the Bering Straight. This was in 48000B.C. -
Jan 1, 1300
Horses First Domesticated in Europe
Horses are first domesticated in Eastern Europe. This was in 4,000 B.C. -
Jan 1, 1300
Northern Africans breed and ride horses
Northern Africans master the arts of breeding and riding horses- People living in Northern Africa were called Moors, and once they understood horses they began to use them in battle against the Spainish. The horses they used gave them the advantage and they took over Spain -
Jan 1, 1492
Spainish drive out Moors
seeing how valuable horses were, the Spainsh too, learned to control them. Once they were taken over by the Moors, they began to learn and after several hundred years they had become the most skilled horse breeders and riders in Europe. This allowed them to take their land back from the Moors, and finally defeat them in 1492 -
Jan 1, 1493
Columbus brings horses to Hispaniola
Spainish horses became the fastest and beast horses in Europe and when Columbus landed in the West Indies (thinking that he was in China) he unloaded the horses he'd brought with him. This was a sort of homecoming for the horses because North America was were their ancestors were from. -
Jan 1, 1500
Extra explination- Indians become vanqueros
Also called cowboys, Indians begin to work for Europeans under the encomienda system, which was supposed to work so that Indians would work and serve a conquistador, and in turn the conquistador would look after them and take care of them. This system didn't work as planned, and many Indians were merely enslaved. -
Jan 1, 1500
Spanish begin cattle ranches
Spainish begin cattle ranches in Mexico on Aztec land. The herds multiplied and took more Indian land. Horse population has dramatically increased in Mexico -
Jan 1, 1519
Cortés uses horses to conquer Aztecs in Mexico
Cortés uses horses to conquer Aztecs in Mexico -
May 29, 1530
Pizarro uses horse to conquer Peru
Pizarro uses horse to conquer Peru -
Wild horses now roam Mexico
Wild horses now roam Mexico. Extra info: Before horses: Indians used bolas to hunt, "long ropes with heavy rocks tied to each end. A hunter swung a bola over his head until it was spinning, then released it in full swing. Striking the animal, the bola wrapped around its legs and prevented it from running away." After horse: Indians use horses and the Spainish lazo (lasso along) with bolas. Horses changed the lifestyles of those Indians who began using them. They found they could expand their hu -
Spainish cattle ranches begin
Spainish cattle ranches begin in modern day California, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida. Because of all the cattle and the horses used to herd and care for them, the Spainsh were responible for the "cowboy era" -
Pueblo Revlot
the pueblo Indians living near Santa Fe, New Mexico, rebelled aginst the Spainsh who treated them so poorly. Indians massacered Spainsh settlers and captured or free thousands of horses. Those horses who were freed became some of the first wild herds of mustangs in the West. The Pueblo Revolt also made it clear to the natives living in North America that horses were very valuable. -
Pioneers moving to Texas often create cattle ranchers
Pioneers moving to Texas often create cattle ranchers using the Spainish longhorn cattle and ranching system. Today you can see the Spainish impact on rancher's clothing. Spainish chaparejos became the American chaps, and the vanqueros became the American buckarro or cowboy. -
After Civil war cattle ranching spreads
After Civil war cattle ranching spreads across the Great Plains to Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. Railroads helped to transport cattle -
End of the golden age of cowboys
Soon new inventions like the windmill, and barbed wire fence, made horses less nessasary, and eventually unnecessary. -
Modern day
Today, since the invention of the train and automobile, the horse's role has changed. Today horses are used for recreation, since machines have replaced horses. People still use horses for races, shows, pets, and rodeos.
