The Horse, a comprehensive exhibit of what the horse has meant in the lives of people down through history has its West Coast Premier on June 1, 2012, at the Museum of Natural History located in historic Balboa Park in San Diego, CA. The Horse traces the history of horses from prehistoric cave drawings up to the present day when horses are engaging with autistic children in hippotherapy.
Explore the evolution of the horse
The Horse traces the history of horses from prehistoric cave drawings up to the present day when horses are engaging with autistic children in hippotherapy.
The horse-human relationship started as a prey-predator dynamic. Humans domesticated horses some 6,000 years ago, and over time, we have created more than 200 breeds, from the powerful Clydesdale to the graceful Arabian. As we have shaped horses to suit our needs on battlefields, farms and elsewhere, these animals have shaped human history.
The exhibit invites visitors to:
Examine the beginnings of the horse family 55 million years ago and explore the evolution of the horse. Touch skulls, teeth, and toe bones. Come face-to-face with a variety of now-extinct horse species that populated North America’s Great Plains 10 million years ago, including Dinohippus and two three-toed species, Nannippus and Hypohippus. Also, see Dinohippus and Hypohippus skulls and jawbones showing the evolution of the shape of horse teeth over time.
Explore cave paintings depicting early interactions with horses and discover the relationship between our two species—that of hunter and prey. This section includes prehistoric stone tools and horse bones and teeth more than 17,500 years old from the famous horse-kill site of Solutré in central France. View large-scale photographs of cave paintings of horses—including one that dates back some 33,000 years.
Investigate the extraordinary qualities that have made horses so useful to humans. View astonishing artifacts that highlight the horse’s role in cultures worldwide, including a bronze figurine depicting China’s legendary celestial horse from the Han dynasty, which is dated as early as 2nd-century BCE to 2nd-century AD.
Explore uplifting relationships between humans and horses through videos, including that of a young disabled girl's growth during therapeutic riding, the trust that develops between a mounted police officer and his horse, and a teenage cowgirl’s connection to her ranch horse. See a spectacular life-size modern horse sculpture created by artist Deborah Butterfield, who constructed the piece out of wood and cast it in bronze.
Witness how the bond between horses and humans continues today in therapy and sport, and learn what you can do to protect the lives of the last remaining wild horses.
Horses are now used less for warfare, travel, and work, and more for recreation and companionship. With a total of 58.5 million horses in the world today, this bond should remain strong for many years to come.
In the West Coast premiere of The Horse, learn more about the stories and science behind these legendary, exceptional, and captivating animals.
The Horse is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, United Arab Emirates; the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau-Ottawa; The Field Museum, Chicago; and the San Diego Natural History Museum.
The San Diego Natural History Museum thanks the following sponsors for their generous support of the San Diego exhibit: Del Mar Racetrack, Blenheim EquiSports, City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, The WWW Foundation, and The Walter J. and Betty C. Zable Foundation.
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