Overview

The feral cousins of well-known domesticated breeds, wild horses live on the margins of human habitation, whether that be the Eurasian steppe, the wide open ranges of Utah, or the wetlands of the Carmague in southern France. Divided by continent, Wild Horses celebrates these last untamed examples of an animal species that has served humankind so well over many millennia. Learn about Przewalski’s horse, a breed with a 20,000-year lineage that runs wild today on the grasslands of Hungary; find out about the hardy little Dartmoor ponies, which were developed in rural Devon, England, as working animals by tin miners and now live in a semi-feral state; discover the Turkmene, an Oriental horse from the wastes of the Turkoman desert that can trace its history back to Genghis Khan and the Mongol invasion of Eurasia; and marvel at the Namib Desert horse, thought to be the only feral horse living in Africa, and which has evolved to survive up to 72 hours without water in the dry desert conditions. With detailed captions explaining the origins, habitat and behaviour of these noble creatures, Wild Horses provides a vivid pictorial introduction in 150 brilliant photographs.

Full Product Details

Author:   Tom Jackson
Publisher:   Amber Books Ltd
Imprint:   Amber Books
Dimensions:   Width: 23.30cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 30.30cm
Weight:   1.400kg
ISBN:  

9781838864279

ISBN 10:   183886427
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   14 June 2024
Audience:   General/trade ,  Children/juvenile ,  Young adult ,  General ,  Children / Juvenile
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents include: Introduction Asia: From Steppe to Mountain For a long time, scientists considered Przewalski’s horse – native to northern parts of Asia – to be the only true wild horse to survive until modern times. That theory was overturned when DNA analysis revealed that Przewalski’s horse is probably descended from domesticated horses kept by the prehistoric north Asian Botai people. Turkmene (Turkey) Akhal-Teke (Central Asia) Yilki horse (Central Asia) Przewalski’s horse (Mongolia) Mongolian wild horse or takhi (China &Central Asia) Yakut horse (Siberia/Yakutsk) Misaki horse (Japan) Jeju horse (Korea) Europe: From Moorlands to Wetlands The Konik horse is a semi-feral horse breed with dun colouring and dorsal stripes, like the horses seen in ancient cave paintings. Short and stocky with a small head and thick mane, the Konik looks a lot like the extinct Tarpan, the indigenous wild horse of the Eurasian Steppe. A different population of feral horses inhabits the Danube Delta region of Romania. Dartmoor pony (England) Exmoor pony (England) Przewalski’s horse (Hungary) Camargue horses (France) Giara (Sardinia) Konik house (Poland) Heck horse (Germany) The Americas: Land of the Mustang The world’s most iconic wild horses have to be the mustangs of the American West. Their ancestors arrived more than five centuries ago with the Spanish conquistadors. Today they roam free in North Dakota, Montana and North Carolina. Spanish mustang (USA) Chincoteague ponies (USA) Australia: Roaming Free Australia has the world’s largest population of wild horses. At least one million ‘Brumbies’, as the horses are known, roam free throughout the continent. Africa: Desert Survivors To see the rarest and wildest of all feral horses, you’ll have to travel to Namibia. The Namib Desert Horse roams the barren Garub Plains of the Namib Desert. They look like handsome thoroughbreds and seem to thrive in the harsh desert conditions, where they live completely independently of humans.

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Author Information

Tom Jackson is a leading natural history writer based in the United Kingdom. As an author and contributor he has worked on more than 60 books. A zoology graduate from the University of Bristol, he has also worked as a zookeeper and in safari parks in Zimbabwe.

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