The Horse

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mosquito comes this fascinating story of horses and how they have shaped human history.

The Horse is an epic history that begins more than 5500 years ago on the windswept grasslands of the Eurasian Steppe when the first horse was tamed and an unbreakable bond with humans was forged—a bond that transformed the future of humanity.

Since that pivotal moment, the horse has carried the fate of civilisations on its powerful back. For millennia it was the primary mode of transport, an essential farming machine, a steadfast companion, and a formidable weapon of war. With its unique combination of size, speed, strength, and stamina, the horse has influenced every facet of human life and widened the scope of human ambition and achievement.

Horses revolutionised the way we hunted, traded, travelled, farmed, fought, worshipped, and interacted. They fundamentally modified the human genome and the world's linguistic map. They determined international borders, moulded cultures, fuelled economies, and decided the destinies of conquerors and empires. And they were vectors of lethal disease and contributed to life-saving medical innovations. Horses even inspired architecture, invention, furniture, and fashion. From the thundering cavalry charges of Alexander the Great to the streets of New York during the Great Manure Crisis of 1894 and beyond, horses have been integral to both the grand arc of history and our everyday lives.

Timothy C. Winegard's The Horse is a riveting fast-paced narrative of this noble animal's unrivalled and enduring place in human history. To know the horse is to understand the world.

A few of the fascinating insights in The Horse:

• The Mongols created the original "Pony Express" when they realized that messengers could cover upwards of 50 miles in a day with multiple horses.
• All modern Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigree to just three Arabian stallions imported to England around 1700.
• In WWI, over 16 million horses, donkeys, and mules were conscripted from civilians to fight, including 136,000 horses from Australia.

Praise for The Horse:

"They say that dogs are humankind's best friend, but as Timothy Winegard makes clear in this sweeping book, it's the horse that truly deserves that title—and not just that one. Horses were revolutionary political allies, tireless explorers, and our deadliest weapons of war as well. And if we've come so far, it's only because the horse has carried us here, and this book masterfully maps each stage in that 5500-year epic journey." - Sam Kean, author of The Icepick Surgeon and The Disappearing Spoon