Englisches Jagdpferd

Title

Englisches Jagdpferd

Description

Depiction of an English hunting horse and its rider with a hunting horn.

ca. 1830

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

Horses belong to the genus of African and Asian donkeys, as well as at least three zebra species. The wild forms of the horse species still live today in eastern and southern Africa and in the central regions of Asia. Only in its native North America did the horse die out around 10,000 years ago, and the mustangs living there today are feral descendants of the horses brought by Spanish conquistadors. Horses prefer open terrain as their habitat. They can be found in savannahs and steppes, but also in drier habitats such as semi-deserts and deserts. One of the horse's strengths is its adaptability. This already helped its early ancestors. The horse migrated to Europe and Asia via the land bridges that existed before the Ice Age and conquered different habitats on five continents. Nowadays, however, the horse often takes on a role as a leisure and sports partner and the term pet seems more appropriate. Horses are large and strong and can therefore be used as excellent working and riding animals.