What do you think was discovered first?

[harli36]

Wow since so many people said arabian, the scientists that have studied this that Sandra quoted must all be wrong.

[cassidy]

i would probably say the arabian but who knows

[cassidy]

Scientists have found that the earliest ancestor of the horse was a small animal about 10 to 20 inches tall. About 3 million years ago horses probably looked somewhat like modern horses. They were larger than their ancestors. No one was able to find out where horses originated. Different fossils show that during the Ice Age horses lived on every single continent on earth except Australia

[cassidy]

History
Among 250 equine breeds known today in the world the Akhal-Teke horse is universally considered one of the most ancient ones. Many researchers regard it as the most ancient one. Of ancient noblesse, older than that of the Arabian or the English Thoroughbred, the Akhal-Teke is a full-blooded horse that is second to none.

(I FOUND THIS ON THE NET ALSO)

[Sandra-A1]

That is what I keep finding...that the Akhal-Teke IS a breed older than the Arabian.

[*lauren & jp*]

i say arabians....BUT no one *at this point, and maybe ever* can be ABSOLUTELY 100% sure though b/c even though they have "this and that" to prove "that and this", we didn't live back then, and there might be things that were "lost" or will "never be found" that could lead to that ABSOLUTE 100% correct answer...
BUT, as others have said, the arabian is THE "foundation breed" of MOST horses....so...that's why i go with Arabians!

[Sandra-A1]

This is what I found:

The Arabian horse first appeared in the Arabian Peninsula at least 2,500 years B.C.E. They were carefully bred to maintain desirable features (e.g. stamina, soundness, strength, and beauty), and are therefore one of the oldest, if not the oldest breeds in the world (this has been contested with the Akhal-Teke).


Around 630 AD, Islamic warriors began to fight their north and west. By 711, they had taken Spain. Most of their mounts were Turkish or Barb, but a few were Arabian.

[Top Dun]

Well lets not forget that the Prezwalskis horse MAY be older than BOTH of those breeds. However if we are only going to have to choose between the two I'd say Akhal -Teke.

[Top Dun]

Other intersting info

http://www-cgi.cnn.com/WORLD/9511/tibet_pony/

And lets not forget the Caspian

http://www.caspians.com/history.htm
http://www.caspianpony.com/history.htm
and so far the worlds oldest stable has been discovered in egypt.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1999/455/tr3.htm