The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, H is for Horse – 170-year-old model teeth, the Parthenon friezes, and the surprising origins of racehorses' speed.
A disease lethal to horses, until now confined to hot countries, could arrive in the UK. New research creates a picture of its possible spread and pinpoints the area that would be worse hit.
The identity of the winner of the 1880 Epsom Derby – the classic race to be run today - was famously disputed. Now analysis of DNA from the bones of historic horses has solved the mystery conclusively - and has confirmed the authenticity of the skeleton of one of the most famous stallions of all time.
Research reconciles competing theories about the origin of the domestic horse.
All British thoroughbred racehorses, including Polymelus, are descended from three stallions – the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk.
Research by a team of scientists suggests that a variant of the so-called speed gene found in top racehorses can be traced back to a single British mare living around 300 years ago. That mare may have had a similar genetic make-up to today's sturdy native ponies.
The models demonstrate the appearance of horses’ teeth at different ages, the effects of wind sucking and crib biting.
In the latest report of the Extreme Sleepover series, undergraduate Robin Irvine explains how a fascination for the relationships between humans, horses and dogs took him to the Mongolian steppes.
Thoroughbred racehorses have typically been associated with the highly-prized breeds of the Arabian Peninsula; but according to new research, their origins may be far more cosmopolitan than previously thought.
Understanding our biological past is a tricky business. It's like trying to build a jigsaw puzzle when most of the pieces are missing. However, bioarchaeologists at the University of Cambridge are doing just that through the study of human-environment interactions within a historic and prehistoric framework, often with surprising results.
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