Horses have been an important component of American life and culture since before the founding of the nation. In 2008, there were an estimated 9.2 million horses in the United States,[1] with 4.6 million citizens involved in businesses related to horses.[2][3] There are an estimated 82,000[4] feral horses that roam freely in the wild in certain parts of the country, mostly in the Western United States.
While genus Equus, of which the horse is a member, originally evolved in North America, these horse relatives became extinct on the continent approximately 8,000–12,000 years ago. In 1493, on Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the Americas, Spanish horses, representing E. caballus, were brought back to North America, first to the Virgin Islands; they were introduced to the continental mainland by Hernán Cortés in 1519. From early Spanish imports to Mexico and Florida, horses moved north, supplemented by later imports to the east and west coasts brought by British, French, and other European colonists. Native peoples of the Americas quickly obtained horses and developed their own horse culture.[5][6]
Horses remained an integral part of American rural and urban life until the 20th century, when the widespread emergence of mechanization caused their use for industrial, economic, and transportation purposes to decline. Modern use of the horse in the United States is primarily for recreation and entertainment, though some horses are still used for specialized tasks.
^Vialkely, M.K. (June 2008). "Do You Hear the Call?" (PDF). United States Equestrian Federation. p. 51. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
^"USEF Interscholastic Riding Programs Guide" (PDF). United States Equestrian Federation. p. 1. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
^"The Industry & Media Influence". theequestrianchannel.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
^"Herd Area and Herd Management Area Statistics" (PDF). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
^Hämäläinen, Pekka (December 2003). "The Rise and Fall of Plains Indian Horse Cultures". Journal of American History. 90 (3): 833–862. doi:10.2307/3660878. JSTOR 3660878.
^Taylor, William Timothy Treal; Hart, Isaac; Jones, Emily Lena; Brenner-Coltrain, Joan; Thompson Jobe, Jessica; Britt, Brooks B.; McDonald, H. Gregory; Li, Yue; Zhang, Chengrui; Le Roux, Petrus; Shield Chief Gover, Carlton Quinn (July 2021). "Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Lehi Horse: Implications for Early Historic Horse Cultures of the North American West". American Antiquity. 86 (3): 465–485. doi:10.1017/aaq.2020.109. ISSN 0002-7316. S2CID 234025073.
and 25 Related for: Horses in the United States information
2 million horsesintheUnitedStates, with 4.6 million citizens involved in businesses related to horses. There are an estimated 82,000 feral horses that...
to raise horses for human consumption. The practice has become controversial in some parts of the world due to several concerns: whether horses are (or...
likely the leftover scraps of wood were put to use inthe production of Dala horses. Many early Dala horses were not painted at all, but inthe beginning...
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western UnitedStates, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Mustangs...
Agriculture is a major industry intheUnitedStates, which is a net exporter of food. As of the 2017 census of agriculture, there were 2.04 million farms...
the UnitedStates, but after the war began, an embargo stopped shipping. The breed was used extensively in Europe during the war, with some horses being...
the Indigenous peoples of theUnitedStates or portions thereof, such as American Indians from the contiguous UnitedStates and Alaska Natives. The United...
passed in most Northern states and a movement developed to abolish slavery. The role of slavery under theUnitedStates Constitution (1789) was the most...
markings. Heck horses were subsequently exported to theUnitedStates, where a breed association was created inthe 1960s. Heck horses are dun or grullo...
The president of theUnitedStates (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of theUnitedStates of America. The president directs the executive...
A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local...
domesticated populations live inthe wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, which are horses that never have been domesticated...
The Northeastern UnitedStates, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of theUnited States...
IntheUnitedStates, evangelicalism is a movement among Protestant Christians who believe inthe necessity of being born again, emphasize the importance...
that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existence, wild horses were hunted as a source...
IntheUnitedStates, gambling is subject to a variety of legal restrictions. In 2008, gambling activities generated gross revenues (the difference between...
The following is a list of events of the year 2024 intheUnitedStates, as well as predicted and scheduled events that have not yet occurred. With the...
This is a list of events inthe year 2018 intheUnitedStates. President: Donald Trump (R-New York) Vice President: Mike Pence (R-Indiana) Chief Justice:...
Rail transportation intheUnitedStates consists primarily of freight shipments along a well integrated network of standard gauge private freight railroads...
reflected in discriminatory laws, practices, and actions (including violence) against "racial" or ethnic groups throughout the history of theUnitedStates. Since...
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which thehorses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a...
Global Information