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[–] 195 points 2 years ago (38 children)

Their genetics have sacrificed nearly every aspect of basic resiliency for maximum speed on the plains. Most of the work caring for horses is keeping them from accidentally killing themselves. Full disclosure: I worked as a stable hand as a child in exchange for riding lessons. Will never ever own a horse.

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  • [–] 71 points 2 years ago (30 children)

    What preditor was so fast horses had to evolve to that extent??

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  • [–] 80 points 2 years ago (19 children)

    Big cat. You're aware of the cheetah? Just picture that but not in Africa

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  • [–] 39 points 2 years ago (18 children)

    You know what really caught me up: where are horses native to?

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  • [–] 67 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    There are wild horses on the Mongolian steppes.

    All other horses are domesticated. Even the free horses in USA and Australia are descendants of domesticated horses.

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  • [+] -25 points 2 years ago* (11 children)

    Equus simplicidens lived around 4 million years ago in North America, relying on speed, stamina, and herd behavior for protection from predators like early wolves and big cats. Their survival, much like modern equids, depended on strong social structures and collective awareness. Over time, this lineage spread to other continents via land bridges before becoming extinct in North America. evolved into the distinct species of horses, zebras, and donkeys and where reintroduced into the American continent by humans

    -chatgpt + edits

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  • [–] 30 points 2 years ago (10 children)

    ChatGPT? Then everyone should assume this is horse shit until verified.

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  • [–] 19 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    Equus simplicidens, also known as the Hagerman horse, lived around 4 million years ago in North America and is considered an ancestor of modern horses, zebras, and donkeys[3][5]. These animals relied on speed, stamina, and herd behavior for protection against predators such as early wolves and big cats[3]. Their survival was supported by strong social structures and collective awareness[3]. Over time, Equus species migrated to other continents via land bridges[4]. They eventually went extinct in North America around 10,000 years ago during the Pleistocene extinction event[1][2][4]. Horses were later reintroduced to the continent by humans in the late 15th century[4].

    Citations: [1] POST-PLEISTOCENE HORSES (EQUUS) FROM MÉXICO https://meridian.allenpress.com/tjs/article/74/1/Article%205/487323/POST-PLEISTOCENE-HORSES-EQUUS-FROM-MEXICO [2] Horses in North America: A Comeback Story | Blog | Nature - PBS https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/american-horses-horses-in-north-america-a-comeback-story/ [3] The Hagerman Horse (Equus simplicidens) - National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/equus_simplicidens.htm [4] Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife https://awionline.org/content/wild-horses-native-north-american-wildlife [5] Park Archives: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument https://npshistory.com/publications/hafo/index.htm [6] American Zebra (Equus simplicidens) - iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/317782-Equus-simplicidens [7] Hagerman Horse - Start Packing Idaho https://www.startpackingidaho.com/blog/hagerman-horse/

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    So, what, did ChatGPT just rip this off wikipedia?

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    I do have a custom instruction to use Wikipedia as a source where possible.

    The difference is i dont need to know what i am looking for i can just ask some a basic question.

    Llms are limited and for that reason vey hated on lemmy but they can be very useful when configured right.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    My teachers used to say the same about Wikipedia.

    I did edit heavily, this is 3 outputs combined including a fact check this using Wikipedia

    It does not fail on such basic questions, “fact check this:” in a new instance works more reliably then asking a human.

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  • [–] 28 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Us. They basically tried to beat pursuit predation by outrunning the distance humans will be willing to track over.

    It did not work, they went extinct in North America because of how much it did not work.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago* (3 children)

    Large predatory flightless birds probably didn't help either.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Human. Not for food, but because they always choose to breed on the Porcshe over the Toyota Hilux for racing.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago*

    The wording here makes it sound like we hunted horses for the specific purpose of having sex on them, and honestly, I'd probably be running as fast as a car if that kept happening to me too!

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  • [–] 63 points 2 years ago

    Same for rabbits. The are basically as much lean muscle that can fit on the lighest possible skeleton.

    If you pick up a rabbit wrong, they can snap their own back with the momentum from kicking their back legs.

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  • [+] [S] 50 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)