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Saddle Up

The domestication of horses has helped humans in many ways. Students will learn about the history and functions of these majestic animals.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

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  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Archaeologic evidence suggests that the domestication of horses began around 2200 BCE in the Eurasian Steppe. Over the millennia, horses have contributed to major advancements in transportation, battle, agricultural work, and other areas. Have students research the history of their domestication. Who were probably the first people to domesticate them? What was their original purpose? What other fields (perhaps sport, leisure, therapy, police work) employ horses? What are their most common uses today?

  • Step 2

    Have students create a scene that shows domesticated horses. Perhaps they'll be pulling a plow or herding cattle on a farm, carrying a mounted police officer, relaxing or frolicking in a safe space, or participating in an equestrian show.

  • Step 3

    Have students discuss the scene they depicted and talk about what they learned about the ways horses help humans.

Standards

SS: Time, Continuity, and Change: Read, reconstruct, and interpret the past. Imagine the future. Place oneself in various times and spaces and reflect on change.

SS: Time, Continuity, and Change: Understand linkages between human decisions and consequences.

SCI: Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment. 

Adaptations

Have students learn about the feral horses of Assateague Island off the coast of Maryland and Virginia. They are not "wild," but feral, meaning they are descendants of previous domestic animals. (It is believed that their ancestors survived a shipwreck off the Virginia coast.) Ask students to also research other areas where wild or feral horses can be found, including North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, along the slopes of Alberta, Canada, and elsewhere.

Have students explore horses in famous artworks. Suggestions include the paintings "Whistlejacket" (1762) by George Stubbs, "Horse Frightened by a Thunderstorm" (mid-1820s) by Eugène Delacroix, "Blue Horses" (1911) by Franz Marc, or the horse sculptures by Deborah Butterfield (b. 1949).