equine, one of the mammal family of Equidae (order Perissodactyla) that includes the modern horses, zebras, and asses, as well as more than 60 species known only from fossils.
All six modern members of the family are placed in the genus Equus. Only the races of E. caballus (including the myriad domestic strains) are called horses; three species (E. zebra, E. burchelli, and E. grevyi) are called zebras; and two (E. asinus and E. hemionus) are usually called wild asses.
Wild horses once inhabited much of northern Eurasia, primarily in open areas. They were rather small, short-legged animals, compared with their domesticated descendants, standing only about 120 to 130 cm (47 to 51 inches) at the shoulder. In the two millennia bc, horses from many wild populations were domesticated; often the remainder of the wild individuals were exterminated. By the early 19th century, two races were still extant: the tarpan (E. caballus caballus), found in eastern Europe until the middle of the century, and Przewalski’s horse (E. caballus przewalskii, often considered a distinct species, E. przewalskii), which inhabited the remote Steppe region between China and Mongolia.
The North American wild horses are descendants of domestic horses that escaped or were released during the early colonial days. See also ass; horse; Przewalski’s horse; tarpan; zebra.