SubscribeGift a Sub
Enable cache 100
Equestrian Lifestyle

NOVA’s First Horse Warriors Explores the Early Relationship Between Humans and Horses



The human species wouldn’t be what it is today without the horse. While selective breeding of horses by humans has created the breeds we know and use today, horses helped change the populations of early human civilizations, too. The effects are still seen today. That is why NOVA is premiering an episode titled First Horse Warriors.



That’s one of the findings in an episode of NOVA titled First Horse Warriors. The episode premieres on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 9:00 p.m. on most PBS stations. Consult broadcast listings for your local information.

In this episode, NOVA visits Kazakhstan where it is believed horses were first domesticated thousands of years ago. Today, the area is still home to nomadic herders and populations of wild horses.

Through a study of archaeology and genetics, researchers offer findings about the very first humans to use horses, and how horseback warriors who swept through Europe generations ago left a mark on the population as it exists today.

Earlier this year, the PBS series Nature aired a two-part documentary titled Equus: Story of the Horse, which examined different types of horses and their interactions with humans in historical and modern-day communities.

For more information, check out NOVA.

Leslie Potter

Leslie Potter is a graduate of William Woods University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Equestrian Science with a concentration in saddle seat riding and a minor in Journalism/Mass Communications. She is currently a writer and photographer in Lexington, Ky. Potter worked as a barn manager and riding instructor and was a freelance reporter and photographer for the Horsemen's Yankee Pedlar and Saddle Horse Report before moving to Lexington to join Horse Illustrated as Web Editor from 2008 to 2019. Her current equestrian pursuits include being a grown-up lesson kid at an eventing barn and trail riding with her senior Morgan gelding, Snoopy.

Recent Posts

2024 Kentucky Derby: Make Your Pick

Read along for a look at each horse competing in the 2024 Kentucky Derby. In 2021, 17,779 Thoroughbred foals in…

8 hours ago

ASPCA Right Horse Adoptable Equines of the Week: Vixen and Pipsqueak

Welcome to Horse Illustrated’s weekly installment of the Right Horse Adoptable Horse of the Week, offered in partnership with the…

1 day ago

Adopt a Horse Month Success Stories

Imagine an entire month dedicated to celebrating adoptable horses: For the past four years, the month of May has been…

2 days ago

Guest Ranch Horses

Horses in the guest ranch industry come from varied breeds and backgrounds. Learn more about them. The scenery may be…

3 days ago

2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event Recap

Thanks to a rail down by overnight leader Tom McEwen (GBR) on the 13-year-old German Warmblood gelding JL Dublin, a…

5 days ago

2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event: Cross-Country Day

In a day of heat, then rain, followed by blazing sun, the sun indeed shone brightest on the British riders…

6 days ago