Horse Family

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Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand.
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Around 50 million years ago the a group of plant eating animals which were ancestors of the horse became common. They spread and evolved into giants, some eating leaves, other grass. The horses, tapirs and rhinoceroses are now the only representatives of this once common group. They have been replaced by the cow family, which have far more efficient stomachs.

This group is known as the even toed ungulates (Perissodactyls) because their feet have three or (in the case of horses) just one toe. The lower part of a horse's leg is actually a large toe.