Domestication: When?

Recently, archaeologist Alan K. Outram of England has made discoveries that indicate an earlier than known domestication of the wild horse. He wrote of uncovering ample horse bones and artifacts from which they derived “three independent lines of evidence demonstrating domestication” of horses by the semi-sedentary Botai culture, which, beginning around 3600 B.C., occupied sites in northern Kazakhstan for six centuries. The skeletons from four sites were analyzed for their size and shape and then compared with bones of wild horses in the region from the same time period, with domestic horses from centuries later in the Bronze Age, and with the Mongolian domestic horses. Their physical features were surprisingly different which made them more useful to the people as meat, sources of milk and beasts of burden and locomotion.
The second form of evidence were the indentations  on the horses’ teeth and damage to skeletal tissue in the mouths. Archaeologists said that this was caused by the wearing of bits, mouthpieces inserted for harnessing with a bridle or similar restraint to control working animals. Similar discoveries have been made at other sites but have been disputed as support for domestication.
The exact time and location of the beginning of the domestication of the horse has eluded archaeologists. In 2007, David W. Anthony, an archaeologist at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., said that some of the best evidence put the beginning of horse domestication in the region around 2500 B.C. The question of roughly when domestication began has been answered, but what about the reason why? Who was the first to attempt to do so?
Wilford, John, N. (2009, March 06). Earlier date suggested for horse domestication. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/science/06horses.html?ref=horses

The Beginning- Przewalski's Horse

For hundreds of years the land was roamed and owned by the horse. There are still wild horses roaming free today but are not nearly as much as there used to be. Today we know them as Mustangs, but the earliest known wild horses went by the names of the Tarpan and the Przewalski's Horse.
After being discovered in the 15th century by Russsian colonel, explorer, and naturalist, Nikolai Przevalsky in 1881 in Asia, the Przewalski's Horse roamed the land until the 20th century. In 1967, the last herd was spotted and in 1969, the last individual. After failed location expeditions, the Przewalski's Horse was pronounced extinct in the wild with only two captive populations in Munich and Prague. Only 12 indivudauls of this breed remained in the world by the late 1950's.  In 1977, the Foundation for the Preservation and Protection of the Przewalski's Horse was founded in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Jan and Inge Bouman in order to bring back this species. Since then, the status of the Przewalski's Horse has gone from "extinct in the wild", to "critically endangered", and finally to, "endangered".
Although such efforts have been introduced, the Przewalski's Horse is still considered endangered today. For this reason I would like to ask why this is so. Does it have to do anything with the domestication of the wild horse? How was domestication sparked and why?

Marin, Lucian, E. (2011, December 14). Neigh: Journal retracts brief endangered horse paper for mysterious reasons. Retrieved from http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/neigh-journal-retracts-brief-endangered-horse-paper-for-mysterious-reasons/

I Love Horses

Ever since I was a little girl I have been in love with horses. Making a living with them sounds like an amazing way to spend my life. But in order for me to succeed in accomplishing this, I want to do a little research to truly learn about these unique animals. So I have to ask, how has human interaction with horses evolved?