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How would Alexander the Great's famous horse, Bucephalus, have differed anatomically from most horses today?

Question #58345. Asked by gmackematix.
Last updated Sep 25 2016.

JoshCaleb12
Answer has 1 vote
JoshCaleb12
23 year member
419 replies

Answer has 1 vote.
Alexander went on to name his horse Bucephalus, which means Oxhead, as the horse had a rather sizeable head.

Jul 14 2005, 7:06 PM
gmackematix
Answer has 1 vote
gmackematix
21 year member
3194 replies

Answer has 1 vote.
Good answer Josh, as that may have distinguished him from horses at the time, but there are other likely differences he would have had from today's horses. What about the feet?

Jul 14 2005, 11:15 PM
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lanfranco
Answer has 2 votes
lanfranco
19 year member
4407 replies avatar

Answer has 2 votes.
Hmmm, I don't know, gmack. Horses did once have toes, but by Alexander's time (356-323 BCE), they had the standard hoof. Here's a late 6th-century BCE stamnos depicting a chariot race (scroll down for detail). Making allowances for stylization, I can't see anything terribly unusual about the feet. I must be missing something.

Response last updated by zorba_scank on Sep 25 2016.
Jul 15 2005, 11:49 AM
gmackematix
Answer has 1 vote
gmackematix
21 year member
3194 replies

Answer has 1 vote.
In that case Frankie, I may be mistaken. The source I read claimed that horses had distinct toes on their feet as late as the time of Julius Caesar.

Jul 15 2005, 7:03 PM
peasypod
Answer has 2 votes
peasypod
20 year member
3273 replies

Answer has 2 votes.
This site seems to have a fuzzy gap between 17 million years ago and the definition of modern day horse but apart from that it seems moderately reasonable.

link http://www.bpeah.com/ThereBack.htm

Jul 15 2005, 9:41 PM
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