Equus sivalensis

Sir John Marshall first suggested that Aryans introduced the horse in 1930 as part of the Aryan Invasion Theory.

Since that time, it has been near taboo in the Western academy to go against this kind of thinking. Before that though, equine specialists studying the taxonomy of horses favored the idea that Equus sivalensis and the probably derived Equus namadicus of India were ancestors of modern domesticated horses. A few citations:

One of these, which flourished during Pliocene times, was a slender-limbed species, standing about 15 hands high, and having a broad forehead and tapering face, and certain peculiarities of the molar teeth. This type is represented by the Siwalik horse (Equus sivalensis). The Arab may be a descendant of this stock.

-- John Arthur Thompson, The Outline of Science, 1922.


Another possible contributor to the breeds of domesticated horses is an animal
of the E. sivalensis type in the Upper Pliocene of the Siwaliks of India...

-- Henry Fairfield Osbourn, The Age of Mammals in Europe, Asia and North America, 1921.


A possible contributory to the desert breed of the Pleistocene and of
the modern domesticated horses is the animal of the E. sivalensis type of
the Upper Pliocene in the Siwaliks of India. This animal is tall, with
long, fairly slender limbs, long neck, well elevated tail, long face, which
is sirongly deflected on the cranium with a slightly convex profile and
broad brow, and teeth with a narrow protocone.

-- New York Academy of Sciences, Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 1916.


Mr Lydekker has suggested that horses of the ' Oriental' or blood-horse type are modified descendants of E. sivalensis, while M. Boule believes the ' Occidental' varieties to have sprung from E. stenonis.

-- George Walter Prothero et al., The Quarterly Review, 1907.


There is also a species of horse (Equus namadicus) which seems to be a survivor from the Siwaliks, and is allied to the existing species of the genus.

-- Geological Survey of India, Records of the Geological Survey of India, 1909.


It used to be said that E. sivalensis could not be regarded as an ancestor of domestic horses because of the shortness of the anterior pillar of the cheek teeth. I find, however, that in some modern horses, the anterior pillars are decidedly shorter than in E. sivalensis, and that in some of the short-pillared domestic horses the face is nearly as strongly deflected on the cranium as in E. sivalensis. There is hence no longer any reason for assuming that this ancient Indian species had no share in the making of domestic breeds. But in the absence of a large and representative collection of skulls of domestic horses, it is impossible to say which modern breeds are most indebted to the large-headed, long- limbed race, which in Pliocene times frequented the area to the east of the Jhelum River, now occupied by the Siwalik Hills. Mr. Lydekker thinks E. sivalensis or some closely allied race " may have been the ancestral stock from which Barbs, Arabs and Thoroughbreds are derived."

-- American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science Magazine, 1909.


Evidence tend to show that in all probability the latter is an offshoot of one of the Indian horses (Equus sivalensis) since physical characteristics such as pre-orbital depression, large development of the first premolars of the upper jaw and the presence of but 17 pairs of ribs inherent to the prehistoric Indian horse occasionally appear in the anatomy of the Sulu horse.

-- Pacific Science Association, Proceedings -- Pacific Science Association, 1967.


Some paleontologists believe that the Indian species (E. sivalensis and E. nomadicus) became extinct, and that E. stenosis through E. robustus, gave rise to the modern breeds. But the presence in the Java, Sulu, and Borneo horses of the above-mentioned vestiges of the preorbital depression and the large premolars make it appear that some modified descendants of E. sivalensis survived, and that that species was the lineal descendant of the Hipparion.

-- D.V. Mackie, The Philippine Agricultural Review, Sept, 1911.

Mr Lydekker has recently discovered in the skull of the modern Indian horse a vestige of the pre-orbital depression or pit which must, as in living deer, at one time have sheltered a tear-gland. He regards the Arab and the English thoroughbred as distinct from the Equus caballus of Western Europe, of which the original tint seems to have been dun with black marking on the legs, and sparse development of hair on mane and tail, like the Kathiawar breed. The Arab variety, with a bright bay colour, white star on forehead, and not in frequently a black bar round the fetlock, is quite different. It is almost certain that the Indian horse is a descendant ofthe fossil horse of the Siwaliks, in which the skull pit is larger. A similar pit was found in the skulls of "Eclipse," " Bend Or" and " Stockwell," and hence it has been concluded that the Arab stock from which our thoroughbreds are derived was originally imported in ancient times from India.

-- William Crooke, Things Indian: Being Discursive Notes on Various Subjects Connected with India, 1906, p. 253.

E. sivalensis is also known for its large head in proportion to its body, and for a convex facial profile.

The convex facial profile is strongly evident in the front horse in the Sunga era sculpture below from the Huntington Archive , and in the horse of the following image from Konarak.

Tropical adaptation in Southeast Asian horses

I have discussed in this blog the ancient existence and development of the horse in tropical Asia.

To expand on the unique adaptation to the tropical environment, something likely developed while the species was still wild over tens of thousands of years, I will list some old references to the horse in the Philippines.

The Philippine Horse is primarily a development of the Sulu Horse. In central and northern Philippines, the horse has some admixture with Spanish mustangs and the Chinese horse, but still its characteristics mostly resemble the Sulu Horse of the southern Philippines. The idea that the horse in the result of the deterioration of Spanish breeds like the Barb has been dealt with in various works.

However, unlike in the South where indigenous names like kuda still survive for the horse, the indigenous names have been replaced in the North. This is not a phenomenon limited to the horse though. The bolo, for example, is a Philippine blade with a name derived from Spanish. Philippine stick-fighting also in many areas goes under names "arnis" and "escrima" both derived from Spanishi words although in the South the indigenous or regional name "kali" is still used. Terminology related to horse-riding and horse care does survive however, and it is possible that an indigenous horse name has survived.

The words tigbalang, tikbalan and similar cognates have as their primary meaning through much of the northern and central Philippines, the name of a mythical creature that is usually described as either part-horse, part-human or as a supernatural horse. Possibly this previously was also a word for "horse" before displacement with the Spanish word.

Here is a list of notices that highlight the high adaptation of the Philippine horse to the tropical environment:

The horse of the Philippines is a descendant of the Sulu horse and the horses brought by the Spaniards from Mexico and China. Although it is a small animal, probably no other breed of horses in the world has the combined qualities of style, action, vigor, and endurance to the same degree that the Philippine breed has. This has doubtless come about from the little attention given to these animals ; and thus, by a process of natural selection, those have survived which are best fitted to endure the conditions of Philippine life. The Philippine horse is used for riding and light hauling. No heavy wosk in the field or on the road is performed by it ; cattle and carabaos are used instead. In mountainous regions horses are often utilized as pack animals.

-- Hugo Herman Miller, Economic Conditions in the Philippines, 1913.


The Philippine horse is small and under-sized but it is well-developed, and not only is it physically well- proportioned, but its great ability to withstand heat as well as its enormous endurance are widely known. Only recently, a gift of the six best available specimens of the Philippine Horse was graciously accepted by the Imperial Household.

-- Manila Sinbun-sya, The Official Journal of the Japanese Military Administration, 1942.


The Philippine pony is used for all light draught for which the caribou or the mule would be inappropriate. These little animals are not much larger than the famous Shetland ponies, but they seem to be more like the mustang or Indian pony in their habits and general make-up. Tough as leather, wiry, and sure-footed, they have wonderful endurance, and they thrive in this climate where the larger horses of Europe and America can be kept alive only with great difficulty.

-- Frank Wiborg, The Travels of an Unofficial Attaché: Descsribed in Simmple Narrative, 1904.


We have a wonderful horse in the Philippines, of almost unequaled courage and spirit and good confirmation, but he is too small for general use.

--- Philippines Governor, United States War Dept, Report of the Governor General of the Philippines, 1924.


It is said that no other horse in the world has combined the quality of style, action, vigor and endurance in one "wonderful piece of horse flesh."

-- Pacific Science Association, Proceedings - Pacific Science Congress, 1967.

It is often said, and by people who know, that the Philippine horse or pony is the best piece of horse-flesh in the world for his inches.

-- David C. Kretzer, How to Build Up and Improve a Herd Or Flock, 1930.

In many respects, these ponies are the best specimens of horse flesh in the world, being possessed of wonderful endurance and a remarkable combination of quality, action and vigor.

-- Philippine Islands Bureau of Agriculture, The Philippine Agricultural Review, 1915.

The horses of Insular Southeast Asia are often found in the wild as feral horses where they endure conditions of weather and exposure to disease and parasites that appear surely the result of long periods of tropical adaptation.