Circa 8000 BC Horse and near relatives died out in North America, near the end of the last Ice Age, along with mammoths and other species. Tapir of South America is closest surviving species which remains wild. Specific causes of the local extinctions remain unknown. 

Circa 1500 BC Mayan culture began in Mexico without horses.

Peak of Mayan culture (still without horses), centered in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico.

Circa 700 AD Pueblo and Ansazi culture strong in what is now the southwestern United States.

Circa 850 AD Nomadic culture was firmly established in Great Plains native American tribes.

Circa 1200 AD Most native American cultures well-established.

Circa 1300 First horse-drawn passenger coaches constructed near Kocs, Hungary.

1493 Horses re-introduced to the Caribbean Islands by Spanish explorers on ships directed by Italian Christopher Columbus.

 Progenitor stock of Paso Fino breeds introduced into Cuba and Puerto Rico islands.

1519 Explorers headed by Hernando Cortez reintroduce horses to Central America.

 They conquer the Aztec Empire, centered on current site of Mexico City, aided by massive disease epidemics in non-resistant indigenous Americans.

1520 Effective end of Aztec empire in Mexico.

1532 Pizarro's explorers travels through Peru on horseback, evoking terror and amazement in indigenous Americans who had never seen horses.

1539 De Soto's explorers bring 237 horses to north America and conduct extensive inland reconnaissance from Florida to Missouri. Horses captured by native Americans said to result in Chickasaw Horse breed.

1540 Coronado's explorers conduct extensive inland reconnaissance from Mexico and Arizona to Kansas.

1560 First passenger coaches introduced to British Isles.

1595 Use of bow and arrow discontinued by British Army.

1600s Horses gradually spread northward via developing Spanish missions. 

1607 Jamestown, Virginia first settled with 8 horses.

1625 First fire engine coaches in English cities.

1625 Hackney coaches or 'hacks' available for hire, equivalent to taxis, appear on streets of London, England.

1635 Speed limit of 3 miles per hour (speed of a moderate walk) is set on London streets.

1649 English King Charles I has a stable of 139 horses and 39 broodmares.

1650 Over 80 Spanish missions present in North America

1665 First known American turf race in New York.

In the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, progenitor sires of the Thoroughbred are foaled ("Byerly Turk", "Godolphin Arabian", "Darley Arabian", "Curwen Bay Barb"), subsequently exported to Great Britain.

1697 Sedan chair (carried on poles by human servants) still a popular means of transportation in European cities.

1702 Queen Anne of England gives royal approval to horse racing, and originates the concept of sweepstakes in which winners get cash awards.

1704 The "Darley Arabian", one of the progenitor sires of the Thoroughbred, arrives in England.

1711 Horse racing, sponsored by Queen Anne, is established at Ascot in England.

1730 Importation of English Thoroughbreds to America begins with stallion "Bulle Rock".

1734 First American horse racing course built at Charleston Neck, South Carolina.

1743 The Maryland Jockey Club, first in America, formed by Samuel Ogle.

1747 A tax is first imposed on horse-drawn carriages in England.

1750 Feral horses (mustangs), descendants of all manner of abandoned and escaped horses, have spread as far north as the border between Canada and the United States.

1753 The (British) Jockey Club establishes a permanent racetrack at Newmarket, England.

1758-1764 Principal Thoroughbred sires "Herod", "Matchem", and "Eclipse" are foaled in England.

1776 Paul Revere's famous ride to warn of British military forces in Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1777 United States Congress authorizes the formation of the first mounted dragoon unit in the Revolutionary War.

1778 Quartermaster Department authorized by the U.S. Congress with duties to include horse, wagon, and forage procurement.

1779 The original Derby horse race is established in England at Epsom Racetrack in Surrey by the Earl of Derby. "Diomed" is the first winner.

1780s George Washington emerges as a prominent breeder of American donkeys, aided by gifts of fine jacks from the King of Spain and the Marquis de Lafayette.

1780s "Figure", a stallion owned by a Vermont schoolteacher named Justin Morgan, rises to prominence and sires many valuable offspring in New England, descendants later to become the Morgan breed.

1784 British government began transporting mail over a network of stagecoach routes, after roads had been sufficiently developed between major cities in Great Britain.

1788 "Messenger", a Thoroughbred stallion is imported to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from England, an influential foundation sire of the Standardbred breed.

1797 English racing champion stallion "Diomed" is imported to the United States. His direct descendants include "Sir Archy", called the 'first truly American Thoroughbred', "Boston", and "Lexington". Many American Saddle Horses and Standardbreds are descended from these stallions.

1800 The population of bison on the north American plains is estimated at 60 million animals.

Conestoga wagons, developed in Pennsylvania, are common modes of transport for emigration and shipments to the frontier (now the US midwest). These enormous wagons were drawn by teams of six or more oxen or horses, and could haul over 15,000 pounds.

1803 Thomas Jefferson finalizes the Louisiana Purchase of territory from Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France.

1804 Lewis and Clark begin their western explorations.

1804 An improved system of carriage spring construction was patented in England which introduced modern carriage-building methods.

1814 Gas lighting was operational on some London streets.

1818 First professional horse racing in the United States.

1822 Gas street lighting was operating in Boston, Massachusetts.

1825 The Erie Canal was completed, fostering increases in westward migration and trade.

1827 The first Concord Coach, later famous as the stagecoach of the west, was produced by Abbott, Downing of Concord, New Hampshire.

1829 The first public horse-drawn omnibus in the US appeared on lower Broadway in New York City.

1830 The first public railroad in the US opened between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills in Maryland.

1832 The first trolleys (horse-drawn public transports on rails) appeared in New York City. The rails lowered resistance to rolling enough that one horse could pull a vehicle with 30 to 40 passengers aboard.

1832 The Alamo insurrection was quelled by Mexican authorities in what is now the state of Texas.

1836 Shire draft horses were first imported to Canada from the British Isles.

The 'Trail of Tears' forced migration of the native American Cherokees from Georgia and North Carolina to Oklahoma and the west.

1839 Percheron draft horses were first imported from France.

The Prairie Schooner, a much lighter and smaller version of the Conestoga wagon, became popular for the westward migration of single families west of the Mississippi River. They required 2 to 4 oxen or horses to pull, and transported more than 350,000 individuals via the Overland Trail to Oregon and California. 

1844 The first telegraph was operated between Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland.

1845 Texas became a state; Latter-day Saints (Mormons) began settling in Utah.

1846 Oregon is acquired by the United States.

The Mexican-American war results in the addition of California and much of the southwest to the United States.

1849 The California gold rush accelerated westward migration.

1849 Rysdyk's Hambletonian foaled, the principal foundation sire of the American Standardbred breed.

1851 Importations of Percherons accelerated until they became the most popular draft breed in the United States.

The Pony Express operated carrying mail between Saint Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, California until made obsolete by telegraph lines.

1861 Transcontinental telegraph lines were completed and operational.

The American Civil War took place. One casualty estimate includes approximately 1,500,000 horses and mules killed. A few became celebrities in their own right: Robert E. Lee's mount "Traveller"; Phil Sheridan's mount "Rienzi" (later renamed "Winchester"); 'Stonewall' Jackson's mount "Old Sorrel". During the war the White House stables burns down.

1863 The largest cavalry battle on American soil took place at Brandy Station, Virginia and involved approximately 18,000 mounted soldiers.

1865 Native American Navajos forced onto reservation.

1867 Railroad depot for cattle shipments established at Abilene, Kansas, beginning series of Chisholm Trail cattle drives from San Antonio, Texas.

1867 United States Ninth and Tenth Cavalry 'Buffalo Soldiers', African-American units are first posted to guard travelers and settlers along the Santa Fe trail and in remote southwestern areas against attacks by native American Indians. Troops are racially segregated and commanded by white officers until WWII. 

1867 Alaska acquired by United States.

1867 First running of the Belmont Stakes (today the third jewel in Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown) in New York.

1868 The UK Royal Dublin Society included for the first time in the program of its annual Horse Show two jumping competitions: the "high leap" and the "wide leap", both derived from the Irish passion for fox hunting.

1869 Transcontinental railroad completed.

1871 The main rail terminus for cattle shipments moved from Abilene, Kansas to Dodge City, Kansas, 150 miles southwest.

1872 Photographer Eadweard Muybridge takes the first high-speed photograph. He captures an image of the celebrated racing trotter Occident, owned by Leland Stanford, completely airborne during the trot with none of his hooves touching the ground. 

1873 The American Stud Book of Thoroughbreds first published, later to become The Jockey Club.

1873 First running of the Preakness Stakes (today the second jewel in Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown) in Baltimore, Maryland.

1874 The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals formed in New York City in reaction to abuse of city work horses.

1874 Native Americans of central plains said to own 160,000 horses total. Cochise (Apache Nation resistance leader) dies.

1874 Barbed wire invented, plains rapidly fenced off.

1875 First running of the Kentucky Derby (today the first jewel in Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown) in Louisville, Kentucky; won by "Aristides".

1876 George Custer and ~250 soldiers killed at Little Big Horn, Montana. Only survivor is horse 'Comanche'.

1877 Crazy Horse, leader of Oglala Sioux, captured, dies in alleged escape attempt.

1877 Chief Joseph and Nez Perce nation, using Appaloosa horses, evade five US Army units in 1350-mile dash to Canadian border, but are eventually caught in Montana.

1880s Photographers, newspaper reporters, novelists, and artists document the rapidly disappearing native American plains culture, which eventually becomes the stereotyped image of the generic "Indian".

1882 Buffalo Bill's Wild West shows launch rodeos and further develop many stereotypical images of the western United States.

1885 Last year of the eighteen years of the great cattle drives.

1885 Horse-drawn streetcars in US cities have over 6000 miles of track and carry over 188 million passengers per year (average 12 rides per year per local resident), far in advance of all other nations.

1885 Electric (horseless) trolley introduced in Baltimore, Maryland by Leo Daft.

1886 Geronimo, Apache nation leader, captured and imprisoned; dies in 1909 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

1886-1887 Extremely harsh winter devastates cattle ranching and ends Texas to Missouri cattle drives.

1889 Harness racing record for trotting one mile lowered to 2:12 by "Axtell" in Terre Haute, Indiana.

1889 Bison population on great plains drops to fewer than 1000 animals.

1889 Oklahoma 'land rush' of white settlers signals the end of the western frontier.

1890 Sitting Bull (Sioux nation leader) killed while allegedly resisting arrest.

1890 Wounded Knee, South Dakota killing of over 200 Oglala Sioux by the Seventh United States Cavalry effectively ends native American resistance.

1890s Most western US cavalry forts closed after cessation of 'Indian threat'.

1891 American Saddlebred Horse Association founded.

1891 American Hackney Horse Society founded.

1894 Morgan Horse Registry founded in Vermont by Colonel Joseph Battell.

1900 First Olympic individual show jumping competition in Paris, France (Belgium gold and silver, France bronze).

1905 Standardbred harness racing pacer sets record of one mile in 1:55.25, not lowered by more than 1/4 second for 57 years.

1905 The last horse-drawn vehicle purchased for use by the occupants of the White House is a cabriolet used by presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

1908 Remount Service launched by United States for horse procurement for military use.

1908 Henry Ford begins mass production of automobiles.

1908 First Arabian breed registry founded in US.

1910 Belgians surpass Percherons as most numerous US draft breed.

1910 US farms and ranches have 24,000,000 horses and mules, 1,000 tractors, 50,000 cars.

22 ponies and mules die on failed Antarctic polar attempt with Robert Scott.

1912 First Olympic equestrian individual and team Three-day Event in Stockholm, Sweden.  US wins team bronze in 1912, and golds in 1932, 1948, 1976, and 1984.

1912 First Olympic equestrian team show jumping competitions, Stockholm, Sweden. US wins team gold in 1984.

1912 First Olympic individual dressage competition, Stockholm, Sweden.

1912 First Olympic Modern Pentathlon competition, Stockholm, Sweden. US Lieutenant George S. Patton takes 5th place.

1912 World record for Thoroughbreds racing over 4 miles set at 7:10.8 at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky by "Sotemia".

1915 US horse population peaks at approximately 21,500,000 head.

1916 General Pershing leads last major US horse cavalry expedition, unsuccessfully pursuing Pancho Villa into Mexico.

1918 Only approximately 400 US mounted troops were involved in active combat in WWI (compare 70,000 German, 70,000 French, 200,000-400,000 Russian).

1919 Triple Crown won for the first time by "Sir Barton".

1920 US farms and ranches have 25,000,000 horses and mules, 246,000 tractors, 139,000 trucks, and 2,000,000 cars.

1921 Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), governing body for international horse sports, is founded in Paris.

1921 Remount Service's federal horse and mule breeding program for military preparedness begun by US Congress.

1924 The Olympic Equestrian events are held for the 3rd time, for the 1st time under the jurisdiction of the FEI.

1925 US mule population peaks at 6 million head.

1926 First prestigious Hambletonian trotting harness race held, won by "Guy McKinney".

1928 First Olympic Team Dressage competition held, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

1930 Triple Crown won by "Gallant Fox" owned by William Woodward of Bowie, Maryland.

1935 Tennessee Walking Horse Breeder's Association formed with 'Allen F-1' named as official foundation sire.

1935 Triple Crown won by "Omaha", sired by "Gallant Fox", owned by William Woodward of Bowie, Maryland.

1938 Standardbred trotter Greyhound sets record of 1:55.25 for one mile, which stands for 31 years.

1939 Appaloosa Horse Club founded.

1940 US farms and ranches have 14,000,000 horses and mules, 1,500,000 tractors, 1,000,000 trucks, and 4,000,000 cars.

WWII horse and mule usage includes:
Russia: 200,000 cavalry, 800,000 draft & pack
Germany: 50,000 cavalry, 910,000 draft & pack
Japan: 50,000 cavalry, 300,000 draft & pack
USA: 25,000 cavalry, 12,000 draft & pack.

1941 "Wimpy" of King Ranch, Texas wins grand championship at halter at Fort Worth Fat Stock Show and becomes registration P-1 in stud book of the new American Quarter Horse Association.

1943 Thoroughbred colt "Citation" wins Triple Crown and become first horse to win over $1 million.

1943 Jimmy Jones, trainer with his father Ben of champion Thoroughbreds Whirlaway and Citation, organizes the mounted Beach Patrol for United States coastal defenses during World War II.

1945 World record for Thoroughbred racing 1/4 mile set at 20.8 seconds in Mexico by "Big Racket".

1946 The first Little Brown Jug championship pacing harness race, with a purse of $35,358, was won by Ensign Hanover with Delaware's Wayne "Curly" Smart driving.

1948 Federal Remount Service, with 700 stallions, dissolved.

1949 FEI world high jump record is set by "Huaso" ridden by Captain A. Larraguibel of Chile at 2 meters 47 cm (8 feet 1 inch).

1950s US horse population estimated at 2,000,000. Percheron new registrations drop to 149 head. Standard Jack and Jennet Registry of America new registrations drop to 32 head.

1950 World record for Thoroughbreds racing at 1 1/2 miles set at 2:22.8 by "Noor" at Santa Anita, California.

1951 FEI world broad jump record is set by "Amado Mio" ridden by Major F. Lopez del Hierro of Spain at 8 meters 30 cm (27 feet 3 inches).

1952 Liz Hartel of Denmark, a poliomyelitis survivor, is the first female Olympic medalist in equestrian sports, winning the silver in dressage in Helsinki aboard "Jubilee".

1954 Women compete for the first time in an international championship three-day event in Switzerland, among them British team champion riders Margaret Hough and Diana Mason.

1954 "Black Hand No.1", produce of Appaloosa mare and Shetland stallion, foaled and later becomes foundation sire of the Pony of the Americas breed.

1956 First woman to win a medal in Olympic show jumping is Miss Pat Smyth from Great Britain riding "Flanagan", who wins a team bronze.

1960 US farms and ranches have 3,000,000 horses and mules, 4,800,000 tractors, 3,100,000 trucks, and 4,300,000 cars.

1965 American Paint Horse Association founded.

1969 World record for 1/8 mile for racing Quarter horses set at 11.62 by "Junior Meyers" at La Mesa Park, New Mexico.

1969 American Horse Council founded in Washington, DC.

1970 US farms and ranches have 8,000,000 horses and mules (only 1 percent used for work), 5,400,000 tractors, 3,000,000 trucks.

1970 The FEI adds the horse sport discipline of Driving to Dressage, Eventing and Jumping, holding its first international competition in Lucerne, Switzerland.

1971 First Eclipse Award Champion Thoroughbred Horse of the Year is "Ack Ack".

1973 Thoroughbred colt "Secretariat" wins Triple Crown and becomes equine superstar.

1973 Sandy Hawley became the first jockey in history to win 500 races in a single year when he rode "Charlie Jr." to victory in the third race at Laurel. 

1977 World Record for Thoroughbred racing at 1 1/4 miles set at 1:57.4 by "Double Discount" at Santa Anita in California.

1980 Guinness world record for longest horseback ride set by Thomas L. Gaddie of Dallas, Texas, riding to Alaska and back covering over 11,217 miles in 295 days, using 7 horses.

1981 "Niatross", Standardbred harness racing pacer, breaks all records by going one mile in 1:49.1.

1982 The FEI approves Vaulting and Endurance Riding as its 5th and 6th official horse sport disciplines.

1984 First running of "Breeder's Cup" racing championships for Thoroughbreds before a crowd of 64,254 at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California (site changes each year).

1984 First "Breeder's Crown" racing championships for Standardbreds (site changes each year).

1993 World record for pacing on a one mile track set at 1:46.2 by "Cambest" at Springfield, Illinois.

1994 World record for trotting on a one mile track set at 1:51.0 by "Pine Chip" at The Red Mile, Lexington, Kentucky.

1996 World record for 1/4 mile by racing Quarter horses set at 20.94 by "Evening Snow" at Turf Paradise, Arizona.

1996 First Olympic dressage musical freestyle competition held, Atlanta, Georgia.

1997 "Cigar" becomes all-time leading money winning racehorse, earning over $8 million in his career.

1998 World record for Thoroughbreds racing at 1 mile distance set by "Elusive Quality" at 1:31.6 at Belmont Park, New York.

1999 Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. beats Bill Shoemaker's record to win the most races of any Thoroughbred jockey of all time.

1999 The FEI membership includes 125 national organizing committees.

1999 Various lists are compiled of top horses in history:

Tommy Wolski's Top Fifty Thoroughbreds of the Century
2000 Reining is added to the list of official sports of the FEI.