Several ancient authors speak of wild horses. Herodotus says, that on the banks of the Hypanes, in Scythia, there were wild horses quite white, and that in the northern parts of Thrace, beyond the Danube, there were others covered with hair five inches long. Aristotle also cites Syria; Pliny the northern countries; Strabo, the Alps and Spain; as places where wild horses were to be found. Among the moderns, Carden mentions the same thing of Scotland and the Orkneys; Olaus, of Muscovy; Dapper, of the Isle of Cyprus, which, as he says, contained wild horses very beautiful, of great strength and swiftness; Struys, of the Isle of May, one of the Cape de Verds, where he found wild horses very small. Leo the African also relates that there were wild horses in the desarts of Arabia and Lybia; and he assures us, that he saw in the remotest parts of Numidia a white colt with a curled mane. Marmol confirms this fact, asserting, that wild horses are found in the desarts of Arabia and Lybia, small, and of an ash-colour; others white whose manes and coats are short and rough; and that neither dogs nor tame horses can equal them in swiftness; we read also, in the Letters Edifiantes, that in China there are wild horses of a very small size.
As almost all parts of Europe are at present peopled, and equally inhabited, wild horses are no longer found therein. Those in America originate from European tame horses, transported thither by the Spaniards; and have multiplied considerably in the vast desarts of this country. The astonishment and fear which the inhabitants of Mexico and Peru expressed at the sight of horses and their riders, is a strong presumption that this animal was entirely unknown in the New World. The Spaniards carried thither a great number, as well for service as to propagate the breed. They left them on many islands, and even let them loose on the continent, where they have multiplied like other wild animals. M. la Salle, in 1685, saw in the northern parts of America, near the bay of St. Louis, whole troops of these horses feeding in the pastures, which were so wild that no one could approach them. The author of the History of the Buccaniers, says, "That in the island of St. Domingo, horses are sometimes seen in troops of 500, all running together; that when they see a man, they all stop; and that one of them will approach to a certain distance, snorts, takes flight and is instantly followed by all the rest." He adds, "that he does not know whether these horses, by becoming wild, have degenerated or not; but that he did not think them so handsome as those of Spain, though they are descended from the same breed. They have (continues he) large heads and limbs, and their ears and limbs are also long; the inhabitants easily tame them, and afterwards force them to work. To catch them, nooses made of ropes are spread in places where they frequent; but if they are caught by the neck they presently strangle themselves, unless assistance is near; they are then fastened by the body and legs to the trees, where they are left for two days without either food or drink. This experiment is sufficient to make them somewhat tractable, and in a little time they become as much so as if they had never been wild; and even if by chance they regain their liberty, they never become so again, but know their masters, and suffer themselves to be retaken without trouble."