You may have heard me talk about primitive horses. This refers to breeds that still have characteristics of the horse of the past. An example of a primitive breed is the Caspian horse. A few years ago I had the pleasure of working with a Caspian horse named Qasama. 

Qasama was a 6-year-old mare. She belonged to a woman who was fond of special breeds. She did not only have special horse breeds, but also special breeds of other animal species. She loved them all and took good care of them. She just didn’t manage to keep Qasama in good weight. No matter what she did, Qasama remained underweight. She had a feeling it was the teeth, but no one could quite put a finger on it. We were therefore very curious what the dissection would reveal. 

Prior to the dissection, we didn’t really know where to begin to look. So we decided to start at the beginning: the head. We didn’t have to search long before we discovered something amazing. Qasama had an extra molar on both sides of the lower jaw! And it wasn’t neatly in line with the other teeth, which would have made sense, but it was in the middle of the jawbone. This must have really bothered her while eating. Qasama shared her secrets with us.

Hopefully this case has inspired you and given you new insights so that Qasama’s story will not be forgotten. The more horses we can study and compare, the more we can learn! Would you like access to more stories like Qasama’s? You can find these in the online Equinestudies course ‘The Horse Inside Out’. Click here to go to the website.