a comprehensive educator’s resource guide… · magic of the imax film horses: the story of equus...

A Comprehensive Educator’sResource Guide

A Comprehensive Educator’sResource Guide

Lessons and activities to help you bring the fascinating story of horses

into your classroom

Six thousand years ago...Six thousand years ago... we domesticated horses and brought them

back from the edge of extinction. There arenow more than 60 million in the world.Horses: The Story of Equus is the story ofthree very different horses.

On a warm spring night, three foals areborn. Among the tens of thousands thatwill enter the world this year, these threeare destined for unpredictable lives.

The Chestnut filly will take the long, hardroad of work and training to become a race-horse. The Bay colt will enter the gruelingworld of eventing, only to fail, then find histrue home in the movies. And the Blackcolt will be lost to humans forever, when heescapes to join the herds that live in themountain wilderness.

For sixty centuries, we have ridden on thebacks of horses as their strength and will-ingness changed the course of civilizationsacross the world. Now, they depend on usfor their survival. With art, science, anddrama, Horses: The Story of Equus showswhy this is a debt we owe to the noblestanimal of them all.

Table of Contents

Educational Standards

A Message to EducatorsCongratulations on selecting a spectacular and awe-inspiring educational experience for your students.The technology behind IMAX® films brings subjectmatter to life. With screens up to eight feet tall, crys-tal-clear pictures, and surround sound, you don’t justwatch an IMAX film—you experience it. Since the verybeginning, IMAX has been dedicated to education,providing educators’ guides, such as this one, free toteachers who bring students to an IMAX film.

Horses: The Story of Equus is the perfect film to incor-porate into your classroom curriculum. The fascinatingtopic, the relationship between horse and human, leadsto lessons that touch upon a variety of subjects. IMAXhas joined forces with the educational experts atWeekly Reader to create this comprehensive educator’sresource guide. The guide was designed to educatestudents on the rich history of the horse, the horse’sunique relationship with humans, its remarkable biology, and its powerful influence on the course ofhuman civilization. This program features a set of stan-dards-based lessons for students in grades 2 to 4 andanother set for students in grades 5 to 9, as well asbackground information; directions for preparation,presentation, and evaluation; and a resource list. Sincethe reproducible activities have been designed for stu-dents with a wide range of abilities, you may adaptthem to meet the needs of your students. Extensionactivities have been created for each grade range. Youmay wish to adapt ideas from other grade brackets andincorporate them into your lessons as well.

We hope you and your students enjoy bringing themagic of the IMAX film Horses: The Story of Equusinto your classroom. Although these materials arecopyrighted, they may be reproduced for educationalpurposes. Please feel free to share this resource guidewith your colleagues and encourage them to bookfield trips to Horses: The Story of Equus.

We look forward to seeing you and your students againat your local IMAX Theatre for the next educationalIMAX film.

Table of ContentsThe IMAX Experience® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

About the Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Background Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Section One: Grades 2–4 Lessons . . . . . . . . . . .5-6Activity 1: Born to Bond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Activity 2: The Nuts and Bolts of Colts (and Fillies, too) . . . . . . . .8Activity 3: Form and Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Activity 4: Horse: Humans’ Best Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Section Two: Grades 5–9 Lessons . . . . . . . . . .11-12Activity 1: A Story of Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Activity 2: Instinct vs. Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Activity 3: From Lungs to Limbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Activity 4: A Friend Through History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Bibliography & Resource List . . . .Inside Back Cover

Educational StandardsAll activities comply with U.S. National ScienceEducation Standards, which can be found online at:http://books.nap.edu/books/0309053269/html/103.html.

The activities also comply with U.S. Language ArtsStandards, which can be found online at:www.ncte.org/standards/standards.shtml.

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With breathtaking images up toeight stories high and wrap-around12,000-watt digital sound, TheIMAX Experience takes you toplaces only imagined. The topics ofIMAX® films are varied, but one ele-ment is constant: IMAX films takeviewers on a close-up, multisensoryride to another world. Whether it’sthe dark, vast world of outer space orthe intricate and diverse world ofhorses, viewers are able to go wherethey otherwise could not. The highlyspecialized and precise projectorsemploy a unique system that

ensures outstanding clarity andbrightness. The IMAX Experienceis completed by a specially designedsound system, ensuring that eachviewer receives the same soundquality. Only IMAX technologylets you feel as if you’re really there.

Over 700 million people aroundthe world have been spellbound by the force and beauty of TheIMAX Experience. Technicallyadvanced and visually stunning,The IMAX Experience continuesto be the world’s most immersivetheatre entertainment.

IMAX films are designed to educateand enlighten as much as they are to entertain. They offer educators apowerful teaching tool that is easilyintegrated into existing curriculum.And they provide students withunique and exciting opportunities toexplore new worlds and new ideas.

IMAX films focus on a broad range ofsubjects covering the environment,nature, geography, the arts, technology,and space exploration, to name a few.

In addition to meeting recognized educational standards, IMAX films andeducation programs are often producedin collaboration with prestigious organi-zations, including the SmithsonianInstitution, NASA, WGBH/Nova,National Geographic, Discovery, andWeekly Reader.

Visit the IMAX Web site for moreinformation about The IMAX Exper-ience, IMAX technology, films, andtheatres at www.IMAX.com.

The IMAX Experience®The IMAX Experience

Education that EntertainsEducation that Entertains

Giant Screen – Giant FormatEvery seat is the best seat in the house.

The IMAX® camera can weigh as little as 42 pounds or as much as 100 pounds.

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Horses: The Story of Equus is a wonderful example of how IMAXtechnology brings images to life, withan up-close view of the horses’ physical features and beautiful scenicbackgrounds. Share these facts aboutthe making of the film with your students.

• It took one year to make Horses:The Story of Equus.

• The film was shot in southeasternAustralia.

• Professional horse trainers werehired to help with the film.

• A 70-piece orchestra was used tocreate the film’s soundtrack.

• To film the racehorses, the camera-men had to drive alongside themand match their 30-mph speed.

• The most difficult scene to plan wasthe barn fire. First, horses don’t likefire. Second, the filmmakers onlyhad one chance to film it — the barnburned completely.

• Some of the challenges the crewfaced were weather issues and thefact that they had to send the film6,000 miles away to be processed.They had to wait a few days to seetheir work.

• If you rolled this IMAX film off itsreel, it would be about 5 miles long.

• This IMAX film weighs about 500pounds. A videocassette only weighsabout 10 ounces.

• IMAX uses 15-per-foration, 70mmfilm to shoot andproject images ofincredible sharp-ness. The 15/70

frame is 10 times larger than the35mm used in regular theatres andthree times larger than standard 70mmfilm used in classic Hollywood epics.This makes it the largest commercialfilm ever invented.

• IMAX cameras are specificallydesigned to shoot 15/70mm film.Weighing between 42 and 100pounds, these cameras areextremely versatile and can beused in virtually any environment.Imagine lugging one around to filma racehorse!

• IMAX projectors are the most pow-erful in the world. The key lies in theRolling Loop technology, whichadvances the 15/70 film in a wave-like motion at 24 frames per second.During projection, each frame ispositioned on fixed registration pinsand a vacuum holds the film flatagainst the rear lens element.

• The IMAX Proportional PointSource™ sound system is threetimes more powerful than a regulartheatre sound system.

• IMAX screens can be up to eightstories high. These huge IMAX flatscreens are painted silver to reflectthe maximum amount of light backto the audience. They are also per-forated with thousands of tiny holesto allow the crystal-clear sound toflow through freely.

• The beam of light from an IMAX pro-jector is so bright, it can be seenfrom the surface of the moon.

How Does IMAX® Work?How Does IMAX Work? IMAX advanced technology – cameras, film, projectors, screens, and sound– all work together perfectly to immerse you in The IMAX Experience®.

About the FilmAbout the Film

The world’s mostpowerful film projection system

IMAX® 15/70

70mm35mm

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Modern horses evolved around 2.5million years ago and are known scientifically as Equus caballus. Thespecies can be traced back 60 million years and many climate andterrain changes ago to Eohippus, afox-sized, shrub eater that lived injungle-like terrain in what is nowNorth America. About one millionyears ago, wild horses were found allover North America and had spreadto Asia and Europe by crossing theBering Strait, a land bridge betweenAlaska and Asia. Then, about10,000 years ago horses disappearedcompletely from the Americas anddid not return until Europeanexplorers brought them back inA.D. 1494.

Scientists are not sure why horsesbecame extinct in the Americas, butthey name climate changes andexcessive hunting by humans asprobable factors. Climate changeswere also to blame for a mass migra-tion of horses from Europe toCentral Asia between 10,000 and6,000 years ago.

Horses have had a huge effect onhumans’ ability to develop civiliza-tions and to progress. The mutuallybeneficial relationship betweenhorses and humans can be tracedback to the Ukraine, where horseswere first domesticated 6,000 yearsago. In return, it appears from fossilrecords that after horses weredomesticated in Central Asia, theirpopulation came roaring back.Horses have not been in dangerglobally since their domestication.

It was in the widely varied climatesof Europe and Asia that the manybreeds of horses developed, eachsuited to a particular environmentand function. (All breeds are of thespecies Equus caballus.) Breeds varywidely, from the sleekest racehorseto the stocky muscular workhorses.Today, horses are bred for specificfunction and are generally trackedcarefully. For example, all thorough-bred horses in the world todaydescend from three stallions. Thehorses that make up undomesticated,or free-roaming, herds today are all

descendants from domesticatedhorses that escaped. The last of thetrue wild horses, known asPrzewalski’s horse, died out in the1960s in Mongolia.

Whatever the breed, horses havebeen a very important part of every-day life for people all over the world.For thousands of years, horses haveenabled people to travel and haulloads great distances, to work farms,raise cattle, make deliveries, andfight wars, just to name a few. It wasn’t until the first automobile waswidely available that horses began tobecome less of a necessity of life andmore of a pleasure, at least in someparts of the world.

In many less developed and ruralparts of the world, horses are stillintegral to survival, as they havebeen for 6,000 years. Their adapt-ability to life with humans, theirneed to bond, and their uniquephysical form have ensured theirplace in the hearts and history ofvirtually every civilization.

Background InformationBackground Information

• Male horses are called stallions;females are mares; newborns arefoals; young males are colts; andyoung females are fillies.

• Gait refers to the manner of thehorse’s movement. At their slowestto fastest gaits, horses walk, trot, canter, and then gallop.

• Horses are herd animals — theyinstinctively need to be with others,whether horse or human. This ispartly for self-protection.

• Curious, nonterritorial, nonaggres-sive, and given to flight. These wordsand phrases describe a horse’s nature.

• Horses eat grass, hay, and feed(grain).

• One year in a horse’s life is equal toabout three human years.

• Horses, like humans, understanddominance and submission. They willdecide whom they trust and whomthey will submit or give in to — suchas the Bay that does not cooperatewith the event rider, but does withthe film trainer. Horses form bonds.

• Trust is key to horses. For example,horses can’t look down when theyjump so they need to trust theirtrainers and riders to get them overobstacles.

• Horses are measured in hands. Onehand equals 4 inches. 16 hands equal64 inches (or 5.33 feet).

• Color and markings are important indetermining the value of a horse.

• Bay horse — brown hair withsome shades of red; black tail andmane

• Black horse — all black hair

• Chestnut horse — brown hair withsome shades of red; same color(or lighter) tail and mane

• Average height: about 5.5 feet atthe shoulder. Length: about 9 feet(nose to tail). Weight: 120 to 2,000pounds.

Interesting Facts about HorsesInteresting Facts about HorsesShare thesefacts with yourstudents andsee if they canadd more.

The Nuts and Bolts of Colts (and Fillies, too)

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Born to Bond

Section One: Grades 2–4TEACHER

INFORMATION

Section One: Grades 2–4ACTIVITY ONE: Born to BondThis activity uses the study ofhorses and their relationship withhumans as an opportunity to examine evolution, adaptability,and luck in the development of a species.

OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this activity, students will be able to: • identify some of the characteristics

of the horse that contributed to itssuccessful domestication.

• compare the horse’s adaptability todomestication to that of the dog’sand the tiger’s.

• differentiate between those charac-teristics that are instinctual (internal)to the horse and those that horsesderive from experience (external).

PREPARATION AND PROCEDURE

Make a copy of the reproducibleactivity sheet on page 7 for each stu-dent. Obtain several sources of basicinformation for each of the threetopics: dog, horse, and tiger. (See theResource List on the inside backcover for suggestions.)

Begin this activity by discussing thefilm. Explain the term domesticated(tamed, trained to live with humans).Ask students to think about parts ofthe film that showed why horses aregood companions for humans. (Forexample, the Bay is driven to bondwith his trainer in the absence ofother horses.) Then encourage stu-dents to discuss why dogs make goodpets. Next, discuss the appropriatenessof a tiger as a domesticated compan-ion. Keep track of students’ ideas.Explain to students that they will befilling out a chart comparing the threeanimals. Next, distribute the activitysheet. Instruct students to read thefacts about each animal and to catego-rize them on the chart as helpful ornot helpful for domestication. Thiscan be done as a class, in small groups,or individually.

When students have completed thechart, explain the difference betweeninstinctual and learned behaviors.Instinctual behaviors are those thatcome naturally, such as pulling yourhand away from a hot surface.Behaviors that come from experi-ence are learned, such as looking inboth directions before crossing astreet. Ask students to place an Inext to the characteristics that theythink are instinctual and an E nextto those that come from experience.

EVALUATION — Answers:Dog • Helpful: likes to be with a

group; each group has anorder with a leader and follow-ers; smaller size; likes to play

• Not helpful: territorial, can beaggressive when challenged or frightened

Horse • Helpful: likes to be with agroup; each group has anorder, with a leader and fol-lowers; eats a variety of different foods

• Not helpful: easily distracted,prone to flight, doesn’t natu-rally jump, size

Tiger • Helpful: simple digestive system

• Not helpful: carnivore, size,predator, territorial, solitary,sharp and strong teeth

ACTIVITY TWO: The Nuts and Bolts ofColts (and Fillies, too)This two-part activity includes amaze and multiple-choice questionsto explain the stages of a horse’s life.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to: • process a visual representation

into facts.

• identify the key elements and periodsin the life cycle of a horse.


Make a copy of the reproducibleactivity sheet on page 8 for each stu-dent. Then begin this activity byinviting students to share what theyknow about how a horse is born andhow it grows. Discuss the early andfinal scenes in the film showing afoal just after its birth. Ask whetheranyone has witnessed a horse birthor has any stories relating to theevent. Distribute the activity sheet.Explain to students that they are tocomplete the maze, making sure topass by each illustrated milestone ina horse’s life in the correct order.

After students complete the maze,have them move on to Part 2, inwhich they answer multiple-choicequestions based on the informationin the maze.

EVALUATION — Answers:Part 1:

Part 2: 1. b, 2. c, 3. a, 4. c, 5. c, 6. b

Form and Function

Horse: Humans’ Best Friend

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Section One: Grades 2–4TEACHERINFORMATION

Section One: Grades 2–4ACTIVITY THREE: Form and FunctionIn this activity, students investi-gate the specialized functions of ahorse’s anatomy.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to: • match a horse’s physical characteris-

tics to their functions.

• understand that each part of thebody is specialized.


Make copies of the activity sheet onpage 9 for students. Begin this activ-ity by discussing what studentsnoticed about the horses’ bodies inthe film. Ask students what purposethey think each feature serves.Explain that this is a function. Forexample, why are a horse’s eyes onthe sides of its head? (for maximumperipheral vision) Distribute theactivity sheet and instruct studentsto study the diagram and then matchthe labeled features with their func-tion from the list at the bottom ofthe page.

EVALUATION — Answers:1. E, 2. D, 3. F, 4. H, 5. B, 6. C,7. G, 8. A

ACTIVITY FOUR: Horse: Humans’ Best FriendIn this activity, students considerthe serious question of wherehumans would be without the horse.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:• identify the key areas throughout

history in which horses had a majoreffect on human life.

• identify important roles horses playin humans’ lives today.


Obtain a selection of books from theResource List for classroom research.

Make copies of the activity sheet onpage 10 for students.

Introduce this activity by asking stu-dents for ideas about the roles thathorses have played in history.Possible answers include workingwith cattle, plowing fields, andassisting police. Distribute the activ-ity sheet and explain to students thatthey are going to create a résumé forthe horse, listing and describing asmany jobs as they can think of, bothfrom the past and the present. Allowstudents access to the research mate-rials. After students complete therésumé, invite them to select one ofthe jobs and to consider how a horsecould perform the work. Studentscan use the back of the paper towrite their ideas.

EVALUATION — Answers will vary,but may include: used for wartime(cavalry, reconnaissance, supply,medical vehicles), travel (carryingriders; pulling stagecoaches, cabs,wagons, streetcars, and deliveryvehicles), hunting, chariot races,industrial horsepower (in mines andfactories), ceremonies, pulling bargeson canals, performing farming duties(preparing the land, planting, har-vesting, and making deliveries), maildelivery, or assisting police and fire-fighters.

Extension ActivitiesExtensions to Activity 1

• In the film Horses: The Story of Equus, theBay becomes a stunt horse working in themovies. The motion picture industry owesa large debt to horses. Some of the mostfamous pairs in movies have been man (orwoman) and horse. The horse’s heyday infilms was the 1930s through the 1950s.Encourage students to interview a grand-parent or other person who may recallthose films. Students might ask:

• How important were horses in thesemovies?

• What were some of the classics orfavorites?

• What types of stunts did the horses do?

• Have students compare the ox, anotherwork animal, with the more versatile horseusing a Venn diagram to illustrate similari-ties and differences. For example, the ox isslow. It is a ruminant, which means that itmust rest after it eats. It needs to pastureclose to its food source. The horse hassmooth, faster movements. It can eat andrun. Discuss the effect these differenceshave had in farming.

• In history, the horse was the first means oflinking two geographic areas. Horse-drawnstagecoaches made travel easier andfaster. Have students investigate how thehorse affected the growth of cities (e.g.,helped increase trade), and the role horsesplayed in the development of railroad andcanal systems.

Extension to Activity 2

• Horses have very distinctive group behav-ior, beyond their need to bond. Researchthe kind of family group horses usually cre-ate. Why does this organization work sowell? For example, horse groups have adominant horse, as we see in the film whenthe Black colt tries to join a group. Allthree horses bond first with the mother,then with other foals, and eventually theyform adult bonds depending on their situa-tion—either with other horses, withhumans, or even other kinds of animals.How does this compare with human fami-lies and other animal families?


• The Chestnut filly in the film Horses: TheStory of Equus becomes a racehorse. Aswe learn in the film, horse racing startedsoon after one inspired man decided toride a horse. When another man copiedhim, horse racing began. Horse racingremains a popular pastime in many partsof the world. See the Resource List forsuggested reading to learn more aboutthe history and kinds of horse racing.

Extensions to Activity 4

• Explore the rich narrative associated withhorses. Select from a list of age-appropriateliterature featuring horses and read themwith the class. (See the Resource List on theinside back cover for suggestions.)

• In the 1920s, the tractor began takingover the work of the horse. Have studentsimagine they are farmers at that time.They should compare the costs and benefits of buying a tractor vs. keepingthe horse.

© 2002 IMAX Corporation. Created by Weekly Reader.IMAX® and The IMAX Experience® are registered trademarks of IMAX Corporation.

T I G E R • predator (hunter) • solitary (likes to be alone)• carnivore (eats meat) • medium size • has sharp and strong teeth • simple digestive system• territorial

Helpful with domestication Not helpful with domestication

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D O G• likes to be with a group • group has a leader and

followers • territorial (protects home)• smaller size• can be aggressive when

challenged or frightened • likes to play

H O R S E• likes to be with a group • each group has an order with a

leader and followers • eats a variety of different foods• easily distracted • prone to flight • doesn’t naturally jump• large size

ANIMAL

DOG

HORSE

TIGER

Activity 1 Grades 2–4

Name:

Why was the horse able to be domesticated, or trainedto live with and be useful to humans? Throughout history, we’ve tried to tame many animals, but we’velearned that some animals do not make good pets.

For example, have you ever seen a pet hyena? Use theinformation from the fact cards to fill in the chart. Decidewhether you think each fact would be helpful or nothelpful in training the animal to live at someone’s house.

BORN TO BOND


1. Foals are usually born in the spring becausea. the flowers are blooming.b. there is fresh grass.c. the days are longer.

2. Foals can stand within a. one month.b. one week.c. one hour.

3. A foal is protected by its mother for a. six months.b. one year.c. two years.

4. Horses begin training a. at birth.b. at 6 months.c. at 1 year.

5. A foal usually drinks froma. a bottle.b. a straw.c. its mother.

6. Based on what you know about a horse’s life cyclecompared with a human’s, which species do you thinklives longer?a. horseb. human

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The foal stands withinone hour of birth.

The foal takes a drinkfrom its mother, a mare, within a few hours.

The horse, a mare, gives birth.

The horse begins train-ing to race when it is 1.

The horse is sold at theYearling sale.

The horse does its job.By nature, horses are“flight” animals. No, they don’t fly. They like to run!

The horse retires.

Part 1

Each species in nature has its own unique life cycle. Wewalk after about one year. We stay with our families foralmost twenty years. A horse’s life cycle is quite differ-ent from a human’s.

Do you remember the Chestnut horse from the filmHorses: The Story of Equus? Can you help her figureout the right way through the maze using the picturesand information given?

The foal stays with itsmother for six months.

At 6 months, the foalleaves its mother andruns with other foals.

Part 2

Use the information from the maze and the film to answer these questions. Circle your answers.

Name:

Activity 2Grades 2–4

START

The foal(baby horse)is born. Like mostfoals, it is

born on a spring night.

FINISH

THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF COLTS(and Fillies, too)


FormEven if you have never seen ahorse up close, after seeing thefilm Horses: The Story ofEquus, you know how amazinga horse’s body is. Eachpart of the body serves a special purpose. Thisdiagram shows some ofthe specialized parts ofa horse’s body, eachlabeled with a letter.

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1. A horse can reach food on the ground and lookaround from above without much effort. ______

2. A horse can chew the toughest grass, enabling itto survive where other animals could not. ______

3. A horse can sense the slightest muscle move-ment of a rider, which makes it seem as thoughthe horse can read the rider’s mind. It can alsosense sound through its hoofs and legs. ______

4. A horse can take long strides (steps) to runfast. ______

5. A horse is very alert to its surroundings. It cansee in almost every direction, including behinditself, without moving its head. ______

6. A horse has an excellent sense of smell. It usessmell to identify itself and others. ______

7. Even though it’s so large, a horse can run fastand long because it can breathe a lot of oxygen and pump a lot of blood. ______

8. A horse points its ears toward noises to hearsounds that are faint or far away. ______

FunctionStudy the diagram. Then, using what you’ve learned, match each body part with its function by writing the letter on the line provided.

A. ears that point inalmost any direction

B. large eyes on the sidesof the head

C. large nose and nasalpassages

D. large teeth

E. long neck

F. very sensitive skin

G. large lungs and heart

H. long legs

Name:

FORM AND FUNCTION


Name:

Where would humans be without the horse? When humans first rodehorses, they realized they could travel much farther than on foot. Theycould explore, hunt, and farm more easily. What other jobs have horseshad in history? Use the table below to list and describe some of theimportant jobs horses have held. Create a horse’s résumé.

JOB TITLE JOB DESCRIPTION

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Equus CaballusOne Stable Drive

Galloping, STATE 05276


HORSE: HUMANS’ BEST FRIEND

From Lungs to Limbs

Instinct vs. Environment

A Story of Survival

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Section Two: Grades 5–9TEACHERINFORMATION

Section Two: Grades 5–9ACTIVITY ONE: A Story of SurvivalThis activity uses a timeline totouch upon some relevant dates in the long and winding history ofthe horse.

OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this activity, stu-dents will be able to: • identify key dates in the history of

the horse.

• make a presentation to the class onan important event in horse history.

• trace and analyze the evolution-ary changes from Eohippus to Equus caballus.


Make copies of the activity sheet onpage 13 for students. Organize libraryand Internet time for research, andgather resources for the classroom.Then introduce this activity byreviewing what students learnedfrom the film about the history of thehorse.

Distribute the activity sheets to stu-dents and review Part 1. Providetime and resources for research. Youmay wish to share facts from theBackground Information section ofthis guide to enhance discussion.After students perform preliminaryresearch to fill in four dates or eventson the timeline, make sure everyonehas chosen an event from the time-line on which to present a report.Give students guidelines and a for-mat to follow that are suitable foryour group (such as the due date andlength). Then provide additionaltime for presentation research.

Discuss Part 2 with your students andprovide them with appropriateresources and time to research thesuccessful evolutionary changesbetween Eohippus and Equus caballus.(See the Resource List on the insideback cover for suggestions.)

EVALUATION

Timeline supplement answers willvary. You might use a traditionalscoring rubric to evaluate the presen-tations for Part 1. Answers for Part 2will vary, but students should showcomprehension of the basic idea thatenvironmental changes and otherfactors determine the success of aspecies as it evolves.

ACTIVITY TWO: Instinct vs. EnvironmentIn this activity, students develop anunderstanding of behavior, inresponse to a stimulus, as a combi-nation of heredity and experience.Students will analyze a horse’sbehavior in a certain circumstance,such as in a battle, and create a chartor other visual representation,breaking down that behavior to itshereditary and experiential compo-nents.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to: • differentiate between instinctual

and environmental actions.

• analyze a horse’s actions and assigneach to one of the above categories.


Make copies of the activity sheet onpage 14. Begin this activity by dis-cussing the elements of the film thatconcerned instinctual versus learnedbehavior. This distinction played amajor role in each of the three stories. You may need to review thedifference between these two types ofbehavior: Instinctual behavior issomething done naturally withoutthinking, while the environmentshapes the behaviors we learn, suchas looking before crossing the street.Once you are confident your studentsunderstand the difference, distributecopies of the activity sheet. Thisactivity is well-suited for collabora-tion and discussion, so working inpairs is an option.

EVALUATION

Answers will vary depending on thesituation chosen, but students shoulddemonstrate an understanding of thedifference between instinctual andenvironmental, or learned, behaviorusing a real example.

ACTIVITY THREE: From Lungs to LimbsIn this activity, students investi-gate the specialized functions of ahorse’s anatomy through a readingcomprehension exercise.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to: • identify the main physical features

of a horse.

• answer questions relating to the purposes of those features.

• connect those functions to real-life situations the horse encounters.

• understand that each part of thebody is specialized.


Make copies of the activity sheet onpage 15 for students. Then begin thisactivity by asking students what theylearned about the physical features ofhorses from the film. What specialfeatures did they notice? What pur-pose does such a feature serve? Forexample, why are a horse’s eyes onthe sides of its head? (for maximumperipheral vision) Distribute theactivity sheet and instruct studentsto read the passage carefully andanswer the questions by circling theappropriate answers.

EVALUATION — Answers:1. b, 2. c, 3. a, 4. a, 5. b, 6. c, 7. a,8. c, 9. c, 10. b

A Friend ThroughHistory

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ACTIVITY FOUR: A Friend ThroughHistoryHorses are so ingrained in our culture that it’s difficult to imaginelife without them. In this activity,students are challenged to explainhorses and the horse’s role in his-tory and society to someone withno prior knowledge.

OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:• identify the key areas throughout his-

tory in which horses had a major effecton human life.

• identify important roles horses play inhuman’s lives today.

• begin to consider how human lifewould be different without horses.


Obtain a selection of books from theResource List for classroom research.Make copies of the activity sheet onpage 16 for students. Then intro-duce this activity by asking studentsfor ideas about the roles that horseshave played in history. Possibleanswers include working with cattle,plowing fields, and assisting police.Distribute the activity sheet andexplain the students’ task. They areto write a letter to an imaginary penpal who knows absolutely nothingabout horses. By separating and list-ing some of the passive and assumedways that horses affected humans,students will see the enormousimpact these animals have had onour lives.

EVALUATION

While answers will vary, an expla-nation of the horse should includesome of the following roles:wartime (cavalry, reconnaissance,supply, medical vehicles), travel(carrying riders; pulling stage-coaches, cabs, streetcars, and deliv-ery vehicles), hunting, chariotraces, ranching, industrial horse-power (in mines and factories),ceremonies, pulling barges oncanals, farming duties (preparingthe land, planting, harvesting, andmaking deliveries), assisting policeand firefighters, and mail delivery.

Extension ActivitiesExtension to Activity 1

• Encourage students to identify exam-ples of the prevalent role of the horsein art, literature, and movies. Studentsthen study one example in detail andshare their findings with the class.


• The film Horses: The Story of Equusfeatured Bay, a stunt horse. Horseswere stars in many movies throughoutthe 1930s, 40s and 50s. Invite studentsto watch one of these films. Whilewatching the film, students shouldlook at the horse’s relationship to theother actors, the physical stunts itmust perform, and the “acting.”

• Encourage students to consider otheranimals that have been domesticated— either trained or raised by humans— such as dogs and sheep. What arethe instinctual behaviors of those animals and how do they exhibit thesebehaviors? Which behaviors arelearned?

• Encourage students to consider thechain of events that begins with theremoval of a species’ predators. Whathappens to the population? theresources?


• It takes a very special horse to becomea racehorse. Invite your students toconsider what characteristics make awinner. Some of the physical elementscan be determined through the “FromLungs to Limbs” activity. What mentalstrengths must a horse have?


• Have students research and discussthe purpose and effects of nationallaws to protect feral horses. Such lawsexist in some South American coun-tries, Australia, France, and the UnitedStates. The U.S. Wild Free-RoamingHorse and Burro Act of 1971 gaveCongress the authority to manage,protect, and control wild horses. Priorto that legislation, wild horses hadbeen subjected to mistreatment andworse. Students might prepare a for-mal debate on the issue of feral horsepreservation. (See the Resource Listfor suggested references.)

• The Black colt in the film Horses: TheStory of Equus became part of equinehistory when he joined a free-roamingherd. Have students imagine theywere the horse and have themdescribe what they would find appeal-ing about this life. How does this lifecompare to the lives of the other twohorses?

Section Two: Grades 5–9TEACHERINFORMATION

Section Two: Grades 5–9

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Nature vs. nurture. It’s an age-old debate about which elements of a liv-ing thing are ingrained in the genes (hereditary, internal, instinctive) andwhich are experiential (environmental, external, learned). In the filmHorses: The Story of Equus, filmmakers approach this topic when describingthe Chestnut racing. The narrator says that the horse cares little about theowner’s wishes. It knows only that “its greatest instinct is to run.” Select onesituation a horse might be in, such as a battle, a horse race, a cattle roundup, a leisure ride, or a wagon pull. Analyze the situation, the horse’s likely behavior,and what a human might expect from a horse in that situation. Then use thechart below to classify those behaviors as hereditary or experiential.

Hereditary (instinct) Experiential (learned)

14


Name:

INSTINCT VS. ENVIRONMENT


The film Horses: The Story of Equus gives the viewera sense of the enormous power and efficiency ofhorses in general. Like an efficient, successfulmachine, the horse’s body has specific featuresthat correspond with highly specialized functions.These physical and mental characteristics wererefined over many years as the environmentchanged. For example, today’s horse, called Equuscaballus, can be traced back to Eohippus, a fox-sized, shrubbery-eating creature that depended oncamouflage for protection. Eohippus was well-suitedto its environment, which was almost jungle-like,with plenty of food and low shrubs for cover.

However, in the millions of years that separatedEohippus and Equus caballus, the modern horse,Earth’s climate and environment changed drasti-cally. In areas where the horse’s ancestors lived,the terrain changed first to woodlands and thento grassy plains. It was no longer helpful to usecamouflage as defense. No matter what activitythe horse was engaged in, it needed to be able todetect predators from any direction and then fleequickly. The horse’s senses make it very good at detecting potential danger. Its ears move

in any direction toward sound, and its nasal pas-sages are large and can open widely. Its body andskin are not only sensitive to touch, but also tovibrations coming from the ground. The horse’seyes are on the sides of its head so it can see inmost directions without moving its head.

Horses spend most of their time grazing becausethey need to eat a large amount of grass to satisfy their needs. Their ability to survive on a relatively poor food source has been advan-tageous to the horse, allowing it to live whereother animals could not. That ability is thanks in part to its large mouth and specialized digestive system.

In order to thrive, an animal must not onlyeat, but it must escape predators. As itsmain defense became flight, often from acomplete standstill, the horse developed longlegs and strong hindquarters. Its organs, suchas a large heart and lungs, became specializedfor flight and endurance. All of those factorshave allowed the horse to survive while manyother species did not.

1. Which species has a longer neck for eating?a. Eohippusb. Equus caballusc. both

2. Which of the following features helps a horse run long distances?a. sensitive skin b. long mouth c. large lungs

3. Which of the following features helps a horse detect apredator long before it can be seen?a. earsb. strong hindquarters c. large heart

4. Which of the following features is most important to ahorse when fleeing danger?a. long legs b. adaptable digestive system c. sensitive skin

5. Which of the following areas do you think is the hardestfor a horse to see?a. to its right b. right in front of its nose c. to its left

16. In general, animals as large as a horse are not fastmovers. Which of the following features contributesleast to a horse’s speed and agility?a. large heart b. long legs c. sensitive skin

17. Which of the following features is least helpful in horseracing?a. eyes that can see in almost every direction b. strong hindquarters c. large heart

18. Which of the following features has been most importantin allowing the horse to survive in areas where other animals cannot?a. sensitive skin b. large nasal passages c. ability to survive on poor food source

19. Which of the following features allows a horse to seem-ingly know what the rider wants before he or she givesthe command?a. excellent hearing b. long legs c. sensitive skin

10. Based on what you read in the passage, which event doyou think a horse would detect before humans would?a. its birthday b. an earthquake c. an important visitor’s arrival 15


Name:

Read the following passage carefully. When you have finished, answer the questions below by circling the correct answer.

FROM LUNGS TO LIMBS


Imagine it’s the year 2100. Humans have become friendly withcreatures on another planet. In fact, one is your pen pal. Hedoesn’t know anything about the horse and asks you why the horse is so important. Use the space below to write a letter to your pen paldescribing the many jobs and important roles the horse has playedthroughout history. Be sure to explain how the horse made manythings possible for humans.

16

Dear: ,


Name:

A FRIEND THROUGH HISTORY

Clutton-Brock, Juliet. Horse (Eyewitness Books). London: Dorling Kindersley, 1992.

Kingfisher Visual Factfinder, The. Michèle Byam (Series Ed.). New York: Kingfisher, 1996.

Ling, Mary. Foal. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1992.

Meltzer, Milton. Hold Your Horses! New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

National Geographic Book of Mammals. Washington, DC: The National GeographicSociety, 1998.

Rodenas, Paula. The Random House Book of Horses and Horsemanship. New York:Random House, 1997.

Scanlan, Lawrence. Wild About Horses. New York: HarperCollins, 1998.

Web Bibliographywww.pbs.org/wildhorses/wildintro.html - Wild Horses: An American Romance

www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/ - Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse andBurro Program

www.bardalisa.com/bardalisa/ - American Mustang and Burro Association

Resource ListIn addition to information that can be found on www.IMAX.com, check out these resources.

Web sitesGeneralwww.pbs.org/wildhorses/wildintro.html - Wild Horses: An American Romance

www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/horses/ - Web companion to PBS nature program on Horses

www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/ - Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse andBurro Home Page

www.savewildhorses.org/ - The Wild Horse and Burro Freedom Alliance

www.coffinbaypony.asn.au/ - Coffin Bay Pony Society

www.thebrumby.org - Brumby Protection Group

www.halcyon.com/mongolia/Takhi.html - Takhi: The Mongolian Wild Horse

www.arkwild.org/ - The Abaco (Bahamas) Wild Horse Fund

www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/mongolia/ - Nature: Wild Horses of Mongolia

Wild Horse Anniewww.savewildhorses.org/annie.htm

Photographswww.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/photos.htm - Wild Horse Photo Gallery

www.equinenet.org/life/blm1.html - A Photo Essay of Wild Horse Roundup

Just For Kidshttp://horsefun.com - For horse-loving kids

www.equinenet.org/life/colorbk.html - Printable coloring book pages featuring horses

Wild Horse Adoption Programswww.bardalisa.com/bardalisa/ - American Mustang and Burro Association

www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/adoption.htm - Bureau of Land Management’sWild Horse and Burro Adoption Page

www.equinenet.org/life/qa.html - FAQs about Wild Horses and Burros

Books for StudentsGeneralAncona, George. Man and Mustang

Farley, Walter. The Black Stallion Series

Henry, Marguerite. Misty of Chincoteague

Henry, Marguerite. Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West

Kathrens, Ginger. Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies

Meltzer, Milton. Hold Your Horses!: A Feedbag Full of Fact and Fable

Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw. Where the Wild Horses Roam

Roever, J.M. The Mustangs

Ryden, Hope. The Wild Colt; The Life of a Young Mustang

Pony Boy, Gawani. Out of the Saddle: Native American Horsemanship

Savitt, Sam. Wild Horse Running

Horse RacingJohnson, Neil. Born To Run: A Racehorse Grows Up

Hillenbrand, Laura. Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Nack, William. Secretariat: The Making of a Champion

Rodenas, Paula. The Random House Book of Horses and Horsemanship

Native Americans/The American West/HorsesBrink, Carol Ryrie. Caddie Woodlawn

Kalman, Bobbie. Bandanas, Chaps and Ten-Gallon Hats

Kalman, Bobbie. Nations of the Plains

Pony Boy, Gawani. Out of the Saddle: Native American Horsemanship

Savage, Candace. Born to Be a Cowgirl: A Spirited Ride Through the Old West

General AudienceBudiansky, Stephen. The Nature of Horses

Dines, Lisa. The American Mustang Guidebook

Dobie, J. Frank. Mustangs and Cowboys

Hansen, Skylar. Roaming Free

McCarthy, Gary. Mustang Fever

Purcell, L. Edward. Wild Horses of America

Ryden, Hope. America’s Last Wild Horses

Ryden, Hope. Mustangs, A Return to the Wild

Scanlan, Lawrence. Wild About Horses

BibliographyAinslie, Tom & Bonnie Ledbetter. The Body Language of Horses. New York: WilliamMorrow, 1980.

Ancona, George. Man and Mustang. New York: Macmillan, 1992.

Budiansky, Stephen. The Nature of Horses. New York: The Free Press, 1997.

Compton’s Encyclopedia, Vol. 10. Compton’s Learning Co., 1987.

Dent, Anthony. The Horse Through Fifty Centuries of Civilization. New York: Holt,Rinehart and Winston, 1974.

Edwards, Elwyn Hartley. The New Encyclopedia of the Horse. London: DorlingKindersley, 1994.

Edwards, Elwyn Hartley. Horses (Eyewitness Handbooks). London: DorlingKindersley, 1993.

Evans, Edna H. Famous Horses and Their People. Brattleboro, Vermont: TheStephen Green Press, 1975.

Flade, Johannes E., Erich Tylinek & Zuzana Samková. The Compleat Horse. NewYork: Prentice Hall, 1987.



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