HOOF BEATS

A bold new take on domestication and the human-horse story.

A book cover that shows a painting of a running horse and text that reads, "Hoof Beats: How Horses Shaped Human History, by William Taylor." The cover is tan, the horse is black, and the text is bright red and dark red.

Journey to the ancient past with cutting-edge science and new data to discover how horses forever altered the course of human history...

From the Rockies to the Himalayas, the bond between horses and humans has spanned across time and civilizations. In this archaeological journey, William T. Taylor explores how momentous events in the story of humans and horses helped create the world we live in today. Tracing the horse's origins and spread from the western Eurasian steppes to the invention of horse-drawn transportation and the explosive shift to mounted riding, Taylor offers a revolutionary new account of how horses altered the course of human history.

Horse petroglyphs adorn a mountainside in Central Asia's beautiful Ferghana Valley, home of the famed "heavenly horses" of the Silk Road.
Dr. William T. Taylor smiles in his lab at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has a model of a horse skull on the shelf behind him. William has light brown hair and is wearing a blue and red plaid shirt.

Horse petroglyphs adorn a mountainside in Central Asia's beautiful Ferghana Valley, home of the famed "heavenly horses" of the Silk Road.

About Dr. William T. Taylor

Dr. William T. Taylor is an archaeologist, scientist, and author whose work explores the domestication of the horse and the ancient relationships between people and animals. With active field research projects in “horse country” around the world, from the steppes of Eurasia to the Great Plains of North America and the Pampas of Argentina, his work brings together emerging technologies and cutting-edge scientific techniques alongside historic records, traditional knowledge, and personal experience to help tell the story of people and horses.

The cover of Science magazine shows an image of petroglyphs depicting a human riding a horse. The petroglyphs are carved into rock. The text reads, "Science. An enduring partnership. The long history between horses and Indigenous Americans"

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