Domestic Animals: Breeds are select groups of domestic animals in which the offspring have the same appearance, characteristics, and abilities as the parents. Such groups are produced by the effects of physical and biological factors, such as climate and food, acting in concert with the selection of animals by man. The first breeds of domestic animals were probably horses. The earliest domestication of the horse is not known with certainty, but there are indications suggestive of horse breeding from the Dnieper River region of the Ukraine about 3000 B. c. and from the Dummer Lake area of northern West Germany about 2500 B. c. By 1700 B. c. the Hit-tite people of southwestern Asia were breeding specialized horses; a Hittite text by Kikkulis on training horses dates from 1400 B. c. Breeds are select groups of domestic animals in which the offspring have the same appearance, characteristics, and abilities as the parents. Such groups are produced by the effects of physical and biological factors, such as climate and food, acting in concert with the selection of animals by man. The first breeds of domestic animals were probably horses. The earliest domestication of the horse is not known with certainty, but there are indications suggestive of horse breeding from the Dnieper River region of the Ukraine about 3000 B. c. and from the Dummer Lake area of northern West Germany about 2500 B. c. By 1700 B. c. the Hit-tite people of southwestern Asia were breeding specialized horses; a Hittite text by Kikkulis on training horses dates from 1400 B. c.

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