Ancient Horses the Size of House Cats Once Roamed Wyoming

It's fitting that the earliest horses in the world roamed the prairies of Wyoming.

According to findings published through the University of Wyoming, the  fossils of Eohippus, ancient horses that roamed the state over 55 million years ago, are commonly found in the Cowboy State.

In Greek "eos" means dawn, and "hippos" means horse.

Per Britannica, this species had a relatively short face. It's hind legs were longer than the forelegs. The body was light and its long slender limbs supported by toes on their feet that each ended in a small hoof. Their teeth suggest the animal was a browser that fed on leaves.

In the spring of 2015, a primitive horse ancestor fossil discovery nicknamed Olive was discovered near Kemmerer. The horse would've been about 22 inches long.

Scientists say this discovery was even more rare than finding a T-Rex fossil.

Olive is one of the oldest and world's most rare fossil skeletons of one of the oldest horses in history. She is named after the Oliver brothers who discovered her, Mark and Mike.

"Not only did this tiny horse-like animal prove to be essentially complete, but showed great articulation, most importantly in the feet. The foot structure along with the skull is one of the most important aspects for describing horses" reads an article from Fossil Era.