An international team of scientists has traced the genetic history of horses in the Iberian Peninsula over the last 26,000 years, uncovering a unique wild horse lineage called IBE that survived the last Ice Age south of the Pyrenees. This lineage, genetically distinct from other European horses, thrived in humid forest habitats until around the 6th century BCE, when it went extinct likely due to cultural upheavals like the Punic Wars. Around 1850 BCE, domesticated horses from the eastern European steppes (DOM2) arrived and were crossbred with native IBE horses for over a millennium, although the IBE genetic contribution to modern breeds remained minimal.

Between 1200 BCE and 500 CE, Iberian horses became a prominent equestrian reference across Europe and North Africa, praised historically for their use in warfare and chariot racing. Their genetic influence spread widely, reaching as far as Estonia, Tunisia, and later the Americas during Spanish and Portuguese colonization. The study, published in Nature Communications, highlights the Iberian Peninsula’s central role in shaping horse diversity globally and calls for further research into periods like the Middle Ages and the impact of historical events such as the Muslim conquest on horse genetics.