Evolution: On the Run | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS
How did running machines like the horse evolve from creatures that couldn’t move on their own?
Official website: https://to.pbs.org/4sODQmc #novapbs
Run. Leap. Swim. Pounce. Slither. Fly. Life moves in countless ways—but it wasn’t always this way. When animals first emerged, they clung to the seafloor, until a single twitch sparked a revolution. From the first muscle to the first heartbeat, from lobe fins that pushed life onto land to legs built for speed, movement reshaped the planet. Follow the horse—perhaps the ultimate icon of power and endurance—as its limbs evolved into precision tools for running, and see how humans harnessed that power to amplify their own. This is the untold story of how life learned to move.
#evolution #horses #running
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Chapters
00:00 Introduction
05:19 How Animals Began to Move
13:33 The Evolution of Muscle
18:15 The Origins of the Heart
24:19 Lobe-Finned Fish to Amphibians
38:14 Evolution of Horses
50:38 Conclusion
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@ALEXANDERTOWHEE
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
No doubt. Frontline is still being produced as well; top-tier investigative journalism and banging intro music (like Nova.)
@klyanadkmorr
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
I have worked in stables and riding horses
They 'LOOK' majestic but they are just HUGE SPASTIC RABBITS/HERBIVORES that are skittish and airheaded, not like a dog or donkey with real personality intelligence imho
@prototropo
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
I’d love if NOVA had a series or episode on the ideal, most compassionate treatment of domestic animals.
@1000wastedwords
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
Y’all could have made a whole hour long episode on just horses without all the muscle filler.
@courtneyy5150
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
love nova, hate the AI used
@4l73rn8
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
I didn’t know that NOVA is still around. I loved watching it every week growing up.
@Grimrtyr
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
Thanks
@TheCatzilla1
November 12, 2026 at 3:48 am
I love Nova~