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Evolution: On the Run | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

NOVA PBS Official | November 12, 2026



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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Written by NOVA PBS Official

Comments

This post currently has 8 comments.

  1. @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

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