More ancient horse ancestors - please.

But, maybe not ones having such a, “Bad Day”. It almost seeming to be becoming stereotypic, to depict early horses disappearing down some big thing’s gullet!
How trite! Is there any less cliche means of amplifying scale.

The author, David P. Willoughby, called the North American continent “The Cradle Of Equus. Perhaps it is time to show one turning the table on poor ol’ Barbourofelis.

My own rare breed, Spanish Mustang stallion eats cougars for late night snacks, apparently, judging by the signs left out in our Rocky Mountain pastures after a noisy night. He even saved a mouth full of tawny fur, once, as proof. He is a doting father, and takes very good care of his babies. And he is as gentle with people, and dogs that he gets to know really well, as he is to them. He just goes after big cats, and packing wild dogs (I suspect he wouldn’t like wolves very much, either). I think that most of the modern day horse breeds are beginning to loose too many of their ancient, primitive survival instincts.

As far as barbourofelines being nimravid, I wanted to mention a contrary opinion put forward in the following paper:
Michael Morlo, Stephane Peigne and Doris Nagel, A new species of Prosansanosmilus: implications for the systematic relationship of the family Barbourofelidae new rank (Carnivora, Mammmalia), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 140, 43-61.
An extract from the abstract: “A phylogenetic analysis based on dental characters of early nimravids, barbourofelids and felids supports previous results on skull morphology of Barbourofelis that Barbourofelinae is not closely related to the Late Eocene and Oligocene Nimravinae. Instead, both subfamilies should be treated as separate families, with the Barbourofelidae closely related to the Felidae. The Barbourofelidae differ from the Felidae as well as from the Nimravidae sensu stricto, particularly in the unique morphology of their basicranium. They presumably originated in Africa; Prosansanosmilus eggeri sp.nov. is interpreted as part of a Miocene immigration of African faunal elements into Europe that took place at the beginning of MN5 (Middle Miocene).” This Middle Miocene emigration from Africa was the so-called Creodont Event, other notable migrants to Eurasia at this time being the giant hyaenodontid Hyainailurus, and the proboscidean Gomphotherium. The authors interpret the Barbourofelidae as the sister-group of the Felidae.

- Having looked at pictures of a barbourofelis skull i know exactly what you mean when u say that there is very little space between the teeth, and the lower jaw flanges. Seeing your illustration showing the gum tissue exposed on the outside of the mouth makes me wonder if there could have been a flap of skin that would have covered those flanges and the teeth when the mouth was closed (a full sheath) - is there any way to determine this by looking at the skull? - I just seem to have this problem in the back of my mind about most of the sabertoothed animals having their teeth exposed outside of their mouths, this would leave the animals most vital killing utensils exposed to the elements, and in an animal such as barbourofelis where it already has bone tissue extended out to protect the teeth, it makes me wonder whether or not it had a muscular lip system on its lower jaw (like humans) and it could relax and flex it appropriately to fit its teeth into a full sheeth… just a random idea that i thought i’d share with you, i dont know if it has ever come up or not as I am no expert on the barbourofelis