Enough with the grotesque cult of My Little Pony. We say, send those suckers to pull carriages through the landfill for eternity! Then revive your kids’ perspective on the real thing by taking them to a new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, “The Horse”.

Adults will appreciate learning how these gentle giants have been helping humans flourish for 6,000 years. “Horses were the real engine of civilization before we developed other power sources,” says curator Ross MacPhee, who also explains that the show is the brainchild of newsman Tom Brokaw. A museum board member and dude ranch owner, Brokaw thought it was time for the institution to break with its tradition of focusing on long-extinct creatures.

Still, the museum knows its audience: Horse skeletons from its collection have been dusted off to help illustrate the animal’s evolution over 50 million years. Kids probably won’t recognize its early ancestors, like those found in Nebraska from about 10 million B.C. Re-created here in a diorama, the leaf-eating animals were smaller than today’s breeds, with multiple toes and zebralike coats. Another diorama depicts an excavation site in Kazakhstan, where evidence was found that domesticated horses existed 5,000 years ago. Among the more recent cultural artifacts on display is a horse-drawn NYC fire truck from the 1890s.

In between exploring touch-screen computer stations, youngsters can handle replicas of fossil teeth to see how scientists deciphered these ancient creatures’ diets, and test their strength in horsepower by grabbing onto a huge pulley. A collection of horsey toys includes cloth teddy mares and—brace yourself—those unavoidable pastel hags. At least they’ll make the kids happy.