The species was first described in 1900 based on remains found at the Sussenborn locality in Germany,[1] dating to the early Middle Pleistocene, around 640–620,000 years ago.

Recent authors have proposed a particularly close relationship to Equus major , a "stenonine" equine known from the first half of the Early Pleistocene in Europe.

The metapodial bones of the feet tend to be elongate, with a large diaphysis (midsection) and wide epiphyses (end sections).

The chronology of the species spans from the mid-Early Pleistocene around 1.5 million years ago, until the early Middle Pleistocene, around 600,000 years ago, around the time of arrival of caballine true horses into Europe, assigned to the species Equus mosbachensis.

[2] It often co-occurred with the smaller "stenonine" equine Equus altidens, which dental wear analysis indicates had a more grazing focused diet on average, suggesting dietary niche partitioning between the two species.