The horse (Equus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus.
Horses have long been among the most economically important domesticated animals; however their importance has declined with the introduction of mechanization. The horse is a prominent figure in the ideals of religion, mythology, and art and plays an important role in transportation, agriculture, and warfare. Horses also serve as a source of food, fuel, and clothing.
Most breeds of horses are able to perform work such as carrying humans on their backs or be harnessed to pull objects such as carts or plows. However, horse breeds were developed to allow horses to be specialized for certain tasks; lighter horses for racing or riding, heavier horses for farming and other tasks requiring pulling power. Some horses, such as the miniature horse, can be kept as pets. In some societies, horses are a source of food, both meat and milk; in others it is taboo to consume them. In industrialized countries, horses are predominantly kept for leisure and sporting pursuits, while in other parts of the world they are used as working animals.
Because horses and humans have lived and worked together for thousands of years, an extensive specialized vocabulary has arisen to describe virtually every horse behavioral and anatomical characteristic with a high degree of precision.
Foal: a horse of either sex less than one year old. A nursing foal is sometimes called a suckling and a foal that has been weaned is called a weanling. Most domesticated foals are weaned at 4-6 months of age.
Yearling: a horse of either sex that is between one and two years old.
Colt: a male horse under the age of four.
Filly: a female horse under the age of four.
Mare: a female horse four years old and older.
Stallion: a non-castrated male horse four years old and older. Some people, particularly in the UK, refer to a stallion as a "horse." A Ridgling or "Rig" is a stallion which has an undescended testicle. If both testicles are not descended, the horse may appear to be a gelding, but will still behave like a stallion.[3]
Gelding: A castrated male horse of any age, though for convenience sake, many people also refer to a young gelding under the age of four as a "colt."[4]
In horse racing the definitions of colt, filly, mare, and stallion or horse may differ from those given above. In the United Kingdom, Thoroughbred horse racing defines a colt as a male horse less than five years old and a filly as a female horse less than five years old.[citation needed] In the USA, both Thoroughbred racing and harness racing defines colts and fillies as four years old and younger.[5]
A very rough estimate of a horse's age can be made from looking at its teeth.
Size
Size varies greatly among horse breeds, as with this full-sized horse and small pony (possibly a miniature horse.
The English-speaking world measures the height of horses in hands, abbreviated "h" or "hh," and is measured at the highest point of an animal's withers. One hand is 4 Imperial inches, or, as defined in British law, 101.6 mm. Intermediate heights are defined by hands and inches, rounding to the lower measurement in hands, followed by a decimal point and the number of additional inches between 1 and 3. Thus a horse described as 15.2 hh tall, means it is 15 hands, 2 inches, or 62 inches/1.57 m in height.[4]
The size of horses varies by breed, but can also be influenced by nutrition. The general rule for cutoff in height between what is considered a horse and a pony at maturity is 14.2 hands high. (abbreviated "h" or "hh") (147 cm, 58 inches) as measured at the withers. An animal 14.2h or over is usually considered a horse and one less than 14.2h is a pony.[6]
However, there are exceptions to the general rule. Some smaller horse breeds who typically produce individual horses both under and over 14.2h are considered "horses" regardless of height. Likewise, some pony breeds, such as the Pony of the Americas or the Welsh pony, share some features of horses and individual animals may occasionally mature at over 14.2h, but are still considered ponies.
The difference between a horse and pony is not simply a height difference, but also a difference in phenotype or appearance. There are noticeable differences in conformation and temperament. Ponies often exhibit thicker manes, tails and overall coat. They also have proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier bone, shorter and thicker necks, and short heads with broad foreheads. They often have calmer temperaments than horses and also a high level of equine intelligence that may or may not be used to cooperate with human handlers.[6]
Light riding horses such as Arabians, Morgans, or Quarter Horses usually range in height from 14.0 (142 cm) to 16.0 hands (163 cm) and can weigh from 386 kilograms to about 540 kg (850 to 1200 lb). Larger riding horses such as Thoroughbreds, American Saddlebreds or Warmbloods usually start at about 15.2 hands (157 cm) and often are as tall as 17 hands (172 cm), weighing from 500 kg to 680 kg (1100 lb to 1500 lb). Heavy or draft horses such as the Clydesdale, Belgian, Percheron, and Shire are usually at least 16.0 (163 cm) to 18.0 hands (183 cm) high and can weigh from about 680 kg up to about 900 kg (1500 lb to 2000 lb). Ponies cannot be taller than 14.2h (147 cm), but can be much smaller, down to the Shetland pony at around 10 hands (102 cm),[7] and the Falabella which can be the size of a medium-sized dog. However, while many miniature horse breeds are small as or smaller than a shetland pony, because they are bred to have a horse phenotype (appearance), their breeders and registries classify them as very small horses rather than ponies.
The largest horse in history was a Shire horse named Sampson, later renamed Mammoth, foaled in 1846 in Bedfordshire, England. He stood 21.2½ hands high (i.e. 7 ft 2½ in or 2.20 m ), and his peak weight was estimated at over 3,300 lb (approx 1.5 tonnes). The current record holder for the world's smallest horse is Thumbelina, a fully mature miniature horse affected by dwarfism. She is 17 inches tall and weighs 60 pounds.[8]
Colors and markings
The "Warmblood" subspecies or "Forest Horse": (Equus ferus silvaticus, also called the Diluvial Horse) thought to have evolved into Equus ferus germanicus, and which may have contributed to the development of the warmblood horses of northern Europe, as well as older "heavy horses" such as the Ardennais
The "Draft" subspecies: a small, sturdy, heavyset animal with a heavy hair coat, arising in northern Europe, adapted to cold, damp climates, somewhat resembling today's draft horse and even the Shetland pony
The "Oriental" subspecies: a taller, slim, refined and agile animal arising in western Asia, adapted to hot, dry climates, thought to be the progenitor of the modern Arabian horse and Akhal-Teke
The "Tarpan" subspecies: dun-colored, sturdy animal, the size of a large pony, adapted to the cold, dry climates of northern Asia, the predecessor to the Tarpan and Przewalski's Horse as well as the domesticated Mongolian horse
Wild species surviving into modern times
The tarpan, Equus ferus ferus, survived into the historical era, but became extinct in 1879. Its genetic line is lost, but its phenotype has been recreated by a "breeding back" process, in which living domesticated horses with primitive features were repeatedly interbred. Thanks to the efforts of the brothers Lutz Heck (director of the Berlin zoo) and Heinz Heck (director of Munich Tierpark Hellabrunn), the resulting Heck horse together with the Konik resembles the tarpan more closely than any other living horse.
Przewalski's Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), a rare Asian species, is the only true wild horse alive today. Also known as the Mongolian Wild Horse, Mongolians know it as the taki, while the Kyrgyz people call it a kirtag. Small wild breeding populations of this animal, named after the Russian explorer Przewalski, exist in Mongolia.[36] There are also small populations maintained at zoos throughout the world. After a battle against extinction, the Przewalksi's Horse is finally flourishing in the wild once again.
Other truly wild equids alive today include the zebra and the onager.
Feral horses
Horse meat has been used as food for animals and humans throughout the ages. It is eaten in many parts of the world and is an export industry in the United States and other countries. Bills have been introduced in both the House and the Senate which would put an end to this practice in the United States. Horse consumption is taboo in some cultures.
Mare's milk is used by people with large horse-herds, such as the Mongols. They may let it ferment to produce kumis. Mares produce a lower yield of milk than cows, but more than goats and sheep.
Horse blood was also used as food by the Mongols and other nomadic tribes. The Mongols found this food source especially convenient when riding for long periods of time. Drinking their own horse's blood allowed the Mongols to ride for extended periods of time without stopping to eat.
Premarin is a mixture of female hormones (estrogens) extracted from the urine of pregnant mares (pregnant mares' urine). It is a widely used drug for hormone replacement therapy. This horse product is very controversial.
The tail hair of the horse can be used for making bows for stringed instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass.
Horsehide leather has been used for boots, gloves, jackets, baseballs,[42] and baseball gloves.[43] The saba is a horsehide vessel used in the production of kumis. Horsehide can also be used to produce animal glue.
Horse hooves can be used to produce hoof glue.
Horse bones can be used to make implements. Specifically, in Italian cuisine, the horse tibia is sharpened into a probe called a spinto, which is used to test the readiness of a (pig) ham as it cures.[44]
Riding methods and equipment
A young horse is a foal, not necessarily a "colt." A colt refers only to a young male horse.
A "Thoroughbred" is a specific breed of horse, while a "purebred" is a horse (or any other animal) with a defined pedigree recognized by a breed registry.
A horse that looks pure white is, in most cases, actually a middle-aged or older gray. Grays have black skin underneath their white hair coat (with the exception of small amounts of pink skin under white markings). This is how a gray horse can be distinguished from a white horse. The only horses properly called white are those with pink skin under a white hair coat, a far more rare occurrence.[47]
There are no truly albino horses (white skin and pink eyes). True albinism is a lethal gene in horses.[48]
Book of Horses: A Complete Medical Reference Guide for Horses and Foals, edited by Mordecai Siegal. (By members of the faculty and staff, University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.) Harper Collins, 1996.
Illustrated Atlas of Clinical Equine Anatomy and Common Disorders of the Horse, by Ronald J. Riegal, D.V.M. and Susan E. Hakola, B.S., R.N., C.M.I. Equistar Publications, Ltd., 1996.
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 2003. Opinion 2027 (Case 3010). Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Bull.Zool.Nomencl., 60:81-84.
Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Amigo Publications Inc; 1st edition 1998.
Budiansky, Stephen. The Nature of Horses. Free Press, 1997.
Ensminger, M. E. Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series. Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990.
Ensminger, M. E. Horses and Tack Revised Edition Boston: Houghton Mifflin 1991
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