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Selected article 1

Portal:Horses/Selected article/1 Go Man Go (1953–1983) was an American Quarter Horse stallion and race horse. He was named World Champion Quarter Running Horse three times in a row, one of only two horses to achieve that distinction. During his five years of competition before he was retired from racing in 1960, he had 27 wins and brought earnings of more than $86,000 ($634,000 in 2007 dollars). His sire (father), the Thoroughbred stallion Top Deck, was bred by the King Ranch. His dam (mother) hailed from Louisiana; Go Man Go is thought to have gained his swiftness on the track from her. For the first years of Go Man Go's racing career, his owner faced difficulty in registering him with the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), a matter that remained unresolved until 1958.

Go Man Go went on to sire two All American Futurity winners and seven Champion Quarter Running Horses. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame, as were two of his offspring. His daughters also produced a number of race winners, including the Hall of Fame member Kaweah Bar. The director of racing for the AQHA once compared his impact on Quarter Horse racing and breeding to that of Man o' War in Thoroughbred racing.

Selected article 2

Portal:Horses/Selected article/2 Easy Jet was an American Quarter Horse foaled, or born, in 1967, and was one of only two horses to have been a member of the American Quarter Horse Association (or AQHA) Hall of Fame as well as being an offspring of members. Easy Jet won the 1969 All American Futurity, the highest race for Quarter Horse racehorses, and was named World Champion Quarter Race Horse in the same year. He earned the highest speed rating awarded at the time—AAAT. After winning 27 of his 38 races in two years of racing, he retired from the track and became a breeding stallion.

As a sire, or father, he was the first All American Futurity winner to sire an All American Futurity winner, and went on to sire three winners of that race, and nine Champion Quarter Running Horses. Ultimately, his ownership and breeding rights were split into 60 shares worth $500,000 each—a total of $30 million. By 1993, the year after his death, his foals had earned more than $25 million on the racetrack.

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Laurentia Tan Yen Yi is a United Kingdom-based Singaporean Paralympic equestrienne. Tan developed cerebral palsy and profound deafness after birth, and moved to the United Kingdom with her parents at the age of three. She took up horse riding at age of five years as a form of physiotherapy. She subsequently completed her A-levels at the Mary Hare Grammar School, a residential special school for the deaf, and graduated with an honours degree from Oxford Brookes University in hospitality management and tourism.

In March 2007, the Riding for the Disabled Association Singapore (RDA) invited Tan to join the Singapore team for the World Para Dressage Championships at Hartpury College in Hartpury, Gloucester, in England in July that year. At this event, her first international competition, she did well enough to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games. In September 2008, at the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Centre at Sha Tin, she achieved bronze medals in the Individual Championship and Individual Freestyle Tests (class IA). These were Singapore's first Paralympic medals and Asia's first equestrian medals at the Paralympic Games. Tan was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) by the President of Singapore at a ceremony at the Istana Singapore on 20 September 2008.

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Bruce Oram Davidson is an American equestrian who competes in the sport of eventing. He grew up in a family uninterested in horses, but began to compete in Pony Club events after a family friend introduced him to riding. He began college at Iowa State University, but left in his third year to train full-time with the United States Equestrian Team. In 1974 he married, and his two children were born in 1976 and 1977. His son, Bruce Davidson, Jr., has followed in his footsteps to become a top eventing rider.

At 18, Davidson tried out for the United States eventing team and was accepted. He won his first medal as a member of the silver-medal-winning US team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. After that, Davidson went to win gold at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics and silver in 1996. He has also competed repeatedly at both the World Equestrian Games and the Pan American Games, winning medals at both, as well as winning repeatedly at the top-level Badminton Horse Trials and Rolex Kentucky Three Day events. He is also known for his horse breeding and training abilities.

Selected article 5

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Horses in the Middle Ages differed in size, build and breed to the modern horse, and were, on average, smaller. They were also more central to society than their modern counterparts, being essential for war, agriculture, and transport. Consequently, specific types of horses developed, many of which have no modern equivalent. Horses in the Middle Ages were rarely differentiated by breed, but rather by use. This led them to be described, for example, as "chargers" (war horses), "palfreys" (riding horses), cart horses or packhorses. Reference is also given to their place of origin. Another difficulty arising during any study of medieval documents or literature is the flexibility of the medieval languages, where several words can be used for one thing (or, conversely, several objects are described by one word).

Significant technological advances in equestrian equipment, often introduced from other cultures, allowed for significant changes in both warfare and agriculture. In particular, improved designs for the solid-treed saddle as well as the arrival of the stirrup, horseshoe and horse collar were significant advances in medieval society. Consequently, the assumptions and theories developed by historians are not definitive, and debate still rages on many issues, such as the breeding or size of the horse, and a number of sources must be consulted in order to understand the breadth of the subject.

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The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. The effectiveness of horses in battle was also revolutionised by improvements in technology, including the invention of the saddle, the stirrup, and later, the horse collar.

Many different types and sizes of horses were used in war, depending on the form of warfare. Horses were well suited to the warfare tactics of the nomadic cultures from the steppes of Central Asia. Several East Asian cultures made extensive use of cavalry and chariots. Muslim warriors relied upon light cavalry in their campaigns throughout North Africa, Asia, and Europe. Europeans used several types of war horses in the Middle Ages, and the best-known heavy cavalry warrior of the period was the armoured knight. With the decline of the knight and rise of gunpowder in warfare, light cavalry again rose to prominence. In the Americas, the use of horses and development of mounted warfare tactics were learned by several tribes of indigenous people.

Horse cavalry began to be phased out after World War I in favour of tank warfare, though a few horse cavalry units were still used into World War II. By the end of World War II, horses were seldom seen in battle, but were still used extensively for the transport of troops and supplies. Today, formal horse cavalry units have almost disappeared, although horses are still seen in use by organised armed fighters in Third World countries. Many nations still maintain small units of mounted riders for patrol and reconnaissance, and military horse units are also used for ceremonial and educational purposes.

Selected article 7

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Equine nutrition is the feeding of all equines. Correct and balanced nutrition is a critical component of proper horse care. Horses are non-ruminant herbivores of a type known as a "hind-gut fermentor." This means that horses have only one stomach, as do humans. However, unlike humans, they also have to digest plant fiber (largely cellulose) that comes from grass and hay. Therefore, unlike ruminants, who digest fiber in plant matter by use of a multichambered stomach, horses use microbial fermentation in a part of the digestive system known as the cecum (or caecum) to break down the cellulose.

In practical terms, horses prefer to eat small amounts of food steadily throughout the day, as they do in nature when grazing on pasture. The digestive system of the horse is somewhat delicate, and they are sensitive to molds and toxins. Horses are unable to regurgitate food, except from the esophagus. Thus, if they overeat or eat something poisonous, vomiting is not an option. They also have a long, complex large intestine and a balance of beneficial microbes in their cecum that can be upset by rapid changes in feed. Because of these factors, they are very susceptible to colic, which is a leading cause of death in horses. Therefore, horses require clean, high-quality feed, provided at regular intervals, and may become ill if subjected to abrupt changes in their diets.

Selected article 8

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The Jersey Act was a British regulation passed in 1913 by the Jockey Club to prevent the registration of most American-bred Thoroughbred horses in the British General Stud Book. It began with the desire of the British to prevent an influx of American-bred racehorses of possibly impure bloodlines in the early 1900s. Many American-bred horses were being imported to Europe because a number of the states in the United States (US) had banned gambling, which depressed Thoroughbred racing as well as breeding. American breeders were sending their surplus horses to Europe to race and retire to a breeding career. Because of the American Civil War and the late beginning of the registration of American Thoroughbreds, many British felt that American-bred horses were not purebred Thoroughbreds.

In 1913, the Jockey Club and the owners of the General Stud Book passed a regulation, named after the proposer of the Act, Lord Jersey, that prohibited the registration of horses in the General Stud Book unless all their ancestors had also been registered in that book. Although American breeders protested the Act, it was not until 1949 that it was repealed. The main factors behind the repeal were the racing success of ineligible horses in Europe, the damage that the Act was doing to British and Irish breeders, and the fact that by 1949, the impure ancestors had receded far back in most horses' ancestry.

Selected article 9

Portal:Horses/Selected article/9 Garrett's Miss Pawhuska was a Quarter Horse broodmare who produced eight quarter horse foals, three of which would become world champion race horses. When she was a yearling, she was sold by her owner, although he had not really planned on selling her. He felt he had to because one of his employees had told a customer the filly was for sale.

Her official race record lists her with six wins in six starts, but it is incomplete and is missing some earnings as well as some races. After racing for two years, she retired to become a broodmare and died in 1975 at age 29. Her son Vandy's Flash was the first gelding to be named a World Champion Quarter Running Horse. She was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame.

Selected article 10

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The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861. It became the west's most direct means of east-west communication before the telegraph and was vital for tying California closely with the Union just before the American Civil War. The Pony Express was a mail delivery system of the Leavenworth & Pike's Peak Express Company of 1849 which in 1850 became the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. This firm was founded by William H. Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell all of whom were notable in the freighting business.

This original fast mail 'Pony Express' service had messages carried by horseback riders in staged relays to stations (with fresh horses and riders) across the varied terrain of the Western United States. During its 18 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about ten days, with telegraphic communication covering about half the distance across the continent and mounted couriers the rest.

Selected article 11

Portal:Horses/Selected article/11 Lightning Bar was an American Quarter Horse racehorse and breeding stallion. Bred and owned his entire life by Art Pollard, Lightning Bar's sire, or father, was a Thoroughbred, and his dam, or mother was originally from Louisiana. Although he only raced for one year, he still managed to achieve an AAA speed index. His racing career was cut short by illnesses. After racing, he became a show horse as well as being trained as a roping horse. As a breeding stallion, he only sired eight crops of foals, but sired a number of influential horses, including his most famous son, Doc Bar. Lightning Bar died in 1960 from disease, at the age of 9. Lightning Bar was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association's American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2008.

Selected article 12

Portal:Horses/Selected article/12 Barbara L was a Quarter Horse racehorse who raced during the early 1950s, winning many races against some of the giants of the breed. She earned $32,836 ($373,451 in current dollars) on the race track in 81 starts with 21 wins, including 6 stakes wins. She also set two new track records during her racing career. After retiring from racing in 1955, she went on to become a broodmare, and had 14 foals total, including 11 who earned their Race Register of Merit with the American Quarter Horse Association (or AQHA). Her offspring earned over $200,000 in race money. She died in 1977, and was inducted into the AQHA's American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2007.

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The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing and First Nations exhibitions. The event's roots are traced to 1886 when the Calgary and District Agricultural Society held its first fair. In 1912, American promoter Guy Weadick organized his first rodeo and festival, known as the Stampede. He returned to Calgary in 1919 to organize the Victory Stampede in honour of soldiers returning from World War I. Weadick's festival became an annual event in 1923 when it merged with the Calgary Industrial Exhibition to create the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.

Organized by thousands of volunteers and supported by civic leaders, the Calgary Stampede has grown into one of the world's richest rodeos, one of Canada's largest festivals and a significant tourist attraction for the city. Rodeo and chuckwagon racing events are televised across Canada. However, both have been the target of increasing international criticism by animal welfare groups and politicians concerned about particular events as well as animal rights organizations seeking to ban rodeo in general. Calgary's national and international identity is tied to the event. It is known as the "Stampede City", carries the informal nickname of "Cowtown" and the local Canadian Football League team is called the Stampeders. The city takes on a party atmosphere during Stampede: office buildings and storefronts are painted in cowboy themes, residents don western wear and events held across the city include hundreds of pancake breakfasts and barbecues.

Selected article 14

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Dominant white is a group of genetically related coat color conditions in the horse best known for producing an all-white coat, but also for producing some forms of white spotting and white markings. Dominant white horses are born with unpigmented pink skin and white hair with dark eyes, although the amount of white hair can vary. Dominant white is a rare condition, and under normal conditions at least one parent must be dominant white to produce dominant white offspring. However, there are documented cases where dominant white has occurred as a spontaneous mutation. Dominant white can occur in any breed, and has been studied in many different breeds.

Dominant white is genetically distinct from Sabino and both genetically and visually distinct from gray and cremello. Dominant white is not the same as lethal white syndrome, nor are dominant white horses "albinos". Albinism has never been documented in horses. Some forms of dominant white are thought to result in nonviable embryos when a zygote has two W alleles (homozygous). However, this has not been verified for all dominant white genetic variations.

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The use of horses in World War I reflected a transitional period in the evolution of armed conflict. Cavalry units were initially considered essential offensive elements of a military force, but over the course of the war, the vulnerability of the horse to modern machine gun and artillery fire fostered interest in mechanized forces. This paralleled the development of tanks that would ultimately replace cavalry in shock tactics. While the perceived value of the horse in war changed dramatically, horses nonetheless played a significant role throughout the war.

All of the major combatants in World War I (1914–1918) began the conflict with cavalry forces. Horses were used by the military mainly for logistical support during the war; they were better than mechanized vehicles at travelling through deep mud and over rough terrain. They were used for reconnaissance and for carrying messengers, as well as pulling artillery, ambulances, and supply wagons. The presence of horses often increased morale among the soldiers at the front, but they also contributed to disease and poor sanitation in camps, caused by their manure and carcasses. The value of horses, and the increasing difficulty of replacing them, was such that by 1917 it was made known to some troops that the loss of a horse was of greater tactical concern than the loss of a human soldier.

Conditions were severe for horses at the front; they were killed by artillery fire, suffered from skin disorders, and were injured by poison gas. Hundreds of thousands of horses died, and many more were treated at veterinary hospitals and sent back to the front. Procuring equine food was a major issue, and Germany lost many horses to starvation through lack of fodder. Several memorials have been erected to commemorate the horses which died. Artists extensively documented the work of horses in the war and horses featured in war poetry, Novels, plays and documentaries .

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In Norse mythology, Sleipnir (Old Norse "slippy" or "the slipper" is an eight-legged horse. Sleipnir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Sleipnir is Odin's steed, is the child of Loki and Svaðilfari, is described as the best of all horses, and is sometimes ridden to the location of Hel. The Prose Edda contains extended information regarding the circumstances of Sleipnir's birth, and details that he is gray in color.

Additionally, Sleipnir is mentioned in a riddle found in the 13th century legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, in the 13th century legendary saga Völsunga saga as the ancestor of the horse Grani, and book I of Gesta Danorum, written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, contains an episode considered by many scholars to involve Sleipnir. Sleipnir is generally accepted as depicted on two 8th century Gotlandic image stones; the Tjängvide image stone and the Ardre VIII image stone.

Scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Sleipnir's potential connection to shamanic practices among the Norse pagans. In modern times, Sleipnir appears in Icelandic folklore as the creator of Ásbyrgi, in works of art, literature, in the names of ships, and as the name of a web browser.

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In Norse mythology, Gná is a goddess who runs errands in other worlds for the goddess Frigg and rides the flying, sea-treading horse Hófvarpnir (Old Norse "he who throws his hoofs about", "hoof-thrower" or "hoof kicker". Gná and Hófvarpnir are attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholarly theories have been proposed about Gná as a "goddess of fullness" and as potentially cognate to Fama from Roman mythology. Hófvarpnir and the eight-legged steed Sleipnir have been cited examples of transcendent horses in Norse mythology. In chapter 35 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High provides brief descriptions of 16 ásynjur. High lists Gná thirteenth, and adds that Hófvarpnir has the ability to ride through the air and atop the sea.

Selected article 18

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Sheila Varian is a breeder of Arabian horses who lives and works at the Varian Arabians Ranch near Arroyo Grande, California. She started her horse ranch, Varian Arabians, in 1954, and raising and training horses has been her full-time occupation since 1963. She still uses vaquero-influenced methods of training horses, although she has adapted her technique over the years to fit the character of the Arabian horse, which she views as a breed requiring a smart and gentle approach. Varian has produced some of the most influential Arabian horses, whose bloodlines are found in a significant number of winning Arabian show horses in the United States. For her accomplishments as a breeder Varian has received recognition from the United States Equestrian Federation, as well as several awards from various organizations within the Arabian horse industry. For her contributions as breeder and as a horse trainer in the vaquero tradition, she was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2003.

Selected article 19

Portal:Horses/Selected article/19 Poco Pine was an American Quarter Horse stallion and breeding stallion. He earned 50 Grand Championships in his showing career and after his death was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association's (or AQHA) AQHA Hall of Fame in 2010. Two of his descendants have also been inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame. 37 of his offspring earned an AQHA Championship during their own showing careers.

Selected article 20

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William Trotter Porter was an American journalist and newspaper editor who founded an early American newspaper devoted to sports. After working at a number of small newspapers, Porter moved to New York City in the 1830s. After employment at a newspaper in the city, he founded the Spirit of the Times, a newspaper modeled on a London paper called Bell's Life in London. The Spirit, which went through a number of names and incarnations over the years, was devoted to sports and other recreational pursuits. One of Porter's main interests involved horse racing, and he was involved in attempts to create the first stud book in the United States. He left the original Spirit in 1855 and in 1856 was hired as editor for another sporting newspaper, Porter's Spirit of the Times, published by George Wilkes. Porter died in 1858.

Selected article 21

Portal:Horses/Selected article/21 The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting genetic diversity among rare breeds of livestock. Founded in 1977, the ALBC was the pioneer livestock preservation organization in the United States. It has since initiated programs that have saved multiple breeds from extinction and works closely with similar organizations in other countries, including the British Rare Breeds Survival Trust. The ALBC has published several books on rare breed livestock and maintains a classified advertisement system for rare breed enthusiasts.

Selected article 22

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Luke McLuke (b. 1911) was a bay Thoroughbred stallion born in the United States who won the 1914 Belmont Stakes as well as the Carlton Stakes, Kentucky Handicap, and Grainger Memorial Handicap among his four wins from six starts. After his racing career was over, he became a breeding stallion, where he sired 11 stakes winners. Two of his daughters were named as year end Champions in the United States.

Selected article 23

Portal:Horses/Selected article/23 Skipper W was an American Quarter Horse and a famous breeding stallion. He was a 1945 sorrel stallion bred by H. J. Wiescamp of Alamosa, Colorado. Despite not being shown in many horse shows, he went on to become the senior stallion of his breeder's reproductive program. Although he sired only 132 offspring, the products of his breeder's program are still often known as "Skipper W" horses. He will be inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2011.

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The Grévy's Zebra (Equus grevyi) is the largest extant wild equid and one of three species of zebra, the other two being the plains zebra and the mountain zebra. Named after Jules Grévy, it is the sole extant member of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The Grévy's zebra is found in the wild in Kenya and Ethiopia. Compared with other zebras, it is tall, has large ears, and its stripes are narrower. It is more ass-like in appearance as compared to other zebras, which are more horse-like. It lives in semi-arid grasslands where it feeds on grasses, legumes, and browse; it can survive up to five days without water. It differs from the other zebra species in that it does not live in harems and has few long-lasting social bonds. Male territoriality and mother–foal relationships form the basis of the social system of the Grévy's zebra. This zebra is considered to be endangered. Its population has declined from 15,000 to 3,000 since the 1970s. However, as of 2008 the population is stable.

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Nominations

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