Talk:Horse

Transportation

I'm surprised that in the section "Interaction With Humans" there's not a subsection dedicated to transportation. Historically, this was probably one of the most important functions of horses prior to the development of the automobile, the latter only having been around for little more than a hundred years. TempDog123 (talk) 18:19, 5 November 2011 (UTC)

Probably one of those situations where there is way too much information, the entire history of the horse. You raise a point that this could be a good topic for one or more spinoff articles, though. We do of course have separate articles on riding (equestrianism) and driving and all the variants thereof (probably dozens if not hundreds of articles, actually). Curious as to possible approach for an overview article though. Montanabw^(talk) 23:50, 5 November 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from , 20 November 2011

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Under the behavior section, it is stated the dominant animal is usually a mare. In actuality the dominant animal in charge of the entire group in terms of both mating and protection is a dominant stallion under normal circumstances. There may be a "dominant lead mare", however she is still subordinate to the dominant stallion, although she may be involved with leading the group in some movement and feeding activities. http://www.sportpolo.com/polo_pony/herd_instinct.htm is an example of a reference for this, although there are dozens.

This is also one reason horses are gelded, in part to control aggression, due to the stallion's natural desire to be dominant and more aggressive behavior. 71.100.220.147 (talk) 23:42, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

The best I can do for now is, to tag that as 'dubious' - which I have, and I invite further discussion below, thanks  Chzz  ►  09:46, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

The given source is hardly a reliable source - especially as compared to the cited textbook that is used for the information currently in the article. I'd need to see reliable scholarly sources - not websites that don't cite their sources - before changing sourced information. I've also reverted the addition of the dubious tag - if there are new studies showing that stallions are the dominant animals - lets see them, but they need to be reliable sources equal to what's already in the article. Ealdgyth - Talk 01:27, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

It is also a myth that stallions are "dominant" in the sense of directing the herd, and the source provided reflects an outdated understanding. They may indeed be aggressive, but it is the lead mare who finds food and water, eats first, drinks first, and will not hesitate to kick the stallion right in the slats if he gets out of hand. Montanabw^(talk) 02:07, 21 November 2011 (UTC)

Care of Horses

I feel that the section on caring for horses could have been in more depth. There are many factors when it comes to caring for a horse such as feeding, grooming, and exercise. Horses require their hooves to be clipped and filed atleast once a month and that requires hiring a farier for which can cost 100 dollars each visit per horse. Also, the feed is very expensive becuase the require grain and sometimes sweet feed. Horses also need a lot of hay to eat and sleep on. I believe the law requires horse owners to provide one arce per horse in order for them to be able to run around. Many people chose to buy horses with the intentions of riding them and that is where a big chunk of money comes into play becuase a good saddle alone can run from 600 to 2,000 dollars. I am not trying to take the joy out of owning a horse but a lot of times people buy horses and do not realize the expenses and up keep of one. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SheenaWeena (talk • contribs) 17:44, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

Hi there, if you look at the section, you will see the link to the main article Horse care where this is covered in more depth. Hope that helps. OwainDavies ^(about)_(talk) edited at 18:00, 27 November 2011 (UTC)

And we also have horse management, equine nutrition, horse grooming, equestrianism, saddle, bridle and many, many more, all wikilinked from this main article. Montanabw^(talk) 02:40, 28 November 2011 (UTC)

It is said that ponies are smarter then horses. Scientists studied and found it was true. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.227.214.190 (talk) 19:28, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

Do you have a link to the study or a reliable reference describing the study? Dana boomer (talk) 20:25, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

a few additions

under sports, add equestrian vaulting (has its own article) under uses: horse milk is a popular traditional drink in Mongolia; used to help cancer patients regain strength after chemotherapy; and used in cosmetics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.123.93.166 (talk) 05:27, 24 January 2012 (UTC)